Reading List: LGBTQ+ History Month

Current Curiosities
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[Reading] It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Vallese

[Listening] Lovett or Leave It Presents: Bravo, America! (with Dr. Terry Dubrow)

[Watching] Have I Got News for You

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Today, Wednesday, October 1, marks the beginning of LGBTQ+ History Month, which began in 1994 by a Missouri high school teacher. This month we reflect on our queer and trans history, honoring those who came before us, and continue our fight for equality, liberty, and justice. This LGBTQ History Month is particularly important as Trump and his MAGA regime strip rights away from queer and especially trans communities across the country. Below are a few queer and trans selections from my bookshelf. What additional titles would you suggest folks read to learn more about LGBTQ+ history and the current fight for our rights? 


Sections From My Bookshelf
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• Meg-John Barker & Jules Scheele's Queer: A Graphic History — The graphic novel brings together developments queer theory with LGBTQ+ liberation movements and is an excellent way to explore major activists, academics, and creatives. (Check out their graphic guides on Gender and Sexuality, too.)

 

• Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother? — The counterbalance to Fun Home, this graphic memoir combines Bechdel's relationship with her mom and her exploration of the works of psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. (I like Fun Home, but I love Are You My Mother?) 

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• John Paul Bammer's Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons — Brammer uses his own experiences, his own learned wisdom to answer questions from strangers for a queer advice column. You will laugh. You will sob. You will be better for reading Hola Papi.  

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• Mike Curato's Flamer — Initially, I read Flamer ​as a part of a campus banned book reading group (surprising given how conservative the campus is). The graphic memoir explores the stakes of coming to terms with sexuality between junior high and high school at a scouting camp, a place not historically known for acceptance. 

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• Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer — This graphic memoir charts an examination of self identity and the trauma (and beauty) of being a queer and trans teen in America. A much-banned book, Judy Bloom could never.

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• Tony Kushner's Angels in America — In a two-part play, Millennium Approaches and ​Perestroika, Kushner investigates queer and trans life in the 1980s against the AIDS epidemic and Reagan Era culpability in its spread. (And check out the HBO adaptation.)

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• Audre Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name — Not only does Lorde canvass her life from childhood through her time in Mexico, but also she reflects on the women who informed her life. (Check out The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House, too.)

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• Larry Mitchell's The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions — This fable critiques the patriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy — and it has pictures! (This was a solid Vibe Check ​recommendation.)

• Tourmaline's Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson — This biography documents the live of artist and trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, with cameos from others such as Andy Warhol and RuPaul, among others. Don't let this thick tome fool you; it's a fast and fascinating read.  

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• ​It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Vallese — This collection of essays explores the ways in which horror movies, know for their misogyny and queer and transphobia, often appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences.  

If you're a Fargo-Moorhead local, be sure to check out More Than Words Bookshop in person or support them online via their Bookshop.org storefront. 
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Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form.

Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, 

Creighton 

Today’s Pen(cil): TWSBI Eco-T [Fountain Pen] | Noodler's V-Mail Midway Blue [Ink]