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Looking to learn some LGBTQ+ history this Pride Month? Start by following these 10 queer creators
What are you looking to learn about? Trans history? We've got it. Lesbian culture? You know it! Gay icons? You name them, we've got someone ready to teach you about them!
LGBTQ+ history can be daunting to begin to learn. I was very, very lucky to grow up with a strong connection to my history and culture as a queer person, but my experience is an outlier. Few people grow up learning about important queer people from the past, pop culture that started in the queer underground, or how any of this informs queer culture as it is today. It's hard to know where to start, but plenty of queer content creators are trying to help bridge the gap.
While social media shouldn't serve as a substitute for other sources of knowledge, it is a great compliment too it. If you're new to queer culture, picking up Carl Wittman's "A Gay Manifesto" might be a little intimidating (but is definitely worth visiting and reading after you've got your sea legs), so start small. If you have no idea what flagging is, are in need of lesbian movie recommendations, or just need a bigger dose of queer content on your timeline, worry not! The smart, charming queer people of the internet would love to help.
Where better to start than an account called LGBT History? The LGBT History Instagram account (@lgbt_history) posts a variety of media from gay years gone by. From Pride photos, protests, writings, interviews, LGBT History has a little bit of everything to get you started on a deeper journey into queer history.
@elliemedhurst are docs queer shoes? discuss 🎙️ #lesbianfashion #queerfashion #lesbianfashionhistory #lesbiansoftiktok #docmartens
Ellie Medhurst (@elliemedhurst on TikTok and Instagram) is a lesbian fashion historian from the UK. Her work focuses on lesbian fashion and iconography and lesbians throughout history. Ellie also runs the Dressing Dykes blog and her book, Unsuitable: a History of Lesbian Fashion, was just released this month.
The Rainbow History Class on Instagram proclaims "not everything is gay, but there is gay in everything." It's a great crash course on a wide array of topics. If you like what they've posted on Instagram, they've also got a podcast!
Tai Pei, a drag queen based in the San Francisco bay area, creates videos on makeup tutorials, fashion and beauty history, and styling. Tai Pei is an excellent person to follow because she's very good at giving a lot of context for queer issues, and explaining them through an intersectional lens. If you've never thought about how an economic recession might impact makeup trends, or you want to know more about the intersection of disability justice and queer liberation, you should check out her work (@taipeiqueen on TikTok and Instagram).
The Instagram account @lesbianhistoryarchives is home to an incredible catalogue of dyke days past. They post photos from dyke marches, lesbian magazines, and old interviews with famous dykes. Very similar to @lgbt_history, now with a specific lesbian focus.
@_leatherarchives_ is the Instagram account for the Leather Archives and Museum located in Chicago. The LA&M serves as a museum, library, and community archive for BDSM, leather, kink, and fetish history and culture. Their Instagram shares a portion of the collection online, as well as posting about upcoming events for those in Chicago who might be interested. An extensive portion of their archive and library is also available to browse on their website.
@onlinekyne Alan Turing is famous for many things depending on how you know about him — hes the father of computer science, AI, the WW2 codebreaker, and a tragic victim of prejudice! #pride #alanturing
You may recognize Kyne Santos (@onlinekyne on Instagram and TikTok) from her run on the first season of Canada's Drag Race, but she's also a very successful online educator. She does some great videos on queer history, like the one above about gay computer scientist Alan Turing, but Kyne's bread and butter is math. Honestly, all the memes I see about gay people being bad at math have me worried for a lot of you, so follow watch her math videos, and maybe grab a copy of her new book Math in Dragtoo just for good measure.
Matt Bernstein's instagram account currently provides some of the best short form multimedia work on queer issues. Their account has a unique, consistent, and specific voice and easily recognizable visual style. His posts are great if you're looking for an introduction to get you started on a topic, and are really effective when shared with someone whom you are trying to introduce to an idea. They're also another creator with really succinctly explained work on intersectionality.
Are you the friend who always says, "Who?" when a celebrity name is brought up? Does your trivia team make you wear a dunce cap? You don't have to live like this anymore! The Christopher Street Reader Instagram account, which shares its name with the long running New York City gay magazine, is a great speed run on what you might have missed on gay culture, especially for the younger crowd. If you're not on a first name basis with Barbara, Liza, Madonna, or Judy, start here.
Erin Reed (@erininthemorning on Instagram and @erininthemorn on TikTok) is the journalist currently doing some of the best reporting on trans issues across the United States. What's the point in learning all this queer history if you can't use it to contextualize with what's happening to LGBTQ+ people now? It's critical for queer people to stay up to date and focused on the current political issues plaguing our community. Erin also has a blog for more specifics, and in happier news, recently got engaged to her girlfriend, Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr.
Rowan Ashley Smith has often been described as "a multi-hyphenate about town." He loves work that connects him to his cultures as a gay, Jewish, multiracial trans man. Before breaking into journalism, the best days of his professional life were spent as a summer camp professional, a librarian, and an HIV prevention specialist. His work has been featured in GO Magazine, pride.com, and The Advocate. In what is left of his free time, Rowan enjoys performing stand up comedy, doing the NYT crossword, and spending time with his two partners, two children, and four cats.
Rowan Ashley Smith has often been described as "a multi-hyphenate about town." He loves work that connects him to his cultures as a gay, Jewish, multiracial trans man. Before breaking into journalism, the best days of his professional life were spent as a summer camp professional, a librarian, and an HIV prevention specialist. His work has been featured in GO Magazine, pride.com, and The Advocate. In what is left of his free time, Rowan enjoys performing stand up comedy, doing the NYT crossword, and spending time with his two partners, two children, and four cats.
