Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

During Prohibition, drag king Gladys Bentley held sway over Harlem’s speakeasies with transgressive, star-making performances that epitomized the era’s embrace of queer expression. In the early ’50s the blues legend publicly renounced her past in favor of traditional femininity. Why? Or did she? Visit our episode webpage for additional resources and a transcript of the episode. ———

In 1925 Gene Mosely was sent to the men’s penitentiary Fag Ward on a “masquerade” charge. Despite the risks of cross-dressing, drag balls flourished and female impersonators took NYC’s nightlife by storm, while the mainstream visibility of “fairies” became a cultural phenomenon: the Pansy Craze. Visit our episode webpage for additional resources and a transcript of the episode. ———

It was called the Fag Ward: a separate wing of the men’s penitentiary on NYC’s Welfare Island where gay inmates were kept in the 1920s and ’30s. Eric digs into the history of the infamous prison on what is now Roosevelt Island and shares archival glimpses into the lives of the queens it once held.  Visit our episode webpage for additional resources and a transcript of the episode. ———

A century ago, at a notorious men’s penitentiary in New York City, gay inmates managed to find joy and community through their annual Christmas show, the “Fag Follies.” This season, join Eric Marcus as he delves into their lives and explores their world within and outside the prison walls. ———

When Lou Sullivan sought gender-affirming care in the 1970s, he was turned down. The reason? Lou identified as a gay man at a time when all trans people were assumed to be straight—a conflation of gender identity and sexual orientation that Lou made it his mission to dismantle. Visit our ⁠episode webpage⁠ for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcript of the episode. ——— Audio source: Louis Sullivan interviews #1, #2, and #4, GLBT Historical Society Film & Video Collection (GLBT-VIDEO), courtesy of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. ———