It's easy to dismiss these events as fluff and folderol. But Walker's parties, both in Irvington and at her Manhattan salon, The Dark Tower, played a crucial, if invisible role in the Harlem Renaissance: They provided a safe, welcoming environment for queer people at a time when there were few other social options available. While she herself was not known to be lesbian or bisexual, Walker's parties were places where anyone could express their sexuality however they pleased.
Read MoreThe Myth of Gay Progress
Here’s the truth: If you’re a gay person driving across America, your right to dignity is like a radio station fading in and out. In many areas, there is just a vast silence, or a blaring wall of static. At best, your basic humanity is somewhat written into law and is accepted by most people. At worst—well, I’m sure some Hoosiers could tell us horror stories.
Read MoreHow LGBT Youths Survive the Streets
A groundbreaking report released Tuesday documents the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths in New York City’s commercial sex trade. It delivers a portrait of youth sex work that’s more complicated than the popular narrative of “girls working under pimps.”
Read MoreA Bathroom of One's Own
Twenty-five years ago today, transgender pioneer Christine Jorgensen died of bladder and lung cancer, not the hormones that rocketed her to stardom as “America’s first transsexual” in the 1950s.
Read MoreWho Says Machines Must Be Useful?
Four years ago, with no particular training in sculpture or mechanical engineering, Mr. Herscher built his first Rube Goldberg machine in the living room of the large house in Auckland.
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