Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Leonard Matlovich
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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Leonard Matlovich

Leonard Matlovich was an American Vietnam War veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, and was the first openly gay service member to purposely out himself to the military in order to fight their ban on gay men serving in the armed forces. He is also the first named openly gay person to appear on the cover of a U.S. news magazine.

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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Tryals of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis
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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Tryals of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis

Glory holes. Arguably one of the most recognizable cultural artifacts of contemporary gay culture due to it's relationship to cruising and anonymous sex, something that marked the reality of the gay male experience in the Western world for centuries. When loving the person you want, either romantically or physically, is against the law and can land you in prison, an asylum, or worse, you find ways to satisfy your needs as safely and discreetly as possible.

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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Kiyoshi Kuromiya
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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Kiyoshi Kuromiya

Kiyoshi Kuromiya was a Japanese-American author, advocate, and activist who was involved in the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War protests, gay liberation, and HIV/AIDS activism. He worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr., and was one of the founders of the the first medical treatment and competency guidelines produced by people living with HIV/AIDS for their community.

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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Perry Watkins
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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Perry Watkins

Perry Watkins was an out gay Black man and American military officer. He was unapologetic about who he was for his entire life and continually stared down the systems that sought to oppress LGBTQ+ people in the military. Following a nearly twenty year military career his sexuality was finally turned against him and he decided to fight it in the courts. He would go on to win the first appellate court case against the US military’s ban on lesbian and gay service members.

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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Paul Cadmus
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Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Paul Cadmus

Paul Cadmus was born in Manhattan, NY on December 17, 1904. He would would go on to become a widely known American artist known for his gritty egg tempera paintings. He was inspired by social interactions he observed in his urban life. He included elements of eroticism and social commentary in a style often referred to as “magical realism,” and his career was launched when the Navy attempted to censor one of his paintings due to its “gay gaze.”

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