6 July 6-
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| Clara Dietrick |
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| Ora L Chatfield |
- Jul 8, 1889, Aspen Weekly Chronicle, Aspen, Pitkin Co., Colorado (pg 4):Emma's Sensation. Special to the Chronicle. EMMA, Pitkin county, Colo., July 6— Society in this section is disrupted by a love affair. Miss Clara Dietrich, postmistress and general storekeeper at Emma, and Miss Ora Chatfield are madly in love with each other, and their love has culminated in their elopement. The two ladies are supposed to be in Denver now. About a month ago Ora Chatfield was suffering greatly from nervous prostration, and upon investigation it was revealed that she was desperately in love with Clara with who she had been living. The two were torn apart and a warrant was sworn out at Aspen for Clara for the purpose of investigating her sanity. With tears in her eyes she promised the sheriff to give up her child wife. On Tuesday the lovers pretended to start for Aspen. Miss Deitrich avowed her intention to marry a gentleman in this section. Miss Chatfield, to visit relatives, went to Denver instead.
The love affair made national as well as international news as far away as Australia
- Elopements of persons of opposite sexes are common enough all the world over, but did you ever hear of two of a kind that fell in love and ran away? Such a thing has actually happened out in Colorado, where two girls, aged respectively 24 and 16 years, have fallen madly in love with each other, and in consequence of parental opposition to their living together have taken themselves to parts unknown. They are Miss Ora Chatfield and Miss Clara Dietrich, the latter being the elder of the twain. Love letters of the most gushing character have passed between them, and a few weeks ago, when the two were ruthlessly separated, the younger had a severe attack of nervous prostration, and neither would be comforted. What makes the case more interesting is that both are women of intelligence, and not at all given to novel-reading or romantic ideas in general. Miss Dietrich was the keeper of the post office in the town where they lived, and the successful manager of a general store which she inherited from her father, who died a few years ago. The younger woman's father has been the cruel parent "who endeavoured to separate the lovers ; he has caused warrants to be issued for the arrest of both with a view to investigating their sanity, but, up to date, has been unable to find them. It is often enough the case that schoolgirls have a sentimental attachment for each other, but it does not take the shape of the present case, which seems to be quite out of the ordinary run. 2 sept 1889 The Brisbane Courier, Australia
Ora L. Chatfield at the age of 25 married Charles Shaw in Wyoming 31 August 1898 and had one child. She later divorced Shaw. She died 24 July 1936 at the age of 63 in Los Angeles, California and is buried in Forest Lawn.
1895- Montana altered its sodomy laws to state that there had
to be evidence of penetration in order to convict on a sodomy charge.
1900 Ogden Standard Examiner In Second District
Court page 5 Before
Judge Rolapp Mike McCormick, Fred Wilson
and Geo Powers, sodomy. T R O’Connolly appointed to defend set tor same date
1906 Ogden Standard Examiner
1906-07-06 page 6 HEAVY
SENTENCES In the second judicial
district court at Farmington Thursday Judge Howell sentenced two fiends to
fifteen years each in the penitentiary.
James Burns, transient, indicted for a “Crime Against Nature” withdrew
his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty thinking he would escape with a six
months sentence in the county jail. He
reckoned without the court, however, for he drew the salty sentence given
above. At the time he pleaded not guilty attorney William H Streeper was
appointed by the court to defend him.
1930-The words homosexual and heterosexual were used for the
first time in the New York
Times, in a book review of the lesbian novel
"That Other Love" by Geoffrey Moss.
1943-Leonard Matlovich was born. He was among the earliest
to fight the US military ban on homosexuals. Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich was a Vietnam War veteran, race
relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He was also a convert to the Mormon Church. He
fought the US military in 1975 for the right to serve as an openly gay man.
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| Harry Hay |
1964 A 21 year old man was shot at 11:30 p.m. near 580 West
2nd South in the head at point plank range. Johnny Wesley Wallace of 384 West
300 North was killed by 30year old William Pope of Ogden (07/07/64 page 13 SLTribune) John Wallace had a pistol put to his head by William Pope near the
Lone Star Club on 2nd South in Salt Lake City at 11:30 p.m. who shot
him at point blank range. None of the
newspapers account gave a motive for the killing but at one court hearing Judge
J Patton Neeley cleared the court room of all spectators including the press at
the request of the defense attorney.
Pope was an Ogden resident living at 2767 Wall Street. With Pope that
night was a woman named Sandra Joyce Shaw.
