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Making Gay History

@makinggayhistory.bsky.social

We bring LGBTQ history to life through the voices of the people who lived it, including the Making Gay History podcast (makinggayhistory.org). Since 2016.

1,335 Followers  |  91 Following  |  133 Posts  |  Joined: 17.11.2024  |  2.0563

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Kick off #LGBTQHistoryMonth by going back to the very beginning, where #MakingGayHistory began nearly eight years ago. And stay tuned all month long for clips from our archive of interviews with LGBTQ trailblazers!

๐Ÿ”‰ makinggayhistory.org/season-one/

02.10.2025 23:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 18    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐Ÿ“ธโ˜๏ธ January 1974 issue of the Chicago Gay Crusader announcing the American Psychiatric Associationโ€™s December 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

07.10.2025 13:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
January 1974 issue of the Chicago Gay Crusader announcing the American Psychiatric Associationโ€™s December 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

January 1974 issue of the Chicago Gay Crusader announcing the American Psychiatric Associationโ€™s December 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Fifty-one years after homosexualityโ€™s removal from the American Psychiatric Associationโ€™s list of mental disordersโ€”a major gay rights victoryโ€”mental health literature continues to pathologize trans people.

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-out-of-t...

07.10.2025 13:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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An early example of LGBTQ+ students looking to create their own spaces came in an ad placed by Henry Wiemhoff #OTD 1969: "2 Gay Students Wanted to Share 5 Rm Unfrn. Apt."

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-mattachi...

03.10.2025 22:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Kick off #LGBTQHistoryMonth by going back to the very beginning, where #MakingGayHistory began nearly eight years ago. And stay tuned all month long for clips from our archive of interviews with LGBTQ trailblazers!

๐Ÿ”‰ makinggayhistory.org/season-one/

02.10.2025 23:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 18    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Margot Heuman

Margot Heuman

Josef Kohout

Josef Kohout

Liddy Bacroff

Liddy Bacroff

Fredy Hirsch

Fredy Hirsch

THIS SUNDAY, Eric's presenting โ€œMaking Gay History: The Nazi Eraโ€ as a featured speaker at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

RSVP (in-person/online) to learn more about (pictured) Margot Heuman, Josef Kohout, Liddy Bacroff, Fredy Hirsch, and others.

RSVP: bit.ly/mjh-nazi-era

02.10.2025 22:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Join Making Gay History this fall for 4 exclusive in-person behind-the-scenes experiences, co-produced with Life Jacket Theatre Company.

Tickets: lifejackettheatre.org/mghlive

17.09.2025 12:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Join Making Gay History this fall for 4 exclusive in-person behind-the-scenes experiences, co-produced with Life Jacket Theatre Company.

Tickets: lifejackettheatre.org/mghlive

17.09.2025 12:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Making Gay History: The Nazi Era Eric Marcus, founder and host of the award-winningย Making Gay History podcastย provides an introduction to MGHโ€™s current 12-episode series on the experiences of LGBTQ people during the rise of the Nazi...

Eric is immensely proud to be presenting โ€œMaking Gay History: The Nazi Era,โ€ as a featured speaker at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on October 5.

RSVP (in-person or online): bit.ly/mjh-nazi-era

10.09.2025 19:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Making Gay History: The Nazi Era Eric Marcus, founder and host of the award-winningย Making Gay History podcastย provides an introduction to MGHโ€™s current 12-episode series on the experiences of LGBTQ people during the rise of the Nazi...

Eric is immensely proud to be presenting โ€œMaking Gay History: The Nazi Era,โ€ as a featured speaker at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on October 5.

RSVP (in-person or online): bit.ly/mjh-nazi-era

10.09.2025 19:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Greg, Peter or Bobby โ€” who was YOUR favorite Brady Bunch boy?

Subscribe to our Patreon to support our work and access full talk w/ megahit Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller (Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, Hamilton) and many others.

patreon.com/makinggayhistory

05.09.2025 22:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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LGBTQ+ Experiences During the Nazi Era Making Gay History's Eric Marcus will share archival clips that bring this often hidden history to life through the voices of the people who lived it.

On July 23, Eric will join Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education for "LGBTQ+ Experiences During the Nazi Era."

Learn more and RSVP for this Zoom program. www.ojmche.org/events/lgbtq...

15.07.2025 21:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Such a privilege to have this conversation with @makinggayhistory.bsky.social. I share the story of how โ€” and why โ€” I spoke my truth of living with HIV back in '92. I hope it brings comfort to anyone who feels silenced.

Watch the interview via their Patreon at bit.ly/MGHMaryFisher

14.07.2025 18:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson

Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson

Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were ahead of their time when, in 1970, they came up with the idea for a safe haven for homeless queer youth who turned to dangerous street work to survive, as they did themselves.

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-fromthev...

