And if I’ve actually managed to pique your interest in Laurens, I have a lengthy, more serious post about him here.

Meet the Women of Stonewall

Since the trailer of the atrocious Stonewall movie was released, people are rightfully upset that it white-washes and erases the trans women and lesbian who started the Stonewall Riots. Posts are going around reminding us of these women, but usually only mentioned one or two, which I find a little a-historical. We should know who all these women are as they each played a significant role in what happened in June of 1969.

Stormé DeLarverie (December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014)

Stormé was a biracial butch lesbian, drag king and considered the “Rosa Parks of the Gay Community”. When the police raided the Stonewall Inn, she was one of the women arrested and clubbed on the head by the police. She is credited with yelling  “Why don’t you guys do something?” which sparked the bystanders into action. (x) In her own words:

Marsha P. Johnson (June 27, 1944 – July 6, 1992)

Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson was a black trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. She, along with Sylvia Rivera, co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and is credited as being the first to fight back at Stonewall Inn. (x) Happy Birthday, Marsha! is a film project in the works to honor life, please consider donating. 

Sylvia Rae Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002)

Sylvia was a Latina trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. As mentioned above she co-founded STAR with Marsha P Johnson, as well as a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. She is also credited with being one of the first women to throw a bottle at the police. 

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (October 1940)

Also known as Miss Major, is a black trans woman and community leader for transgender rights with a focus on women of color. Miss Major was a leader in the riots who was struck by police and arrested. While in custody an officer broke her jaw. (x) A documentary called Major! is in the works to portray Miss Major’s role in the transgender activist community. (x) (I hope people watch this instead of Stonewall). 

Many more people were involved in the riots, but one thing is clear, it was not started by cis white men, it was by these 4 women of color. Don’t let men take away our history. 

dont let WHITE MEN  specifically steal the history.

Marsha P Johnson. Trans woman. Drag queen. Activist. The first person to throw a brick at Stonewall. Hero. Don’t whitewash. Never forget.

Historic Black and White Pictures Restored in Color

This is awesome.

Not something I’d typically reblog but I like.

This is bloody fantastic.

Honestly seeing old photos in color makes the past so much more tangible.

my fave greek history story to tell is that of agnodice. like she noticed that women were dying a lot during childbirth so she went to egypt to study medicine in alexandria and was really fucking good but b/c it was illegal for women to be doctors in athens she had to pretend to be a man. and then the other doctors noticed that she was 10x better than them and accused her of seducing and sleeping with the women patients. like they brought her to court for this. and she just looked at them and these charges and stripped in front of everyone like “yeah. im not fucking your wives” and then they got so mad that a woman was better at their jobs then them that they tried to execute her but all her patients came to court and were like “are you fucking serious? she is the reason you have living children and a wife.” so they were shamed into changing the law and that is how women were given the right to practice medicine in athens

Yeah, this isn’t some Greek myth story about a hero or demigod or something, Agnodice was a real person who actually did this.

Unpacking Mona Lisa at the end of World War II (1945)

I just found out that during the 1600’s there was a person known as Thomas (or Thomasine) Hall who was an intersex genderfluid bisexual.

And people say that LGBTQA people are some trend that started in the 21st century….

The year is 2056. A child enters the AP euro exam. They open the orange booklet. DBQ: Analyze the reasons and results of Putin’s ban on memes in the year 2015

That last bit seemed exceedingly peculiar to me and I had difficulty believing it, so I looked it up, and apparently it’s not the most commonly accepted theory at the moment, but it is a legit possibility and a thing that actually happened in the 19th century often enough to be given a name. It was plausible enough for quite a few of his biographers across several decades to agree on that theory, at least. So that’s a thing.

His exact cause of death is mysterious, especially since most of the records have been lost, but the drinking binge theory is unlikely. It’s more plausible that he died of an illness or foul play.

BLESS THIS ENTIRE POST.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” I shout, as I stab my political opponent to death.

[historical accuracy INTENSIFIES]

my fave greek history story to tell is that of agnodice. like she noticed that women were dying a lot during childbirth so she went to egypt to study medicine in alexandria and was really fucking good but b/c it was illegal for women to be doctors in athens she had to pretend to be a man. and then the other doctors noticed that she was 10x better than them and accused her of seducing and sleeping with the women patients. like they brought her to court for this. and she just looked at them and these charges and stripped in front of everyone like “yeah. im not fucking your wives” and then they got so mad that a woman was better at their jobs then them that they tried to execute her but all her patients came to court and were like “are you fucking serious? she is the reason you have living children and a wife.” so they were shamed into changing the law and that is how women were given the right to practice medicine in athens

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out // Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

Did you know? Lesbians and male homosexuals would marry each other in Nazi Germany just to escape persecution? Queer history tho like I honestly am learning things everyday that shape my knowledge of what it means to be LGBT? Like did you know Malcolm X was bisexual? Did you know the Nazis persecuting homosexuals said they were protecting “traditional family values,” the same arguments used today by Republicans? Washington in the 1780s expelled several soldiers for engaging in consensual same-sex acts? FDR launched a plan in the 1920s where he forced young sailors to try and trap other sailors into sex? I think schools need to stop erasing queer history from social studies and queer literature from English classes. And also start teaching children to respect gay people at a young age, like grade five. That’s the only way I can see any change coming about…

as an art historian, may i just say: fuck banksy. 

instead of banksy, the white guy who has been funded and coddled by the elite as the darling of the circle-jerking art white male art world, TRY: