I used to think that I was pretty well-versed in the history of queer people and identities in America, and in the world. I’ve taken classes about queer theory, the history of queer authors, and most recently, the history of sexuality in general. Over the past few days, however, several events have made me rethink my previously unquestioned knowledge of queer history.
Watching Drunk History a few nights ago, I stumbled upon the sudden realization that President Grover Cleveland’s sister, Rose Cleveland, was a lesbian. In my United States History class last week, I learned that Gertrude Stein moved to Paris in the early 1900s with her partner (who just happened to be a woman). And, sitting in my Human Sexualities class recently, I realized that I had already read Freud’s views on sexuality in every class which dealt with queer theory that I had taken. All of these events combined to help come to the realization that we need more education and discussion about queer history, rather than just the history of being queer.
Let me explain what I mean. Growing up, I would have been hard-pressed in any of my elementary or middle school classes to find a casual mention of a queer person in history. (Of course, you can’t tell kids that important historical figures like Eleanor Roosevelt or Leonardo da Vinci were gay, what kind of idea is that?) My point, however, is that this is exactly what we should be telling kids. And high schoolers. And college students. The blatant erasure of queer identities from our history classes and textbooks and curriculum is unacceptable and damaging to young queer students who feel as though they are alone. The argument that one’s sexuality doesn’t matter as much as their contributions are understandable, and I don’t think that sexuality should be the only thing we focus on throughout history. However, erasing or not mentioning a person’s sexuality negates an extremely important part of their history, existence, and accomplishments.
A lot of learning about queer history is learning about why and how queer people were oppressed, which is certainly an important part of the larger story and played a considerable role in many people’s’ lives. However, it is also valuable to focus occasionally on the positive aspects of a community’s history, and the people who were transgressive or subversive and fought against society, rather than learning again and again about how queer people were oppressed.
In times when it was illegal to be gay and a person could be put in jail for not conforming to society’s norms of gender and sexuality, queer historical figures should be celebrated for their identities rather than have those identities overlooked. The majority of historical figures throughout history are presumed to be straight, and it is important to recognize influential or revolutionary queer people in history even if they had nothing to do with queer culture other than just being queer. It is also essential that we understand that queer people have existed and been queer for centuries, not just in “underground” or “niche” communities.
Including and highlighting queer figures in history shows kids and teenagers, as well as adults, that queer people can accomplish things. That they don’t have to be defined by their identities but don’t have to hide them either. I don’t need to hear, again and again, how queer people were persecuted throughout history. I want to hear about how they were not persecuted; how they built lives for themselves against all odds. And it doesn’t have to be a story of heroism, but just if existence. Just knowing that other queer people have existed throughout history is enough.