A People Forgotten: The Past & Future of Queer Erasure in Virginia History

Did you know that almost an entire population of people was erased from American history? This applies to multiple groups, but I will specifically discuss the LGBTQ+, or queer, community.

Ever since I became more familiar with the LGBTQ+ community a couple of years ago, I began to realize how complicated our past was because it seemed as if it did not exist at all. Was erasure just a one-person problem? No. It was a result of some archivists, scholars, religious folks, and politicians forgetting to tell true stories. And their actions have lasting effects still today.

While we still may never have all documents, movies, pictures, and literature created by or about queer individuals, they are not lost to time forever. In the 1960s, LGBTQ+ individuals started multiple projects across the country to make archives of whatever stories and media they could find of people from their community. Some examples of queer archives and expressions included film festivals that traveled the country, apartments full of letters and books for individuals to visit and check out, clubs and organizations, and scholarly debates.

But why should I care?

If you’re asking why you have to care about omitted history, that is a cause for concern. Past the general idea of just wanting to have a whole and collective history, these accounts build a very important foundation for LGBTQ+ representation.

In modern times, we see more queer individuals in movies, writing books, producing films, and more, but having the past is just as important as having the future. Seeing these individuals normalizes the idea of not being a cishet (cisgender and heterosexual) male and destigmatizes the community as a whole.

And as a lesbian myself, it is extremely important to see how the LGBTQ+ movement started and what famous historic individuals I might resonate with today.

But that’s just history. I don’t want my kids to learn about someone’s sex life.

This is where one of the huge misconceptions lies. Queer history is not dependent on who someone slept with (although some archives may have such documents as it is still someone’s personal history) but rather recognizing individual accomplishments and the additional hardships that may have come along the way.

One could argue that it’s not essential to know about George Washington being straight, yet nearly every textbook mentions his wife and her saving the painting when the White House burned. It’s these kinds of attachments, such as romantic relationships, that are small details but simply a part of life.

It is not like we are trying to pervert kids; we are just getting them exposed to the fact that life does not follow a cookie-cutter form. Everyone is different.

Most importantly, I want everyone to know that queer erasure happened and how detrimental it is. No matter the field it impacts you too.

• Literature? We may have lost amazing entries from gay artists and poets.

• Psychology? We could have lost amazing theories and research from queer individuals.

• Biology? Some queer individuals may have never gotten their certification and performed the experiments they wanted to.

The list goes on! Just something to keep in mind and work to prevent for the future.