Famous gay historical figures

From Alexander to Florence Nightingale, there are many people in history who were totally queer. With same-sex marriage now legal in all parts of the UK, it can sometime be easy to forget how different attitudes to homosexuality were in the past, and how much change has taken place over the past 50 years. For hundreds of years gay people have struggled to be accepted and treated the same as people who are not gay. In fact it wasn't until , that two men were able to be in a relationship together without the fear of being arrested.

Leonardo da Vinci’s beautiful painting of Mona Lisa and other women are world-famous, and adding to the mystery surrounding the legendary artist are rumors that he was gay. Historians theorize that these rumors came from his two ‘sodomy’ accusations but given that Florence was a hub for queer activity in Europe, it does seem plausible. For centuries, straight, cisgender historians have erased non-normative and non-conforming genders and sexualities from our history textbooks and our grade school lessons. In the second decade of the 21st century, we are only just now coming to learn of the queerness of countless people from history we grew up learning about and had as our childhood role models. As a way to combat this erasure, here are 5 famous historical figures important to the queer community.

LGBTQ+ people have been around throughout history, and some are even more famous than others, like Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. We've come so far, but still have so far to go. Marsha P.

Bayard Rustin was a prominent civil rights and gay rights activist who played a significant role in organizing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She was an English landowner, diarist and lesbian from Halifax, West Yorkshire. Gladys Bentley was a black lesbian Blues singer. Bentley was also a remarkable pianist, and a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance an artistic, social and intellectual explosion of activity in Harlem, New York during the s.