08.07.2025 20:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Hearing Eric Marcus' voice on NPR is a balm in Gilead @makinggayhistory.bsky.social

07.07.2025 01:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Itโ€™s July 3, 1981, and Eric is reading @nytimes.com. On page A20, a single-column story running down the left-hand side catches his eye: โ€œRare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals.โ€ A shiver runs up Ericโ€™s spine. โ 

Revisit our series "Coming of Age During the AIDS Crisis": bit.ly/aidscrisismgh

04.07.2025 00:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ‘† Larry Kramer at home in 1989, after he learned he was HIV positive. Credit: Sara Krulwich for @nytimes.com

04.07.2025 00:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Larry Kramer at home in 1989, after he learned he was HIV positive. Credit: Sara Krulwich for The New York Times

Larry Kramer at home in 1989, after he learned he was HIV positive. Credit: Sara Krulwich for The New York Times

โ€œThe New York Times article that alerted everybody, really, was July 3, โ€™81 ... When I saw that in the @nytimes.com, I was scared โ€ฆ the Times has a way of making you really sit up and say wow.โ€ โ€” activist and writer Larry Kramer, speaking with Eric in 1989 #MakingGayHistory

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-kramer

04.07.2025 00:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 28    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Greetings from London! On this, the last day of Pride Month, Iโ€™m so happy to induct @makinggayhistory.bsky.social into the Podcast Canon.

Read my latest for @avclub.com below!

30.06.2025 21:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Wow! Ben! Thank you for the incredible honor of being inducted into the Podcast Canon and for your very thoughtful and kind assessment of our work. It's been a privilege to share these stories, which provide a road map for how to push ahead against all odds in the fight for dignity and equality.

01.07.2025 00:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ‘† Christopher Street Liberation Day March, June 28, 1970. Jim Fouratt of the GLF, at right, holding the banner. Credit: Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, NYPL

30.06.2025 04:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Christopher Street Liberation Day March, June 28, 1970. Jim Fouratt of the GLF, at right, holding the banner. Credit: Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, NYPL

Christopher Street Liberation Day March, June 28, 1970. Jim Fouratt of the GLF, at right, holding the banner. Credit: Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, NYPL

"People began to gather in the parade assembly area ... a few blocks away from Christopher Street where angry mobs of gay people had rioted just one year before. The mood today was different." โ€” Breck Ardery, producer of the audio doc, "June 28, 1970 โ€” Gay and Proud"

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-stonewal...

30.06.2025 04:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

If you want to start to understand Stonewall and the larger struggle for lgbtq rights you can't do better than listen to the @makinggayhistory.bsky.social podcast. #pridemonth

29.06.2025 20:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ‘† Jeanne Manford, holding the sign "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children," alongside her son, Morty Manford, at the third annual Christopher Street Liberation Day March in NYC, June 25, 1972. (Courtesy of Les Carr/PFLAG National)

27.06.2025 12:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Jeanne Manford, holding the sign "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children," alongside her son, Morty Manford, at the third annual Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, June 25, 1972. (Courtesy of Les Carr/PFLAG National)

Jeanne Manford, holding the sign "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children," alongside her son, Morty Manford, at the third annual Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, June 25, 1972. (Courtesy of Les Carr/PFLAG National)

Love is a transformative force against oppression. In 1972 a motherโ€™s love for her gay son set in motion a domino effect that continue today. Queens teacher Jeanne Manford marched in NYC Pride w/ a sign that read, "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children."

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-manford

27.06.2025 12:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

โ 
๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ‘† Donna Gottschalkโ€”lesbian, feminist, activist, photographer, artistโ€”at the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, June 28, 1970. (Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, NYPL)

24.06.2025 19:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Donna Gottschalkโ€”lesbian, feminist, activist, photographer, artistโ€”at the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, June 28, 1970. (Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division , New York Public Library)

Donna Gottschalkโ€”lesbian, feminist, activist, photographer, artistโ€”at the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, June 28, 1970. (Photo by Diana Davies, courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division , New York Public Library)

By the time of the June 1969 Stonewall uprising, the homophile movement was nearly two decades old and there were between 50-60 US orgs. A year later, there were as many as 1K orgs.

Revisit our #Stonewall50 season for #Pride: makinggayhistory.org/season-five

24.06.2025 19:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 78    ๐Ÿ” 18    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Eric sat down w/ @npr.orgโ€™s @scottdetrow.bsky.social to offer a glimpse into MGH's recent season, which explores the experiences of LGBTQ people during the Nazi era โ€” from people persecuted for their homosexuality to queer resistance fighters.

Listen to the full interview at NPR: bit.ly/4l7O8J7

19.06.2025 22:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 15    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ‘† Craig Rodwell at Riis Park, a beach popular with gay people in Queens, New York, 1960. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Manuscripts and Archives Division, NYPL

18.06.2025 14:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Craig Rodwell at Riis Park, a beach popular with gay people in Queens, New York, 1960. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library

Craig Rodwell at Riis Park, a beach popular with gay people in Queens, New York, 1960. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library

To me, suits and ties as a uniform are part of the larger heterosexual culture. Itโ€™s part of how society tries to define us as men and women.โ€ โ€” Craig Rodwell

Pick a significant moment in gay history in the 1960s or โ€™70s and Craig Rodwell was *there.*

๐Ÿ”Š bit.ly/mgh-rodwell

18.06.2025 14:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@makinggayhistory is following 20 prominent accounts