Invisible to Visible: The Truth About America's Queer History

Queer history is undoubtedly an essential part of the broad tapestry of American culture. Our country would not be where it is today without the contributions made by queer figures such as Bayard Rustin, Ernestine Eckstein, and Phill Wilson. Yet, children in American public and private schools don’t always learn about them (NBC, 2020). When it comes to teaching queer history, only 5 out of 50 states have course curriculums that mandate inclusion and education surrounding queer figures, movements, and events. But how do we start the conversation regarding the acknowledgment and inclusion of America's queer history in our schools?

Acknowledging Queer History in America

The first step to making change is acknowledging that there’s a problem. Queer people didn’t just appear out of thin air some 50-odd years ago and start demanding rights and equal treatment– they have always existed. So, why haven't we been taught about them in school?

This is where the problem lies. Throughout American history, accounts of queer relationships or challenges to societal norms and constructs have been erased, covered up, or hidden, a phenomenon called "queer erasure." Throughout our time in this course, we have discussed why people may have "erased" queer history. For example, we've discussed motives behind queer erasure such as fear of "indoctrination" ("turning" people gay), not fitting in with the narrative that society has chosen for us, or even because people do not agree with these choices. However, this erasure has a direct effect on education, even if that was not the original intention. When queer people and their efforts are erased, they are not learned about schools. It wasn't until I enrolled in this class that I learned about the effects that the queer community has had within the country and the backlash they have faced. Acknowledgment is step one, with mainstreaming and inclusion following close behind.

Mainstreaming Queer History

Mainstreaming occurs when a topic or idea is brought into mainstream society or culture. In terms of queer history, I see mainstreaming as including queer history within education. I believe that the inclusion of queer history within schools, including schools in Virginia, will lead to more acceptance and tolerance and provide queer people with representation in an area they have not previously received acknowledgement in.

The idea of including queer history within education is not new. As I stated earlier, five states are required to teach queer history, with others soon to follow. In addition, GLSEN, an organization founded by teachers to create safe and inclusive environments for queer students, published a report titled “Educational Exclusion: Drop out, Push out, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline among LGBTQ Youth.”  In this document, they discuss the rising number of LGBTQ students and the issues they are facing within their schools, such as bullying based on their sexuality, the lack of resources, and harsher discipline that leads to higher rates of dropping out and imprisonment (GLSEN, 2016). This report does an excellent job of touching on how school environments that are not inclusive and supportive directly impact queer students. Additionally, this document is an excellent tool for the fight to include queer education in schools and invest in school support systems and programs that will help queer students and their families. Some states who have queer history in their curriculums cited the high rates of queer youth suicide and self-harm that led them to push for mandatory queer education. This is not always the best way to advocate, as it can be a sensitive subject for some, but it has to be acknowledged. We are failing queer children by not creating safe and tolerant environments in which they can learn and grow.

Anyone can be an advocate if they do their research and take a stand; this opens the door for others to do the same. By mainstreaming queer erasure, we can draw attention to it and get more people to join the fight to end it. The more educated we are on the issue, the more we can serve as agents for change and stand up for others.

Criticisms of Inclusion

Today, in a time marked by activism and advocacy, it seems crazy that people would still oppose queer history being taught. A 2019 article from the Washington Post described backlash from parents in Loudoun County, Virginia when they discovered that the school district allowed LGBTQ+ inclusive books within elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. The author of the article, Samantha Schmidt, described how queer activists celebrated the inclusion of these books but were taken aback by the strong opposition from parents. One parent expressed their disagreement with the inclusion of the books by stating: "I really have a problem with people teaching children that it's possible to be born in the wrong body. It's 100 percent a political agenda" (Schmidt, 2019). 

While it's reported that less than 5% of books in the collection brought into the school district had to do with LGBTQ+ characters, the backlash was significant and loud. Unfortunately, Loudoun County is not the only place where there is a fight against the inclusion of queer history. Across the United States, there have been protests from individuals, as well as political or religious groups, with some stating that queer education "normalizes peer-on-peer sexual abuse and romanticizes statutory rape" (Schmidt, 2019). In my opinion, this viewpoint is misinformed and extremely dangerous; it villainizes queer people by equating them with sex offenders and rapists. This is not the example we should lead for our children.

There are always two sides to an argument or an issue. While the fight for the inclusion of queer history has grown, there will always be people who do not support it. In my opinion, the best way to react to backlash is through education and advocacy. Some of the loudest opposing arguments and statements stem from misinformation, stereotypes, assumptions, and harmful notions. By providing education and resources to those with or against you, you are spreading your message. It is up to the individual whether they listen or not, but you are still making a difference by sharing your opinion. These resources can also be given to other organizations or programs that support queer youth.

Another way to respond to this criticism is to inform people of the harmful effects of excluding queer issues in education. We have explored the high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and homelessness among queer youth in class. I touched on this topic earlier regarding GLSEN's recommendations for inclusive classrooms. In combination with this, I believe that informing people about the importance of queer representation is another way to combat resistance. The model allows you to see yourself in others like you. For queer youth who do not see themselves in history, inclusion is an essential part in them finally being able to see themselves in history and what they could achieve and accomplish.

My Experience in Queer Virginia

I believe my understanding of queer history has strengthened and flourished throughout my time in this course. While I had a general background on more significant queer events and more well-known figures, this class has shown me on a larger scale the impact queer Americans have had on society. As an openly bisexual woman, I have gotten to learn about individuals like me who challenged traditional gender roles and sexuality ideals to be themselves and fight for the community's rights. I have never had any form of queer education within my classrooms, and up until this point, I would have to do all of my education through research.

One area that has interested me throughout this course is the concept of romantic friendships and same-sex "roommates." We discussed in the post-revolution era how women began to stay unmarried for longer and that they began to live with "close friends" or "roommates," who were their romantic partners. This was something that I was generally familiar with, but in reading more about it, I became more interested in it. It is interesting to see across different periods, such as those of enslaved people, the western frontier, and even earlier, when living with the same sex in "friendships" challenged gender roles and sexuality at the time. In class, we were all surprised to learn how these couples had no problem challenging these norms and that "romantic friendships" were quite normal at the time.

Another area that sparked my interest was Rita Mae Brown and the Lavender Menace. What I learned about the feminist movement wasn't that lesbians and bisexual women were not welcomed with open arms. Instead, I was taught that all women worked in harmony to advance their rights. So imagine my surprise when reading this story. I was filled with such frustration when reading the description of why NOW excluded queer women and how they believed "the presence of open lesbians in the organization would give feminism a bad reputation" (Bronski & Chevat, 178). From what I knew before this, it never occurred to me that there was an accessibility and acceptance problem within the feminist movement. It was the work of Brown and her group protesting at a NOW meeting that shone the spotlight on the exclusion of queer women in the fight for women's equality.

This course and the materials we have been utilizing have opened my eyes to the natural and collective memory of queer history and progression throughout our country's rich history. This course has helped me become more confident in questioning what I do not know and why people may have tried to suppress this history from students. Through this education, I can become a better advocate and stand up for people like myself in the queer community who still face forms of discrimination. We would not be where we are as a community and country without the advocacy and accomplishments of queer Americans, but we still have a ways to go from here.