They were arrested 7 July and a complaint “jointly charged Pope and one
Sandra Shaw with murder in the first degree, a capital offense.” Originally charged with 1st Degree
Murder, City Judge Horace Beck reduced the charge to manslaughter and dismissed
all charges against Shaw. “Apparently as the result of plea bargaining between
the county attorney and defense counsel, the charge lodged against Shaw was
dismissed at the preliminary hearing and Pope waived his preliminary hearing,
the State consenting thereto, as to the crime of voluntary manslaughter, and
included offense, and the city court bound Pope over to answer to the charge of
voluntary manslaughter in the district court.” However the District Attorney Jay Banks
refused to prosecute Pope on the reduced charge and petitioned to have the
charge of 1st Degree murder reinstated after the state produced four
witnesses. On 6 February 1965 Pope was
found guilty by a 3rd District Jury which recommended life
imprisonment which Judge Joseph Jeppson imposed. Pope was sent to prison on Feb 8th
to serve a sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor. He appealed his
sentence for several years claiming double jeopardy and his case bounced back
and forth between state and federal courts. On 18 December 1973 the Utah
Supreme Court dismissed his petition saying he had a fair trial.
1964-- City Judge Horace C. Beck was taken off the trial of a
23 year old woman charged with lewdness. Judge Beck had charged that the
“police department’s conduct was reprehensible” and added that the department
needs to be investigated in these (vice investigation matters). Legal
maneuvering in the lewdness case began when City Commissioner Herbert F. Smart
wrote a letter to County Attorney Grover A. Giles requesting future vice cases
conducted on behalf of the city police department be taken before a judge other
than Judge Beck. Commissioner Smart wrote: For months I have been increasingly
concerned with the manner in which vice cases have been handed in the criminal
division of the Salt Lake City Courts. I am now constrained to request of you
that all cases involving prostitution, liquor law violations, lewdness, and
others brought by the vice control division of the Salt Lake City Police
Department be filed and tried in a court other than that preceded over by Judge
Horace C. Beck. (07/07/64 page 13 Salt Lake
Tribune)
1969 One of New
York ’s biggest legitimate night clubs, The Electric
Circus extended an invitation to Gays “If you are tired of raids, Mafia control,
and checks at the front door, join us for a beautiful evening on Sunday
night
1970- George
Frenn, track and field star and holder of the world record for the 56-pound
hammer throw, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Several years
later he came out and was a participant in the first Gay Games.
 |
| George Frenn |
1971 Joe Redburn,
KSXX radio communicator planned a grass roots coalition of Blacks, Chicanos,
Central-City residents, senior citizens to endorse a slate of candidates for
Mayor and city commission. Meeting each Thursday at the flag pole in Liberty Park Utah Daily Chronicle pg.
2)
- The first known Gay political activist out side of the Gay Liberation Front was Joe Redburn. On 6 July 1971, KSXX radio communicator, Joe Redburn, planned a grass roots coalition of Blacks, Chicanos, Central-City residents, senior citizens, and Gays and Lesbians to endorse a slate of candidates for Mayor and city commission. Redburn held meetings each Thursday at the flag pole in Liberty park and was part of Gay Liberation concept of coalition building with other oppressed minorities. On 7 February 1973 Joe Redburn opened the first Gay bar in Utah to be owned and operated by a Gay man. The Sun Tavern was named after a San Francisco bar and was located on the northwest corner of South Temple and 400 West. In 1973 bartender Rose Carrier hosted her first annual Pajama Party at The Sun Tavern beginning a 25 year old tradition.
1973-The Lavender Panthers
was formed in San Francisco by Rev. Ray Broshears, a gay Pentecostal
evangelist. The organization patrolled areas frequented by gays and lesbians
and taught classes in self-defense.
1981-A federal court judge
found a Houston TX ordinance that had forbidden cross-dressing
unconstitutional.
1988 Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church member Bill Badger committed suicide this last weekend. I
think he was in his 60’s. I paid the Central
City Community
center
- William Burton Badger (1925-1988) William Burton Badger was born on October 24,
1925, in Holden, Utah. He was baptized in the LDS Church on November 5, 1933. He married in Salt Lake City on June 6, 1950, and had four sons. Later he divorced. William was a teacher, working in the Alpine, Salt Lake City, Millard, and Davis County school districts. He was a member of the Metropolitan Community Church. William committed suicide on July 3, 1988, in Salt Lake City. He was 62 years old. William is buried at the Orem City Cemetery in Utah
William Badger
1989-A New York court judge
ruled that William Rubenstein could remain in the apartment he and his late
lover shared for over ten years, saying that for purposes of rent control a gay
couple could be considered a family.
