 |
| It's LGBT History Month in the UK this month (S) |
This month is LGBT History Month over here in the UK, which is good because honestly? My knowledge of LGBT history is woeful at best, (I know the year of the Stonewall riots and that’s about it). So this month is a good opportunity for me to learn more.
When I think of history I think of the school subject. I think of having to force feed facts and dates into me head and then regurgitating them in an exam. Don’t get me wrong, I loved history class. It’s interesting to find out about the past; the way people lived, where we’ve come from, who our predecessors are. The places we’ve come from shape who we are today, and that’s just as true with LGBT history.
Until this month I hadn’t really thought so much about the past. I spent a lot of time after I came out figuring out who I am and thinking about how things are now. But now I’m in a better place I want to learn everything I can about LGBT culture; especially about the past.
I find a lot of our history incredibly moving and inspirational, but there are two stories I’ve heard recently that stuck with me more than others.
On Tumblr one day I stumbled across a post about 1950s photo booths, accompanied by some actual photos from 1953. In the 1950s the only safe place for LGBT people to take and develop photos of themselves and their partners was in photo booths.
To me, this is mind blowing. That was sixty years ago, which sounds a lot (maybe because I’m still young), but there are so many people who are alive now who were alive then. Maybe I’m stating the obvious but I’m still trying to get my head around how short a time it’s been since being LGBT was illegal the world over, and since LGBT people had to hide themselves behind closed curtains just to get one photo of themselves with their partners. It is pieces of history like this that make me so grateful to be alive now as part of this generation rather than an older one.
There are other stories, though, that show how love can thrive in any time or generation. These are the stories that give me hope and faith in humanity. They’re inspirational and fascinating and really rather beautiful.
One such story is that of Dave and Brian. Not much is known about the two men aside from one letter sent from Brian to Dave on the occasion of their anniversary. From the letter we know that they were both GIs, with history in Oran, Algeria. We also know that Dave died prior to the letter being written, presumably in combat.
The thing about this letter is that it’s beautiful. It’s heart felt and emotional and these two men were clearly deeply in love, in a time when it was forbidden. They continued with their relationship despite the stigma; flying in the face of the fear of discovery. In one line from the letter: “The cold, windy night we crawled through the window of a GI theatre and fell asleep on a cot backstage, locked in each other’s arms – the shock when we awoke and realized that miraculously we hadn’t been discovered.”
To me, the devotion required to push on through all the adversity is completely inspirational. Not only is their story a powerful romantic tragedy but it’s also a story of courage and immense bravery.
There’s a lot to be learned from stories like these. For me it’s a stark reminder that the things we have now shouldn’t be taken for granted. Today in many parts of the world we have safety and rights and visibility, even something approaching equality. Yes, there are places where that isn’t the case, but today’s world is a far safer and more accepting one.
I love finding out these new stories and parts of LGBT history. I like learning about the people who make up that history. I think that seeing the love that could be shared in terrifying and overwhelming circumstances can give us hope and confidence. If love could thrive for people like us in the past then surely today, in better circumstances, it can continue to do so. There will still be people who hate us and tell us that what we have is wrong, but there are less and less of those. We can stand strong in our relationships and with our identities knowing that the bravery, boldness and strength of people in the past has resulted in a certain amount of security for us today. The world today is by no means perfect, but it is better, and looking to the past can only ever make me more grateful for that.
Until this month I hadn’t really thought so much about the past. I spent a lot of time after I came out figuring out who I am and thinking about how things are now. But now I’m in a better place I want to learn everything I can about LGBT culture; especially about the past.
I find a lot of our history incredibly moving and inspirational, but there are two stories I’ve heard recently that stuck with me more than others.
On Tumblr one day I stumbled across a post about 1950s photo booths, accompanied by some actual photos from 1953. In the 1950s the only safe place for LGBT people to take and develop photos of themselves and their partners was in photo booths.
To me, this is mind blowing. That was sixty years ago, which sounds a lot (maybe because I’m still young), but there are so many people who are alive now who were alive then. Maybe I’m stating the obvious but I’m still trying to get my head around how short a time it’s been since being LGBT was illegal the world over, and since LGBT people had to hide themselves behind closed curtains just to get one photo of themselves with their partners. It is pieces of history like this that make me so grateful to be alive now as part of this generation rather than an older one.
There are other stories, though, that show how love can thrive in any time or generation. These are the stories that give me hope and faith in humanity. They’re inspirational and fascinating and really rather beautiful.
One such story is that of Dave and Brian. Not much is known about the two men aside from one letter sent from Brian to Dave on the occasion of their anniversary. From the letter we know that they were both GIs, with history in Oran, Algeria. We also know that Dave died prior to the letter being written, presumably in combat.
The thing about this letter is that it’s beautiful. It’s heart felt and emotional and these two men were clearly deeply in love, in a time when it was forbidden. They continued with their relationship despite the stigma; flying in the face of the fear of discovery. In one line from the letter: “The cold, windy night we crawled through the window of a GI theatre and fell asleep on a cot backstage, locked in each other’s arms – the shock when we awoke and realized that miraculously we hadn’t been discovered.”
To me, the devotion required to push on through all the adversity is completely inspirational. Not only is their story a powerful romantic tragedy but it’s also a story of courage and immense bravery.
There’s a lot to be learned from stories like these. For me it’s a stark reminder that the things we have now shouldn’t be taken for granted. Today in many parts of the world we have safety and rights and visibility, even something approaching equality. Yes, there are places where that isn’t the case, but today’s world is a far safer and more accepting one.
I love finding out these new stories and parts of LGBT history. I like learning about the people who make up that history. I think that seeing the love that could be shared in terrifying and overwhelming circumstances can give us hope and confidence. If love could thrive for people like us in the past then surely today, in better circumstances, it can continue to do so. There will still be people who hate us and tell us that what we have is wrong, but there are less and less of those. We can stand strong in our relationships and with our identities knowing that the bravery, boldness and strength of people in the past has resulted in a certain amount of security for us today. The world today is by no means perfect, but it is better, and looking to the past can only ever make me more grateful for that.
Follow @FRW
