47. All Your Children's Books Are Belong To Us (Gays), Part 1

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This episode marks the return of History is Gay after hiatus, and we're excited to be back in your podfeeds diving into the fascinating world of classic children's literature through the lens of queer authors. Leigh is joined by wonderful guest co-host, Aubree Calvin, to explore the lives and works of several groundbreaking authors, revealing how their sexualities and personal experiences shaped the books we cherished as children.

In this first of a multi-part episode, we're focusing on four beloved authors whose works were some of our favorites: Tomie dePaola, most notable for our favorite Italian grandma Strega Nona, Margaret Wise Brown, the bisexual poet behind beloved picture books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, Ann M. Martin, who introduced us to our friends in The Baby-Sitters Club, and Arnold Lobel, the man behind the cozy shared lives of Frog and Toad.  

This conversation doesn't end here; stay tuned as we will continue to explore more queer authors and their impact on the world of children's literature in the next episode, coming soon!

Aubree, or Bree to her friends and enemies alike, is a black, queer trans woman on the edge of turning 40. A southerner for most of her life, Aubree has family roots across the south. She loves studying politics, history, and learning about all aspects of queer culture. Aubree started her podcast, Southern Queeries, because she’s tired of society ignoring the south's diverse communities. Professionally, Aubree is a community college government professor and part time writer. When not talking, teaching, or writing, Aubree’s spending her free time with her wonderful wife and daughter.

Locate Aubree upon the internet:

A Closer Look at the Queer Authors Behind Your Favorite Childhood Books

Take a gander at the first four authors we’ve covered in this episode.

Tomie dePaola (1934 — 2020)

Born September 15, 1934 in Meriden, CT, Tomie dePaola infused his Italian and Irish heritage into his stories with warmth, belonging, and encouraging kids to not be afraid to be themselves.

Tomie with some of his beloved characters

He is perhaps most well known for his Strega Nona series, but he also wrote a book called Oliver Button is a Sissy, the first children’s book to come closest to using the word “gay”.

In Oliver Button is a Sissy, the main character Oliver is a sensitive, artsy boy who is bullied for being a “sissy” and falls in love with tap dance. His peers change their tune however when he dazzles at a dance performance, and “Oliver Button is a Sissy” graffitti becomes “Oliver Button is a Star”.

dePaola drew heavily from his own life experiences for this story, externalizing his own history of being bullied for being a “sissy” child.

In 2001, Tomie starred in his own Jim Henson TV show, Jim Henson’s Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola, telling stories with muppet friends!

There’s a playlist on YouTube of several episodes that you can check out here. It’s delightful!

Margaret Wise Brown (1910 — 1952)

Referred to as the “laureate of nursery”, Margaret Wise Brown was born May 23, 1910 in Brooklyn, NY, and the Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny author had a several-years long relationship with socialite, suffragette, and erotic poet Blanche Oelrichs, also known as Michael Strange!

young Margaret Wise Brown with her sister Roberta and their pet rabbits!

Margaret with her terrier, Crispin’s Crispian (Photo by Consuelo Kanaga Brooklyn Museum )

While Margaret would go on to write over 200 books in her lifetime, she is arguably most well known for classics The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon, the later of which was banned in NY libraries until 1972, all because of the personal vendetta from one particular librarian, Anne Caroll Moore against the book, who was very influential in the public libraries community.

Margaret with Crispin's crispian at her cobble court cottage writing studio in the late 1940s

The view from Margaret's beloved home, Only House, on Vinalhaven, Maine

Margaret’s Loves

One of Margaret Wise Brown’s longest relationships was with Blanche Oelrichs, better known by her pen name and later all-time public persona, Michael Strange. We couldn’t find any photos of the two of them together, but here’s a look at Michael, as well as a photo of Margaret with James Stillman Rockefeller Jr, with whom she was together and engaged in the last year of her life.

Margaret later in life with her fiancee, James stillman "Pebble" Rockefeller, jr. 

Margaret's tombstone, on which she requested not to be memorialized as a children's book author, but as a "Writer of songs and nonsense"

Ann M. Martin (1955 — )

Born August 12, 1955, Ann M. Martin is best known for bringing the world The Baby-Sitters Club, but these days she lives in upstate New York and writes independent novels and lives a quiet life with her dogs and a rotating cast of foster kittens!