1989-A US Marine board ruled
that Capt. Judy Meade would not receive a less than honorable discharge for
associating with women who Marine officials believed to be lesbian.
1990-Several hundred
demonstrators in Washington
DC called for a police
investigation into an attack in which 12 marines attacked 3 gay men, leaving
two unconscious.
1990-A Wayne County Michigan
court ruled that the state's sodomy law violated the constitutional right to
privacy.
1999-An
episode of A & E's Investigative Reports focused on anti-gay hate crimes.
It identified as causes the refusal of schools to act when anti-gay slurs are
used as insults or when gay and lesbian students are harassed, and religious
organizations which demonize homosexuals and provide biblical justification for
anti-gay attitudes.
1999: 21-year-old American soldier Pfc. Barry Winchell is bludgeoned to death while sleeping on his cot in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, by a fellow solider who thought he was gay. The harassment was continuous until the Fourth of July weekend, when Winchell and fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, fought after Winchell accused a boasting Glover of being a fraud. Both were drinking beer throughout the day. Glover was soundly defeated by Winchell, after being taunted about being beaten by “‘a fucking faggot’ Glover took a baseball bat from a locker and struck Winchell in the head with it as he slept on a cot outside near the entry to the room Winchell shared with Fisher. Winchell died of massive head injuries on July 6 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Glover was later convicted of Winchell’s murder and is serving a life sentence in a military prison. The top military officers at Fort Campbell who were aware of the harassment were cleared of any wrongdoing.
 |
| Barry Winchell |
1999: 21-year-old American soldier Pfc. Barry Winchell is bludgeoned to death while sleeping on his cot in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, by a fellow solider who thought he was gay. The harassment was continuous until the Fourth of July weekend, when Winchell and fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, fought after Winchell accused a boasting Glover of being a fraud. Both were drinking beer throughout the day. Glover was soundly defeated by Winchell, after being taunted about being beaten by “‘a fucking faggot’ Glover took a baseball bat from a locker and struck Winchell in the head with it as he slept on a cot outside near the entry to the room Winchell shared with Fisher. Winchell died of massive head injuries on July 6 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Glover was later convicted of Winchell’s murder and is serving a life sentence in a military prison. The top military officers at Fort Campbell who were aware of the harassment were cleared of any wrongdoing.
2003 Cathy Cartwright to Ben
Williams- Ben, I have a question to ask about the 'This Month in History'. And I ask this with all due respect. Why was
the paragraph on Gary Bishop included?
He was a pedophile, not a homosexual.
I think far too often right-wing conservatives lump homosexuals who have
consenting adult relationships with pedophiles who victimize same sex children. I think we need to educate the
straight community on the very real
difference between the two.
Thanks! Cathy C.
- Re: Question Ben Williams to Cathy Cartwright “You're right Cathy...pedophilia and homosexuality are two different critters. I have within my archives a whole file also on sex crimes and strange Utah sexuality proclivities and sometimes I don't edit well enough or clarify enough. I also include a lot about AIDS although some would argue that it’s not a Gay disease. I guess I included the info on the Bishop brothers because it was not a high point of Gay history but as you pointed out a low point because the right wing did use this episode to paint Gay men with the same brush they did Gary Bishop. It was a very difficult time to be openly Gay because of the Bishops' pedophilia towards young boys. Cathy I have no qualms about being asked questions why things get included. Sometimes its thoughtfully done and other times simply because it happened that month and I included it. Hope that answers your question. Other may have had the same thought. May I post this to the group site?
