The Absence of Context: Gay Politics without a Past

Abstract

LGBTQ history is marginalized in so many ways. Its volumes are scarcely stocked in large warehouse bookstores—and certainly not in the actual history section that is dominated by books about war. Most U.S. history textbooks are deemed complete with a passing reference to Stonewall. Our own contemporary political movement for LGBTQ rights and equality has shown little interest in or need for knowledge of our community’s history. Even feminist and queer academic spaces have taken an anti-historical turn; fields that count significant numbers of historians among their founders (such as women and gender studies or lesbian and gay studies) have become decidedly presentist. Just because the history of our communities, identities, and organizations is marginalized, however, does not diminish its significance. The fact that Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” has become a gay anthem of sorts is not surprising. It affirms those who are being harassed by their families or religion to “change” their sexual orientation or gender identity. Those over the age of forty can enjoy pop culture’s open embrace after decades of public gay-bashing disguised as political discourse. Although many (but by no means all) LGBTQ people believe they didn’t “choose” to be gay, our simplistic celebration of this concept comes at a price. The idea of being “born this way” essentializes our often fraught and bumpy individual experiences of coming to terms with our sexual and/or gender identities while dehistoricizing queerness entirely. The concept actually eclipses the need for critical examination of gays as