Ann with doggy friend

Ann at the 2019 National book Awards

The Baby-Sitters Club, first debuting in 1986, put Ann M. Martin on the map and connected with multiple generations of young girls, and especially resonated with queer readers who saw themselves in a group of pre-teen girls who prioritized friendship and an entreprenureal spirit. Plus it didn’t hurt that one of the characters, Kristy, was a huge tomboy!

Ann with the actors from the short-lived 2020 BSC netflix series

Ann Martin (right) with former partner and co-author of Doll People books, Laura godwin (left). She came out publicly in 2016 via a mention of godwin being her former partner in a vulture article.

Arnold Lobel (1933 — 1987)

Born May 22, 1933 in Los Angeles but raised in Schenectady, NY by his German-Jewish grandparents, Arnold Lobel fell in love with illustrating and children’s books at a young age. He illustrated close to 100 books during his career, and his most well-known work is the Frog and Toad series, which he wrote and illustrated together.

Frog and Toad tells stories about two best friends and neighbors, Frog and Toad, who represented two different sides of Arnold Lobel, and according to his daughter, were the beginning of him coming to terms with his sexuality and coming out to himself.

Lobel came out to his wife, Anita Kempler, and his children, in 1974, but continued to work with her for many years. In the early 80s, he met his partner Howard Weiner, who cared for him at the end of his life after suffering from AIDS.

 

If you want to learn more, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles & Resources:

Tomie dePaola

Arnold Lobel

Margaret Wise Brown

Ann M. Martin

Books & Print Articles:

  • Kander, Jessica. “Reading Queer Subtexts in Children’s Literature”, Eastern Michigan University: Digital Commons @EMU, 2011. 

  • Becker R., Margot, et al. Ann M. Martin: The Story of the Author of the Baby-Sitters Club. Scholastic, Incorporated, 1993.

  • Fleischmann, T. “If you are to be an owl”, Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, vol. 13, no. 1 (spring 2011), pp. 77-82

  • Gary, Amy. In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown. Flatiron Books, 2017.

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

46. A Husband is Unnecessary: Yoshiya Nobuko & Japanese Girls' Culture

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This episode has EVERYTHING: gay haircuts, yearning, rage against the patriarchy, they were *roommates*....let’s talk about the magical world of Yoshiya Nobuko, girls’ culture, and lesbian fiction in Taishō era Japan!

Leigh is joined by guest host Erica Friedman, speaker, editor, researcher and an expert on all things Yuri. Yoshiya Nobuko was an extremely popular writer in 20th century Japan who lived with her beloved female partner for 50 years and her legacy continues today as “the Grandmother of Yuri.”. The tropes and storylines established in her writing can still be seen today in queer girls stories in and outside of Japan– get ready to learn all about modern Japan’s very own Sappho. After all, it’s all in the yearning.

Erica Friedman (she/her) holds a Masters Degree in Library Science and a B.A. in Comparative Literature, and is a full-time researcher for a Fortune 100 company.

She has lectured at events around the world and presented at film festivals, notably the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. She has participated in an academic lecture series at MIT, University of Illinois, Harvard University, Kanagawa University, and others.

Erica has written about Yuri for Japanese literary journal Eureka, Animerica magazine, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dark Horse, Del Rey and contributed to Forbes, Slate, Huffington Post, Hooded Utilitarian, Anime News Network and The Mary Sue online. She has written news and event reports, interviews Yuri creators and reviews Yuri anime, manga and related media on her blog Okazu since 2002.

She is the author of a cyberpunk novella and is the author of By Your Side: The First 100 years of Yuri Anime and Manga, published by Journey Press.

Locate Erica upon the internet:

A Closer Look at Yoshiya Nobuko

We’ve gathered some photos of Yoshiya (and friends) throughout her life for you to check out here!

Young Yoshiya

Yoshiya and Monma Chiyo: Wife for Life!

Yoshiya and Monma fell in deep love the moment they met, and their letters to each other reveal so much about their dynamic, we had to share them here!