2003 Gay and lesbian
community could decide SLC mayor's race By Paul Rolly The Democratic Policy Commission was
established in the mid-1980s in an attempt to align the national Democratic
Party to the Psyche of Middle America,
which Democrats feared they had lost in the Reagan revolution of 1980 and the
country's sharp turn to conservatism. A series of panel discussions were
scheduled, including one on family values, which was to be chaired by Utah's
recently retired governor, the late Scott M. Matheson, and held in Salt Lake
City during the same weekend one of the LDS Church's general conferences was
scheduled. But the dream of showing middle America that the Democrats were not
the liberal demons the Reagan Republicans had made them out to be blew up in
the Democrats' faces when the National Association of Gay and Lesbian
Democratic Clubs demanded a seat on the family values roundtable. The party
faced a dilemma because the gay and lesbian groups were among the most
significant financial donors to the national Democratic Party. But having a gay
representative on a family values panel during LDS conference weekend caused
great stomach pains for party officials, especially those in Utah. Attention all Utah gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, transsexuals and cross dressers: You've come a long way, baby. The
gay and lesbian community figures to play a major role in the Salt Lake City
mayor's race this year. In fact, some observers believe that group could decide
the election. About 30,000 people attended the gay and lesbian-sponsored Pride
Day celebration last month, and while there is no way to determine how many of
them live in Salt Lake City and how many would vote, any percentage of that
group voting would be significant since the mayor's race in Utah's capital
seldom attracts more than 40,000 voters.
Incumbent Rocky Anderson and challengers Frank Pignanelli and Molonai
Hola were on the stump at the Pride Day celebration, although Anderson seems to
be resonating the most with this emerging political force in Salt Lake City
politics. Unity Utah
endorsed Anderson
early. The Utah Chapter of the National Stonewall Democrats has not made an
official endorsement, but Anderson
clearly has the momentum among the gay community. His campaign brochures are
readily available at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and some gay bars
have held Anderson fund-raisers. The support frustrates Pignanelli, who
considers himself one of the pioneers at the Utah Legislature in advocating for
civil rights and legal protections for gays and lesbians. Pignanelli, as House
minority leader several years ago, initiated hate crimes legislation and was
persistent in advocating that gays and lesbians be among the protected groups.
He pushed for legislation to give AIDS victims their life insurance benefits
before they die so they could use the money to fight the disease and he was one
of the most vocal opponents of a proposal to prohibit gays and lesbians from
being public school teachers. Anderson, too, has a
strong and far-reaching record on behalf of gays and lesbians. When the Salt
Lake City Council waffled on an anti-discrimination ordinance to protect gays
in the workplace, Anderson
put the protection into law with an executive order. Anderson has long
championed legislation to protect gays and lesbians, as well as other minority
groups, against hate crimes. But the issue that separates the two and gives
Anderson the advantage in the gay-lesbian community is that Anderson has
championed the legalization of same-sex marriage. In fact, Anderson has stated he believes he lost the
2nd District congressional race to Merrill Cook in 1996 because of his stand on
same-sex marriage. That has made him a hero in some circles of the gay-lesbian
community. Pignanelli does not favor legalizing same-sex marriage, although he
advocates having legal and economic protections for partners in gay and lesbian
relationships. Anderson cannot be accused of jumping on the gay-lesbian
bandwagon now just when it seems politically expedient because his support for
that community has been consistent for years, even when it seemed to hurt him
politically. But his heavy courting of the gay community and his recent
appointment of white lesbian Blythe Nobleman as the city's minority affairs
officer can be seen as politically smart, if nothing else. Whatever political
support the mayor gains from the gay-lesbian community could help overcome what
he has lost in the Latino community, which supported him almost universally in
1999 because of his promise to fire Police Chief Reuben Ortega, an unpopular figure
among Latinos. This year, Anderson has support from some Latino groups and
recently accepted a $12,000 campaign donation from Latino businesses. But some
Latino organizations have come out against him, claiming he has not lived up to
promises he made to increase Hispanic employment in Salt Lake City and
economically revitalize the west side. Several members of the Democratic
Hispanic Caucus, who endorsed Anderson
four years ago, are poised to publicly endorse Pignanelli.
2006 Subject: Re: Hall of Fame from: "David Nelson"
To: Ben Williams" I plan to make
some (okay, a lot) of corrections soon. Michael needs to Work out some bugs first. David Nelson Salt Lake City
2010 Mormon Apostle Condemns
Atheists And Equal Marriage Posted by Eric Etherington
Russell Nelson of the
Mormon high command, member of their “12 apostles” gave a speech to Boston
youth in which he made it clear that Atheists and Gays were the end of the
world, and if not stopped would destroy the Mormon church. “Russell Nelson
Condemns Atheists and Gay Marriage “Unfortunately, good culture alone is not
strong enough to cause good culture to endure in perpetuity. Additional
strength is needed from the power of theistic conviction. For this reason, a
policy to separate completely church and state could become completely
counterproductive. Theistic forces would be erased and atheistic forces would
be allowed to flourish unopposed in the public square. The theistic and noble
concept of “freedom of religion,” could be twisted and turned to become an
atheistic “freedom from religion.” Such an unbalanced policy could sweep out
theistic forces for societal success and leave the field wide open to atheistic
ideology, secularism, suffering huge losses for all.” Typical, Mormons
constantly preaching that they and they alone hold the truth of all matters.
