Historians of marginalized groups face a common problem: the people about whom they want to write often did not leave […]
“The Relationship Between Public Morals and Public Toilets”: Christine Jorgensen and the Birth of Trans Bathroom Panic
Christine Jorgensen was used to unwelcome attention, but this was a new level of outrage. After undergoing hormone therapy and […]
Y’all Means All: Past and Present LGBTQ+ Rights in the South
While major metropolitan areas, such as New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, are commonly thought of as hubs […]
The Intimacy of Exercise: Sensuality and Sexuality in Black Women’s Fitness History
Exercise is an intimate act. It requires us to be well acquainted with our bodies—how far they can stretch, how […]
Queer Teenage Feminists on the Printed Page, 1973 to 2023
When sixteen-year-old Jane wrote into Ms. Magazine in the mid-1970s, she did so in a desperate search for hope. As […]
Sex Lives
For those of us who teach pre-modern English history and literature, there’s a conversation that happens nearly every semester. When […]
Love Your Asian Body: An Interview with Eric Wat
In his new book Love Your Asian Body, writer Eric Wat uses oral history to tell the stories of Asian […]
Sexual Education in Schools: The Harm of Exclusion
We teach our children about the birds and the bees, but for some, this talk is as foreign as the […]
Gender-Neutral Sex Toys: Turning Gender Dysphoria in the Bedroom into Gender Euphoria
Nestled amidst Allen Ginsberg’s dildo, some vanilla-flavored underwear that offers sexually-transmitted infection (STI) protection, and a Braille issue of Playboy […]
Trans Pregnancy and TikTok Activism: A Shifting Conversation
“Is society ready for this pregnant husband?” was the subheading of Thomas Beatie’s 2008 essay about his pregnancy. Mr. Beatie […]