Yoshiya to Monma, 1923:

Beloved Chiyo
I will love you no matter what
I do not wish to make you lonely
Nor do I want to be lonely
I want you to be the source of my strength
And, if you will let me, I would like to be the source of your strength

May 23, 8:30 pm
Arriving home soaking wet from the rain
Nobuko


Monma to Yoshiya, 1923 (she addresses Yoshiya as onesama, or "older sister," a popular euphemism then and now for one half of a lesbian couple)

Beloved elder sister. I am unspeakably lonely when you leave. My heart becomes hollow, and all I am able to do is to sit in a chair and stare blankly at the wall. It’s now nighttime, isn’t it? As I wrap my unlined black kimono around my bare skin and adjust the hem, my body is aroused by feelings of longing [for you]; instead, what stretches confusingly before my eyes is dusty reality. Ah, this evening. My heart finds no consolation in this evening dream of mine or in reality. My heart sinks from a heavy sadness. If only on this night we were together in our own little house, lying quietly under the light of a lantern, then my heart would gradually warm and neither would you be so sad. I am so sad that I won’t be able to see you either tomorrow or the day after. Let us please meet again on Tuesday. Farewell for now; I am forever yours. Why have I written such things, I wonder? Please don’t worry too much about me. Goodbye, and please take care of yourself.

May 11, midnight
Thinking of my elder sister.
Chiyoko

Monma to Yoshiya, February 1925:

I can only think of how soon we can arrange to live together. There’s nothing I need more than your warm embrace. It is unfortunate that we are not a male and female couple, for if you were a male, our union would be quickly arranged. But a female couple is not allowed. Why is it that [in our society] love is acknowledged only by its outward form and not by its depth of quality — especially since there are so many foul and undesirable aspects to heterosexual relationships?

And Yoshya’s response:

Chiyo-chan. After reading your letter I resolved to build a small house for the two of us…Once it is constructed, I will declare it to be a branch household (bunke), initiate a household register [listing, by law, all family members], and become a totally independent household. I will then adopt you so that you can become a legal member of my household (adoption being a formality since the law will not recognize you as a wife. In the meantime, I aim to get the law reformed). We will have our own house and our own household register. That’s what I’ve decided…We’ll celebrate your adoption with a party just like the typical marriage reception — it will be our wedding ceremony. I want it to be really grand. We will ask Miyake Yasuko-san and Shigeri-san [the couple who had introduced them] to be our go-betweens. I wonder what kind of wedding kimono would look best on you?

Yoshiya in WWII, part of the Pen Butai propaganda corps

Yoshiya Nobuko’s work is not without criticism, and we must mention that during the second world war, she was part of a journalistic propaganda unit of the Japanese government called the pen butai, a group of writers who traveled through areas occupied under Japan’s imperial campaign and control, including China, Manchuria, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and others, writing dispatches published in Japanese newspapers. There are very few photos, but we were able to find a few.

Yoshiya with Kan Kikuchi, Eiji Yoshikawa, and others being welcomed at tokyo station

Yoshiya with Kan kikuchi and others outside of a plane in manchuria, during her time in the pen butai

Older, Delightfully Butch Distinguished Yoshiya

Shojo Bunka and the covers of Yoshiya’s works

Yoshiya was writing at a time when girls’ magazines were hugely popular and instrumental in turning shojo bunka into an entire subculture. Here’s some covers of some popular shojo magazines and Yoshiya’s works!

On the left, a 1908 issue of Shōjo sekai (少女世界, "Girls′ World"), one of the first girls’ magazines in japan. On the right, a cover of sarah frederick’s translated version of “Yellow Rose”, one of the stories in Yoshiya’s hana monogatari (花物語 "Flower Tales")

cover of hana monogatari (花物語 "Flower Tales")

Cover of “Two Virgins/Two Maidens in the attic”, yaneura no nishojo, 1919

Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial Museum

Yoshiya and Monma’s house in Kamakura was turned into a museum after Yoshiya’s death, containing memorabilia from her life and preserving her study and living spaces. It’s open twice a year.