“If civil law were altered to recognize so-called “same-gender” marriage, you
as believers in God, and keepers of His commandments, would then be regarded as
exceptions to the rule. Your conscientious convictions would then be regarded
as discriminatory. If you were a Christian school teacher, you could be charged
with bigotry for upholding the Lord’s law of chastity. In truth dear brothers
and sisters, if you lose marriage, you also lose freedom of religion. Atheistic
moral bedlam and religious repression go hand in hand.” Wow.. once again. It’s
the GAYS who are being the bigots?? How do these ass-hat chuckleheads believe
their own drivel that somehow opposing equal marriage and preaching that LGBT
people are of the devil DOESN’T make them bigots??
 |
| Eric Ethington |
 |
| Russell Nelson |
 |
| Jerry Buie |
2014-Hey Salt Lake City queers.... How many of you know Ben Edgar Williams? You young queers .... How many of you read his post or articles in the gay paper? His blog? This man has secured and recorded our queer history with great detail. As a therapist I hear queer folks struggle with self esteem and identity. Want to know what is missing? That sense of cultural, that sense of having overcome adversity as a culture, that sense of history. The struggle is born from a lack of not knowing how deep and rich our stories are. When we begin to grasp where we have come from... We develop a deeper sense of Pride. Visit his blog! His page... And hug and kiss him with thanks for a beautiful dedication to your future. Jerry Buie
- Michael Aaron West Soo very true
- Kip Swan Ben is a pioneer in the queer community. His history with many of our queer elders were the footsteps forward to the great community we enjoy today. Thank you Ben!
- Dayne Law How much does a "gay"
historian know about transgender history?
Obviously, very little. This is garbage. Maybe Ben should learn some REAL history about how the LGBT civil rights movement was actually started by trans* people at Stonewall? Ben may be an LGB or quite possibly an LG or G historian but he is a terrible T historian. He is still conflating the concept of sexual orientation and gender identity in this piece. Yes, trans* people face similar discrimination but also suffer many more complex and different issues than "gay people", often in the form of micro-aggressions from the "gay community" itself (demonstrated by the sheer ignorance of this blog and the language of ERASURE). Not all trans* people identify as homosexual. Many are straight, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and polysexual. Please do not claim to have knowledge of "glbT" history and in the same breath say things like "homosexual" and "gay history". Please do not claim to be a "GLBT" historian and not understand the B or T histories!
Dayne Law - Ben Edgar Williams Dane thank you for your kind words... I never said I was a Trans historian...You are welcomed to take that on... If you have bothered to read my archives I have included trans history as much as I could find... however I don't believe in reconstructing history for political agendas. I am sorry you are so angry. Dane could you explain to me why you feel the need to attack me? I have never attacked you or said anything in any of my writings or comments to attack the Trans community. Sorry you feel that way.
- Dayne Law I am not attacking you Ben. I am displeased with your language. Please read my comments again and put yourself in my shoes. I am merely pointing out that you purport to represent the trans* community by using the acronym "LGBT", but your language is anything but inclusive. This complete lack of understanding and the fact that you have no clue as to where I am coming from, is the exact problem. Perhaps Jerry Buie can explain more articulately what I am attempting to convey? If you are not a trans* historian then do not say that you are an LGBT historian. In case you didn't know, the T stands for transgender.
