Today the German government issued a postage stamp in honor of #MagnusHirschfeld. In 1897, Hirschfeld founded the first gay rights organization in the world in Germany. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Hirschfeld’s birth and 2019 will mark the centennial of the founding of his Institute of Sexual Research.
On this day in 1946, film historian, activist, and co-founder of @actupny and @GLAAD was born. In a 1988 interview with #MakingGayHistory’s Eric Marcus, Vito said, “I want to be around to … tell the world what happened so that people will realize what we all went through. Because I think our lives have been devalued. These are brave courageous, beautiful people who are dying.” Vito Russo died of complications from AIDS on November 7, 1990. Listen to our episode featuring Vito here: http://bit.ly/mgh-russo
Happy birthday to Frida Kahlo The legendary Mexican artist would have been 111 today. Her work has inspired generations of artists. Frida occasionally wore men’s clothing and was proudly bisexual — despite the world being hostile to LGBTQ people in the early 20th century. 📸: #NickolasMuray The first portrait was taken by Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo, in 1926.
“Your beliefs should make you better and should make you kinder, not more hateful.”
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Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pauline Esther Phillips who founded the "Dear Abby” column and was one of the first national celebrities to publicly support the rights of gay people. Phillips died in 2013 at the age of 94. TV journalist Diane Sawyer called her the "pioneering queen of salty advice.”
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Have a listen to our #MakingGayHistory episode featuring Phillips in her own words: http://bit.ly/mgh-dearabby
This Saturday in Brooklyn: JoinMaking Gay History, Food 4 Thot, Nancy and LGBTQ&A for the biggest, queerest live show, one night only. Get your tickets here http://bit.ly/bigqueerpodfest
6/16 in Brooklyn, NYC: “Big Queer Pod Fest” with Nancy, LGBTQ&A, Food 4 Thot and Making Gay History in support of the @thetrevorproject. Buy tickets now: http://bit.ly/bigqueerpodfest
Listen: Jean O’Leary was passionate—about women, nuns, feminism, and equal rights. She left an indelible mark on the women’s movement and the LGBTQ civil rights movement, but not without causing controversy, too. After all, she was a troublemaker. And proud of it. Listen to the full episode here: http://bit.ly/mgh-oleary1 . Photo: Jean O’Leary at the July 1, 1979 Houston, Texas, Gay Pride Parade.Jean had just changed from a white dress shirt to the Houston Gay Pride Week T- shirt. She was wearing nothing underneath, hence the big smile on Jean’s face and on the faces of the spectators. Credit ©Larry Butler, courtesy of the Botts Collection, University of Houston Libraries.
Twenty-one years ago today @TheEllenShow came out publicly on national TV. The backlash was fierce and her future cast in doubt. In this 2001 interview hear a beloved icon at a crossroads. Listen to the full episode here: http://bit.ly/mgh-degeneres
Listen: When gay-bashing homophobes put Joyce Hunter in the hospital, they could never have imagined their brutal act would propel Joyce into a leading role helping LGBTQ youth avoid the kind of traumatic childhood she had experienced.
Listen to the full episode at http://bit.ly/mgh-hunter
Photo: Joyce Hunter in her office at the Hetrick-Martin Institute talking with two students from the Harvey Milk High School, 1986. Credit: © JEB—Joan E. Biren.
What do you do when you’ve been slapped around by a policeman simply because the way you look and the way you’re dressed leads him to believe you’re a lesbian? Or when your friend—your gay brother—is left to die in a hospital because he’s a “flaming queen”? Shirley Willer got angry. She was also radicalized and decided that she had to “do something” because, as she says in the 1990 interview featured in this episode, “it had to stop.” Hear what Shirley did next in her episode of Making Gay History: http://bit.ly/mgh-willer