And lastly, check out Erica’s conversation with Sarah Frederick all about Yoshiya for Yuricon!

 

If you want to learn more, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles & Resources:

Books and Print Articles:

Videos

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

45. There's No Crying in Baseball, But There Are Lesbians! Queer History of the AAGPBL

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An episode Leigh has been dreaming of since the start of the pod is finally here! In this ep, Leigh is joined by guest host Frankie de la Cretaz, sports journalist, queer history buff, and certified Gaylor Swiftie, to discuss the queer history of women’s baseball & softball, in particular the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, aka the inspiration behind A League of Their Own! We discuss all the extreme “no-homo”ing that was happening in the League’s rules and regulations, and all the YES HOMO-ing that happened in spite of it, making the sport into an important site of queer community.

Frankie de la Cretaz (they/them) is a writer whose work focuses on the intersection of sports and gender. They are the co-author of HAIL MARY: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League and their work has been featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, and more.

Locate Frankie upon the internet:

The Beginnings: Women & Softball

Softball started as a way to play baseball indoors during cold winters, and women were there from the very beginning. Check out this photo of the first-known organized women’s baseball team, the Vassar College Resolutes, in 1876. Those outfits!

The Leagues: The AAGPBL

Prompted by the shortages of men in professional baseball due to World War II, chewing-gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Phillip K. Wrigley, started recruiting women for his new All American Girls’ Softball League (which would change its name to the All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League) in 1943.

Phillip K. Wrigley

The original logo for the AAGPBL, when it was still the All-American Girls Softball league

1945 flier for aagpbl GAME

The first players signed to the AAGSL in 1943: Clara Shillace, Ann Harnett, Edie Perlick, and Shirley Jameson

The league’s regulations about makeup, grooming, and dress were extremely strict and feminized, to dispel associations of the league with lesbians.

Racine Bells vs. South Bend Blue Sox, September 14, 1947

AAGPBL doing calistenics in Opa-Locka, Florida, 1948

Dorothy Harrell, shortstop for the Chicago Colleens, in an amazing catch from a 1948 game

The Leagues: NGBL

Inspired by the success of the recruiting efforts of the AAGPBL, Forest Park roofing company owner Emery Parichy, who also owned the Chicago Cardinals football team, started the National Girls Baseball League, a professional underhand fast-pitch softball league based out of Chicago, that ended up being the primary rival league for the AAGPBL.

Where the All-American focused on femininity and image, the NGBL focused more on the sport. They allowed the players to compete in shorts, didn’t have makeup and charm school requirements, and was integrated.

Emery Parichy, the founder and owner of the national girls’ baseball league (NGBL)

The NGBL and AAGPBL were in constant rivalry for players and poached from each other enough that an official peace agreement had to be drawn up

Parichy’s Bloomer Girls in 1946

Pink Poirok and Ricki Caito

Lois Roberts, the famously barefoot outfielder for the Ngbl!

Nancy Ito, NGBL’s first Japanese american player in the ngbl, played shortstop for the bloomer girls in 1953.

Betty Chapman, the first Black woman to play professional softball. She was an outfielder for the admiral music maids, 1951

Gwen Wong, the NGBL’s first chinese-american player, a left-handed rookie pitcher from san francisco for the bloomer girls.

Their Turn at Bat: The Story of the National Girls Baseball League is a documentary project in the making by filmmaker Adam Chu, the premiere expert on the NGBL! Please visit his website to support the efforts to make the film and check out all the amazing memorabilia for the NGBL he has, and thank you to Adam for letting us use these photos and introducing our listeners to the NGBL!

Queer Ball Players of Note

Take a look at some of the ball players we mentioned in the episode who were/are queer!

Maybelle Blair

Born January 16, 1927 in Inglewood, CA, and was a pitcher for the Peoria Redwings in the AAGPBL. She then went on to play for the Cardinals in Emery Parichy’s NGBL, and then the Jax Softball Club of New Orleans, LA.

She came out at the age of 95 during the press tour for the new A League of Their Own series, which she consulted on, and is now living her best gay life!

