Here are a few resources Sarah recommends for learning more about LGBTQ+ history. The audience for all of these is adults unless it is noted as kid-friendly.
Books
Far too many to list! Sarah has compiled a list of all the 300+ ones she knows of here. All of the 50+ children’s books on LGBTQ+ history she knows of are here. It depends entirely on what you’re looking for. Feel free to tweet her or email her to ask for a specific recommendation. (Her books are here.)
Podcasts
Making Gay History. This includes actual audio clips of people from LGBTQ+ people from history. Sarah wrote a profile of the creator and host Eric Marcus with details on the backstory of the podcast here.
History Is Gay. A fun one. Sarah has a been a guest twice (here and here).
Movies
- Queen Christina (1933, Greta Garbo) about Christina of Sweden
- Frida (2002, Salma Hayek) about Frida Kahlo
- Kinsey (2004, Liam Neeson) about Alfred Kinsey
- Capote (2005, Philip Seymour Hoffman) about Truman Capote
- Milk (2008, Sean Penn) about Harvey Milk
- The Woman King (2022, Viola Davis) about the “Amazons” of the Dahomey
- The Imitation Game (2014, Benedict Cumberbatch) about Alan Turing
- Bessie (2015, Queen Latifah) about Bessie Smith
- Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, Rami Malek) about Freddie Mercury
- Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018, Mya Taylor and Eve Lindley) about Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera
- Vita and Virginia (2019, Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki) about Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West
- Rocketman (2019, Taron Egerton) about Elton John
- Rustin (2023, Colman Domingo) about Bayard Rustin
Shoutout to a couple of miniseries, too:
- When We Rise (2017) featuring Guy Pierce as Cleve Jones
- The First Lady (2022) featuring Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt (AND a shot of me in a purple T-shirt during the interview with Obama about same-sex marriage in Episode 6!)
Curricula
Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History. Excellent 200+ page resource by the New York City Department of Education.
History UnErased. This non-profit offers LGBTQ+ history curricula for K-12 and much more including events and advocacy.
LGBTQ History through Primary Sources. Sets of primary sources for use with K-12 students by The History Project at UC Davis.
ONE Archives Foundation LGBTQ History Lesson Plans. Fourteen lesson plans on LGBTQ+ people and LGBTQ+ historical eras.
Unheard Voices. GLSEN partnered with StoryCorps to use audio of LGBTQ+ people telling their stories and created classroom materials to accompany them.
Miscellaneous
LGBTQ+ History Flashcards. From GLSEN for students (high school and probably middle school, but not specified). $20.
LGBT History Month Icon Search. Each LGBT History Month in the U.S. (October), Equality Forum highlights 31 LGBTQ+ people from history. They have a bio and video about each person, now almost 500, on their website that are searchable by tags. Appropriate for high schoolers.
OutHistory. A go-to academic website on LGBTQ+ history.
Recognized. A 30-page comic for high schoolers featuring Alain Locke, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.