- Jerry Buie Here I am in St George, reeling from the news of my daughters engagement.... hence throwing me into crisis.... I post a friendly note regarding Ben who does as well as he knows how too and then I see this on my page.....OYI.... time out for both of you. Here is what I would suggest kiddos. 1. Queer History..... is something incredibly looked over and perhaps only now is explored as it should be....ON MANY FRONTS. Ben started documenting history for this community before it was deemed relevant. 2. What has transformed into the Transgender Community as we know it today is partly because of men like Ben and others who dared to take notes. Yes the LGB and T community has come a long way in understanding WHO and WHAT we are and Can BECOME. Dayne you are part of that history and there were MANY more who came before you. The various terms you threw out Dayne are relatively new terms being used more frequently than now than they have been before. Many Sager's are often perplexed on this new way of communicating and seeing things. Sigmund Freud is an interesting historical figure, the father of psychology got many things wrong but he started a discussion and dialogue that did not exist and that propels us today to know what we know.....I would suggest with effort and education we can find a more balanced and fair portrayal of the QUEER COMMUNITIES. Dayne Law.... Who exactly is keeping track of Trans history in the the way that BEN has attempted to preserve OUR history today? I emphasis OUR'S because the Gender movement defines me in as many ways as the gay movement has defined me..... it allows me to explore my gender stories and ideas in ways 10 years ago I did not even think was necessary. I would invite and suggest that someone of Tea of Utah or any other Representative of the Transgender community, who wants the STORY told honestly, should consult with Ben Edgar Williams.... as an elder and teacher, if you will, and perhaps he could mentor the record keeper for this subsection of the community...... On how to do it, how to write it, gather it..... make it visible. There is much he can share and offer that in unity would bring us all together. I can think of many transgender pioneers in our community who need the light shined on their hard work and progression for all our communities..... seems like a beautiful way to build connections, bridges, and history.
- Lisa Barkdull Links? To Ben's blog, please. Dayne, I acknowledge your anger and hurt at not being seen. I hope it will be channeled constructively into raising greater awareness of Trans issues & Trans contributions to the queer community. Thanks for reminding me that Stonewall started w/ Trans ppl (& others) standing up and saying "we're not going to take it anymore, fuck you!"
- Ben Edgar Williams Dane the community has adopted LGBT or GLBT to mean the entire community and many are offended if you do not use that term... Yes I have mainly focused on male and female homosexuals history being a homosexual myself. I do not pretend to write Trans history. If you ever read anything I write I always use "Gay" meaning male and female unless I am including gender identity and not sexual orientation. I have been friends with many Trans in the early day especially folks like Debra in Engender Species but I am not sure where all this anger is coming from today. The movement is an ongoing social construct- expanding freedom is a good thing however I do not intend to include every social movement in the history of homosexuals in Utah. I never have. I am not a "paid LGBT" player...Every thing I have done has been for free except the Beyond Stonewall workshops which were at nominal cost. You don't know me. I have volunteered all my life and have preserved as much as I can of the memories of my friends who were building this community in the 1970s. 1980s and 1990s. I intended to have stopped in 2000. Perhaps I should have. I would appreciate you sending me all the Trans material you have collected of events, organizations, and people you feel should be included in this archive. Sometimes I think people expect me to be some kind of depository for all things. If that does not suit your needs perhaps creating a Trans Historical Society is the best option then being so upset with anything the Gay community might do which might offend would be diffused. However I really don't understand why you take offense when none was intended. Do you feel attacked? Help me understand. I certainly do feel attacked by you. It is not pleasant and seems really mean spirited.
- Dayne Law Okay Ben, I apologize for responding a bit harshly. This is not personal as I hardly know you. I must admit though, sometimes these sorts of things are difficult to hear over and over from the community that supposedly supports you. I am curious too? When you say "community", do you mean all of US? The gay guys, the lesbians, the bisexuals, the transgender people. If you are going to use that acronym and call yourself an LGBT historian, please don't forget to include them all in our history. You can do this simply by changing your language to be more inclusive. For example, using the terms "gay community" does not describe my community in that many people I know in the community do not identify as "gay". Again, I really do not think that this is an intentional harm but it still has an impact. If you refuse to do this you make the same mistake as heterosexual people often do by omitting certain groups from history. It hurts to know that my tribe is not seen or heard and to top it off, when we voice our concerns, we are dismissed as whining troublemakers. If you do not want to be a T historian, why don't you just say that you are a lesbian and gay historian? That way you are not hurting anyone's feelings by just leaving them out. We can and do have Trans* historians who all too often just get left out of the dialogue but that is a greater systemic issue and not entirely your fault.
- Ben Edgar Williams I appreciate the apology... I am just a local historian who was an activist back in the 1980s writing about what I know...When I use Gay to me its interchangeable with Queer... I have never called myself a LGBT historian even in the article that seemed to have offended you. In fact it was the first time I had even used the term GLBT and that was meant to embrace the general community and I stand by my question which was how much do we know.. I have never pretended to write Lesbian history, bisexual history or trans history... BUT i have recorded all elements of those sections of the community in the USHS archives that any one is free to search and write their own histories... There is 33 lineal feet of archival material I managed to save from the Utah Stonewall Center that I donated to the Marriott Library. Anyone is free to do that. It just takes time and a willing heart.
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