JoJo D’Angelo

November 23, 1924 – August 18, 2013. Born in Chicago, IL, and played outfield for 2 seasons with the South Bend Blue Sox in the AAGPBL. She set an all-time record for fewest strikeouts in a season, until she was fired from the league for a “butchy” haircut. She went on to become a PE teacher and a hero of the Chicago public school system for 34 years.

Her obituary mentioned that she identified as a lesbian since she was a teenager.

JoJo D’Angelo, outfield for SOuth Bend Blue Sox

Mildred “Millie” Deegan

December 11, 1919 - July 21, 2002. Born in Brooklyn, NY, and ended up playing 10 seasons with the AAGPBL, as a Rockford Peach, Kenosha Comet, and a Fort Wayne Daisy, and was known as The Babe Ruth of Women’s Softball.

Her obituary mentioned her partner, Margaret Nusse, as her companion and survivor.

Babe Ruth feeling Millie Deegan’s bicep during an exhibition game, 1938. (Photo: The Diamond Angle, via Archive Today)

Millie and Margaret’s funeral plaque

Terry Donahue & Pat Henschel

Terry Donahue, August 22, 1945 - March 14, 2019, born in Saskatchewan, Canada. Played as catcher for the Peoria Redwings in the AAGPBL from 1946-1949, before playing for the Admiral Music Maids in the National Girls Baseball League in 1950.

She met her partner, Pat Henschel, during an off season from the AAGPBL at a hockey game, and they fell in love quickly. They kept their relationship secret from family until they were in their eighties, and a documentary A Secret Love was made about their relationship. They got married in 2015 at their assisted living facility.

Terry passed in 2019, and Pat Henschel is still living in the assisted living facility. Their legacy was cemented with a pair of bobbleheads, showcasing their sports prowess!

 

Dot Wilkinson

Born October 9, 1921 in Phoenix, AZ — we noted in the episode that she was still alive at the age of 101, but unfortunately she passed a few days after we recorded our episode.

One of the greatest women’s softball players of all time — Wilkinson was offered a contract with the AAGPBL and turned it down, put off by the homophobic rules and she was attached to her softball team, The Phoenix Ramblers, which she had been playing for since she was a bat girl at the age of 11.

She and her partner, Estelle “Ricki” Caito, met as rival softball players who then became friends and then began dating, in a REAL LIFE ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS trope!!

Dot WIlkinson, perhaps the best women’s softball player of all time. Played for the Phoenix Ramblers for 32 years.

Ricki Caito, second baseman for the Bloomer Girls of the NGBL. She also played softball for the California Orange Lionettes, opposite Dot WIlkinson’s Ramblers

Lorraine Hurdle

February 16, 1922 - January 2014. Hurdle never played for a professional league, but she played softball and baseball when she was part of the Women’s Army Corp, serving in WWII. She joined the military in 1944, moved to California in the 1960s, and had a successful tax advising business with a large group of Black and queer friends. She apparently frequently had crushes on femmes, including a school bus driver named Miss Ruby who called Hurdle “Daddy”. She was a classic old-school butch who liked cars, sports, and gambling.

Hurdle playing pool in her women’s army corps uniform. Lorraine Hurdle papers. Collection Number: 2018-12. GLBT Historical Society

Lorraine Hurdle and Baseball Team. Lorraine Hurdle papers. Collection Number: 2018-12. GLBT Historical Society

If you want to learn more, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles & Resources:

Books and Print Articles:

  • Pierman, Carol J. “Baseball, Conduct, and True Womanhood”. Women’s Studies Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1/2, Women and Sports (Spring-Summer 2005), pp. 68-85. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40005502

  • Cahn, Susan K. “From the ‘Muscle Moll’ to the ‘Butch’ Ballplayer: Mannishness, Lesbianism, and Homophobia in U.S. Women’s Sport.” Feminist Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, 1993, pp. 343–68. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3178373.  

  • Adams, Natalie, et al. “Tomboys, Dykes, and Girly Girls: Interrogating the Subjectivities of Adolescent Female Athletes.” Women’s Studies Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 1/2, 2005, pp. 17–34. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40005499.

