A Queer History of the United States

De: Michael Bronski

Narrado por: Vikas Adams

Winner of a 2012 Stonewall Book Award in nonfiction

The first book to cover the entirety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from pre-1492 to the present.

In the 1620s, Thomas Morton broke from Plymouth Colony and founded Merrymount, which celebrated same-sex desire, atheism, and interracial marriage. Transgender evangelist Jemima Wilkinson, in the early 1800s, changed her name to “Publick Universal Friend,” refused to use pronouns, fought for gender equality, and led her own congregation in upstate New York. In the mid-nineteenth century, internationally famous Shakespearean actor Charlotte Cushman led an openly lesbian life, including a well-publicized “female marriage.” And in the late 1920s, Augustus Granville Dill was fired by W. E. B. Du Bois from the NAACP’s magazine the Crisis after being arrested for a homosexual encounter. These are just a few moments of queer history that Michael Bronski highlights in this groundbreaking book.

Intellectually dynamic and endlessly provocative, A Queer History of the United States is more than a “who’s who” of queer history: it is a book that radically challenges how we understand American history. Drawing upon primary documents, literature, and cultural histories, noted scholar and activist Michael Bronski charts the breadth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from 1492 to the 1990s, and has written a testament to how the LGBT experience has profoundly shaped our country, culture, and history.

A Queer History of the United States abounds with startling examples of unknown or often ignored aspects of American history—the ineffectiveness of sodomy laws in the colonies, the prevalence of cross-dressing women soldiers in the Civil War, the impact of new technologies on LGBT life in the nineteenth century, and how rock music and popular culture were, in large part, responsible for the devastating backlash against gay rights in the late 1970s. Most striking, Bronski documents how, over centuries, various incarnations of social purity movements have consistently attempted to regulate all sexuality, including fantasies, masturbation, and queer sex. Resisting these efforts, same-sex desire flourished and helped make America what it is today.

At heart, A Queer History of the United States is simply about American history. It is a book that will matter both to LGBT people and heterosexuals. This engrossing and revelatory history will make readers appreciate just how queer America really is.

Very insightful!

I enjoyed this book as it gives a much more in depth history of queerness than I have found anywhere else

Even better than I expected

At first I thought I might never actually get through this much book, but it actually went by quick due to the compelling content and skillful reading. We're here, we're queer... oh, you know the rest.

A beautiful compilation of a queer history

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and how well it laid out, not only the queer history, but it also laid out the struggles and the victories that we have had along the way

The history lesson I didn’t know I needed

As a social worker and social science researcher, this book had me enthralled and often in disbelief. Of note, I read it for fun- and I am unbelievably glad I did.

The level of detail and research, and the intentionally inclusive notes and language used was touching and memorable. I’m literally about to read it again, and will likely buy a copy just to be able to write notes and look into some of the references more deeply - not only for my professional and academic knowledge, but also to better understand my country and my place in it as a queer trans adult.

Thanks to this book I am now chock full of fact based historical information, more US history knowledge than I’ve ever possessed, and a burning fiery rage about the erasure of my community throughout history. Thank you.

An Important book that I wish I had read sooner.

Insightful and complex narrative told with clarity and grace. The chapters are well-constructed and encyclopedic in discussing the many historic figures whose actions informed the evolving progress of the movement. It widened the understanding of American history