In the USA, October is the month dedicated to increasing awareness of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities (GLBTQ) collective history. Throughout this entire month, there is a concerted focus on celebrating the achievements and contributions of these communities in both the past and present. In doing so, we hope to guarantee the success of those undertaking accomplishments in the future. Educating others on the many challenges overcome by the GLBTQ individuals in the history of this country and its institutions, both state, sacred and legal, is viewed as one method of attaining this goal.
In 1994, Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school (secondary school) teacher recognized a serious need in having a month dedicated to the celebrating and teaching of GLBTQ history. He met with education administrators, fellow teachers and local GLBTQ community organizations and they selected the month of October, annually, as the best month to do this as National Coming Out Day (October 11) was already observed during this month.
The concept gained national attention and the initiative was endorsed by GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Education Association and others. In 2006, Equality Forum became responsible for providing and disseminating resources for GLBTQ History Month. A link for the GLBTQ History Month website is located at the end of this post.
The 2017 honorees for GLBTQ history month are listed below. Please note that each one is observed on the date of their numerical listing. Brief individual biographies are available on the GLBTQ History Month website.
- David Adamany
- Tom Ammiano
- Jack Baker and Michael McConnell
- Billy Bean
- Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz
- Selisse Berry
- Charlotte Burch
- Lynn Conway
- George Cukor
- Wade Davis II
- Brain Epstein
- Edith Eyde
- Eric Fanning
- Alicia Garza
- Mary Douglas Glasspool
- Karl Gorath
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Taiga Ishikawa
- Caitlyn Jenner
- Marsha P. Johnson
- Alan Locke
- Barry Manilow
- Johnny Mathis
- Yukio Mishima
- Craig Rodwell
- Jeffrey Seller
- Krysten Sinema
- Peter Staley
- Vaughn Walker
- Jeffrey Weinstein
- Rodney Wilson
As of this date, there is not a Bare (naked, nude) History Month observed nationally. For this reason, I’ll post a weekly selection of vintage nude photos every Wednesday during the month of October to compensate for this deficiency. The first such post will publish here on ReNude Pride on Wednesday, October 4. Subsequent posts are scheduled for October 11, October 18 and October 25.
Equality Forum maintains a website for GLBTQ History Month. The site offers resources for educators, community organizers and other interested parties. They feature a biography of each honoree in a printer-friendly PDF format. Click on the link below:
Happy GLBTQ History Month!
Naked hugs!
Roger/ReNude Pride
ReNude Pride 