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

44. Can We Just Title An Episode "Fuck Colonialism"?: Reclaiming Two-Spirit Histories

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For this episode, Leigh is joined by Sam Campbell to discuss the history behind Two Spirit identities. In this episode, they cover the pre-colonial significance of Two-Spirit people to Indigenous communities, how early colonists were able to shape the narrative of what it meant to be Two-Spirit and how that has changed, and last, how colonization has nearly eradicated Two-Spirit histories. How can we uplift these stories to highlight Two-Spirit resilience despite the genocide they faced?

Sam Campbell is a Diné and Yome Two-Spirit individual who has dedicated their time to supporting LGBT2s+ groups. As a board member and former drum keeper for the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS), they have helped facilitate community connection and healing. As a two-time TEDx speaker, Sam has worked to highlight the complexity of gender and sexuality as well as bring awareness to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement.

Locate Sam upon the internet:

Sam has also given two TEDx Talks on Indigenous and Two-Spirit history and reclamation:


Firstly, let’s define what we mean by “Two-Spirit”— below is a fantastic video from them.us, featuring Geo Soctomah Neptune (Passamaquoddy), a Two-Spirit activist, model, basket maker, and politician, whom we mentioned in our episode:

Some Historical Images/Illustrations of Two-Spirits:

“Employments of the hermaphrodites”, watercolor by jacques le moyne and then engraving by theodore de bry, 1591. The image depicts Timucuan two-spirt people carrying wounded peopleand the dead on stretchers, showing their roles as caretakers, medicine people, and death workers.

“Dance to the berdash”, 1835-1837, by george catlin. depicting multiple men dancing around a two-spirit person among the sauk and fox

cheyenne he’emane’o in a ledger drawing depicting the victory dance held after Custer's defeat in 1876

Cheyenne hetaneman, 1889. An AFAB two-spirit person in battle, wearing a men’s breechcloth, depicted on a ledger drawing.

a unknown quechan kwe’rhame, c. 1890s — one of the only known photographs of an afab two-spirit person from this era, wearing a men’s breechcloth and bow guards on their wrists.

Some notable Two-Spirit individuals in the historic record, whom we’ll be covering in their own episodes!

Bíawacheeitchish, also kown as Woman Chief or “Pine Leaf”, a Crow warrior

Hosteen Klah (Diné: Hastiin Tłʼa), a Diné nádleehi artist and medicine person

Lozen (1840-1889), Chiricahua Apache warrior woman, prophet, and one of the most trusted member’s of geronimo’s band fighting against colonizers

Osh-Tisch (also spelled Ohchiish), a Crow badé

We’Wha (1849-1896), a Zuni lhamana, fibert artist, weaver, and potter who became a cultural ambassador for the Zuni people and indigenous americans in general

What happened to these histories: The Effects of Colonialism

As soon as European invaders arrived, the oppression of Native peoples in the Americas begun, and violence and anti-indigenous treatment generally went one of two ways — violence and genocide or assimilation.

One of the most infamous events of genocide and hatred against Indigenous Two-Spirit peoples was in 1513, when Spanish colonizer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa had forty two-spirit people that he encountered in Panama put to death by his dogs. The event was depicted in an engraving based on a painting published by Theodore de Bry.

We are choosing not to show this image here, so as not to retraumatize Indigenous folks who may visit this site, but can be viewed by clicking this link if you so choose.

One of the other ways settler colonialism enacted violence upon Indigenous peoples was to work through assimilation and erasure and restriction of their culture — namely through institutions called “residential schools” or “boarding schools”, though they are better described as assimilation camps.

The children in these institutions were subjected to countless types of abuse, from physical, sexual, emotional, to religious. They were given new Anglo-Saxon names, forced to wear western dress and their traditional clothing destroyed, forbidden from speaking their languages or practicing Indigenous customs, and their hair was cut.

Indigenous children at the Carlisle Indian School, an assimilation camp (“Residential/boarding school”), founded in 1879 with the goal of separating children from their families and “killing the indian to save the man”.

A Diné (Navajo Nation) student of carlisle Indian Boarding School in the 1880s, in a “before and after” sequence. The student file lists him as Tom Torlino— his Diné name was Hastiin To'Haali.

Two-Spirit Artists, Activists, and Influences to Follow Today:

Geo Soctomah Neptune (Passamaquoddy), she/they, is a master basket weaver, performer, and model. She became the first openly Two-Spirit person elected to public office in Maine during 2020!

Kairyn Potts (Nakota Sioux), he/him, is a Winkte Two-Spirit Indigenous youth advocate, comedian, and actor. He hosts a Snapchat video series on Indigenous youth culture with Marika Sila called Reclaim(ed). He also has some really hilarious comedy videos on his Instagram and TikTok you should definitely check out.

View this profile on Instagram

Kairyn Potts (@ohkairyn) • Instagram photos and videos

Anachnid (Oji-Cree/Mi’kmaq), she/her, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Montreal and won the Felix Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year at the 43rd Félix Awards in 2021. Her album, Dreamweaver, was released in February 2020

(Note: We mispronounced this artist’s name as Arachnid in the episode, our apologies!)

Bobby Sanchez (Quechua Wari), she/they, is a rapper, poet, and model. Check out her amazing track “Quechua 101 Land Back Please”:

Recommended reading for Two-Spirit poetry and literature:

Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature

Red book cover art for "Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature, depicting an Indigenous woman with a camera

BAAITS Two-Spirit Powwow 2023

The Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits Powwow is coming up on Saturday, February 4 in San Francisco! If you are local to the area, or even just want to check it out virtually via the livestream or some of the events they have going on in the week preceding the event, check it out at www.baaits.org!

If you want to learn more, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles & Resources:

Books and Print Articles:

  • Fulton, Robert, and Steven W. Anderson. “The Amerindian ‘Man-Woman’: Gender, Liminality, and Cultural Continuity.” Current Anthropology 33, no. 5 (1992): 603–10. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2743927.

  • Parsons, Elsie Clews. “The Zuñi Ła’mana.” American Anthropologist 18, no. 4 (1916): 521–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/660121.

  • Smithers, Gregory D. “Cherokee ‘Two Spirits’: Gender, Ritual, and Spirituality in the Native South.” Early American Studies 12, no. 3 (2014): 626–51. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24474873.

  • Dozono, Tadashi. “Teaching Alternative and Indigenous Gender Systems in World History: A Queer Approach.” The History Teacher 50, no. 3 (2017): 425–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44507259.

  • Katz, Jonathan Ned. “Native Americans/Gay Americans 1528-1976”, Gay American History: Lesbians & Gay Men in the U.S.A.

  • Kit Heyam. “‘Because of the manifestation of Spirit’: Gender, spirituality and survival in North America and South Asia”, Before We Were Trans

  • Roscoe, Will. Changing Ones: Third & Fourth Genders in Native North America

  • Williams, Walter L. The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture

  • Roscoe, Will (editor). Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

43. Rainbow Rising: Homo-Feels about Homophiles, Part 2

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For this episode, Leigh is joined again by guest host Tyler Albertario, as we continue our discussion of the history of the Homophile movement. In the second and final part of this discussion, Leigh and Tyler cover the rise of East Coast Homophile Organizations (ECHO), its restructuring as the North American Conference of Homophile Organizations (NACHO), and the ultimate downfall of NACHO and most of its member organizations in the wake of the Stonewall Rebellion.

Tyler Albertario is an amateur LGBTQ+ historian specializing in the history of organizations integral to the struggle for queer liberation and equality. Since 2019, he has worked as a consultant on projects for a wide range of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, educational nonprofits, and content creators.

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ECHO

On January 26, 1963, representatives of the Daughters of Bilitis, the Mattachine Society of Washington, the Mattachine Society of New York, and Philadelphia’s Janus Society met in Philadelphia to discuss reorganizing the growing Homophile movement into a broader organization to promote better communication and coordination between various Homophile groups. The organization that was established as a result of this meeting was the East Coast Homophile Organizations (ECHO), which held its first official conference at the Drake Hotel in Philadelphia over Labor Day weekend.

A brochure for ECHO’s inaugural conference, held at the Drake Hotel in Philadelphia from August 31-September 1, 1963

Although not much came of this first conference, the second conference, held in Washington, D.C. in October of 1964 proved much more dramatic, and the participating organizations set an aggressive agenda of direct action going forward, which manifested in the form of picketing and public protest.

A brochure for ECHO’s 2nd annual conference, held in Washington, D.C. from October 10-11, 1964

In addition to a series of pickets at the White House and other federal buildings throughout 1965, ECHO also sponsored the “Annual Reminder” picket, a demonstration held every July 4th outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. 

Picketers at the 1966 Annual Reminder demonstration in Philadelphia.

By the end of 1965, with ECHO’s expansion and the emergence of other major Homophile organizations in the Midwest and on the West Coast, it became apparent that the structure of the movement needed to move beyond its base in the Northeast.

Delegates posing for a picture at ECHO’s 3rd annual conference, held in New York City from September 24-26, 1965

NACHO

Following ECHO’s 1965 conference, the decision was made to restructure the group into a national organization, in order to include newer and emerging Homophile groups in the Midwest and West Coast. At a planning conference held in Kansas City in February 1966, the decision was made to restructure ECHO into the North American Conference of Homophile Organizations, or NACHO.

Kansas City newspaper headline covering the February 1966 conference to restructure ECHO

NACHO continued many of ECHO’s activities and operations, while providing a substantive voice for Homophile organizations outside of the Northeast and providing a platform to coordinate national actions, such as the Armed Forces Day picket of May 21, 1966, the first multi-city gay rights picket.

Armed Forces Day picketers in San Francisco (May 21, 1966)

Despite this, NACHO’s cumbersome process for certifying and credentialing new organizations was a constant source of agitation, sometimes taking upwards of six months. Additionally, much of the decision-making influence within NACHO was soon concentrated into the hands of the regional sub-body of Northeast NACHO member organizations—the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations, or ERCHO—much to the anger of groups from the Midwest and West Coast.

Moreover, with the rise of the student movement against the Vietnam War, more radical politics began to infiltrate the ranks of NACHO, in particular with the rise of the Student Homophile League (SHL), lead by Columbia University student Stephen Donaldson.

Stephen Donaldson (1947-1996)

At the 1968 NACHO conference in Chicago—mere days before the police riot outside the Democratic National Convention there—a contingent lead by Donaldson and other SHL members pushed through a declaration of a “Homosexual Bill of Rights,” as well as a resolution approving of the slogan “Gay is Good,” a play on the radical Black Liberation slogan “Black is Beautiful.”

Change was clearly afoot.

The Downfall of the Homophile Movement

Even before the Stonewall Rebellion, NACHO’s organizing structure had already started to come under internal pressures from more radical youth-led organizations, who wanted to adopt more confrontational protest tactics, as well as escalating East-West tensions, the latter of which lead to the August 1969 NACHO conference being “practically boycotted” by West Coast organizations.

With the firestorm of action around the Stonewall Rebellion, NACHO leaders’ reluctance to let go of tactics that had served them to this point and give way to the new energy that was encapsulating the movement, caused the core tenets of the homophile movement and its organizing structure to somewhat crumble— homophile organizations were missing from the first Stonewall anniversary march, which had been proposed as a replacement for the Annual Reminder picket, and would evolve into New York Pride.

Regardless of how the homophile movement ended, we still need and want to express gratitude and awe at how instrumental and integral this work was in opening the door to what would become the gay liberation era of the 1970s.

If you want to learn more, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles & Resources:

Books and Print Articles:

  • Joan Fleischmann Collection; John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives at the William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia

  • "Convention Plans Axed by NACHO." The Advocate Sep 15 1971: 11. ProQuest. Web. 5 Aug. 2022

  • Cole, Rob. "Old, New Ideas Tangle at NACHO Convention." The Advocate Sep 30 1970: 1,2, 6-7, 12, 23. ProQuest. Web. 5 Aug. 2022 .

  • The Deviant’s War by Eric Cervini

  • City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves by Marc Stein

  • Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present by Neil Miller

  • Queer America: A People’s GLBT History of the United States by Vicki L. Eaklor

  • Gay American History: Lesbians & Gay Men in the U.S.A. by Jonathan Ned Katz

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!