2024 is the year for women who have been pushed aside. Did you know that a woman was the catalyst behind creating the LGBTQ+ Rainbow Flag? No? Well, here we go, go go. 

Many enduring symbols that establish an instant understanding and define a diverse community are intrinsically linked with controversy, confusion, and ill-informed backstories dictated by vested interests and those who tell the story loudest. The LGBTQ+ Rainbow Flag is no different. 

While it was the work of many, the people who deserve credit the most have been minimized, if not erased. A woman named Faerie Argyle Rainbow (as per her driver’s license!) was one of the main movers. During this time, she was a member of the Angels of Light, a free-theater performance troupe whose members were forced to reject credit for their work. She proposed the idea for the Rainbow Flag, was the original dyer, and managed the whole kit and caboodle. After the 1978 flag’s debut, she moved to Japan. When she returned, the flag was everywhere (as it should have been), but the damage was done. There is more than enough credit to go around. We celebrate and respect everyone who played a role. 

This three-part oral history series features Faerie Argyle Rainbow, as well as John Serrian, Paul Langlotz, Lee Mentley, Adrian Brooks, Dan Nicoletta, Randy Alfred, and Bethany the Princess of Argyle. 

2024 is the year for women who have been pushed aside. Did you know that a woman was the catalyst behind creating the LGBTQ+ Rainbow Flag? No? Well, here we go, go go. 

Many enduring symbols that establish an instant understanding and define a diverse community are intrinsically linked with controversy, confusion, and ill-informed backstories dictated by vested interests and those who tell the story loudest. The LGBTQ+ Rainbow Flag is no different. 

While it was the work of many, the people who deserve credit the most have been minimized, if not erased. A woman named Faerie Argyle Rainbow (as per her driver’s license!) was one of the main movers. During this time, she was a member of the Angels of Light, a free-theater performance troupe whose members were forced to reject credit for their work. She proposed the idea for the Rainbow Flag, was the original dyer, and managed the whole kit and caboodle. After the 1978 flag’s debut, she moved to Japan. When she returned, the flag was everywhere (as it should have been), but the damage was done. There is more than enough credit to go around. We celebrate and respect everyone who played a role. 

This three-part oral history series features Faerie Argyle Rainbow, as well as John Serrian, Paul Langlotz, Lee Mentley, Adrian Brooks, Dan Nicoletta, Randy Alfred, and Bethany the Princess of Argyle. 

Rumi Missabu was born in Hollywood, took a bus to San Francisco, made a wrong turn, got lost, and was too stubborn to ask for directions. The first place he lived after he ran away was in a water tower with a lesbian poet. 

Rumi was an original member of the late 1960s San Francisco hippie performance troupe, the Cockettes. The Cockettes were high-action, out-front, out-of-the-closet entertainers, and the satiric cutting edge of the first wave of the Gay Liberation. Rumi left the Cockettes after a year and a half, traveled to Canada, moved to New York, and then hitchhiked home to San Francisco. For 35 years, he lived without a government ID, work record, and social security number. His only form of identification was an expired San Francisco library card that said “Rumi Missabu.” Everything had to be done on his own terms. Cue the mystery and rumors. People thought he was in the gutter and then forgot he existed. His legacy was on the verge of being erased by his transient, underground life. 

Episode 4 of Season 2 of The QueerCore Podcast is about how a crazy Cockette wasn’t going to play by any rules, even if that meant he was arrested. 

Side note: You can visit lgbtqhp.org/store to purchase our new book on Rumi. It's whacky and wonderful, with shocking twists and turns. Can you imagine living completely underground? Only in San Francisco can an actor pull off their greatest performance—surviving without a trace.

Michela Griffo ran away from home when she was 16 years old. In 1969, her planned heterosexual marriage ended due to religious differences. Her life was changed! Following this, she embraced her true lesbian identity and fell in love with an Eileen Ford model.

After her friend nearly died from a botched abortion attempt, Michela threw herself into activism by joining The Redstockings, a group that was fighting to legalize abortion in New York State. She became an early member of the Gay Liberation Front, the pioneering activist group that kickstarted a mass movement after the Stonewall Rebellion. During her time in the Gay Liberation Front, she took on the Mafia. They even put a gun to her head! 

She has also been involved in numerous other activist groups, such as the National Organization for Women and the Radicalesbians. Michela's artistic contributions gained recognition with her iconic poster for the first Gay Pride march in 1970, which boldly proclaimed, “I am your worst fear. I am your best fantasy.”

Episode 3 of Season 2 of The QueerCode Podcast is also about a feisty Italian woman who didn’t care who you said you were. She ain’t even scared of the Mafia!

Do not call Perry Brass “daddy” unless you are at a leather bar! 

Perry is an author, editor, and OGL (Original Gay Liberationist) known for his contributions to queer literature, including editing and publishing the Gay Liberation Front’s magazine, Come Out. In 1972, he co-founded the Gay Men’s Health Project, which evolved into the Community Health Project, and then, through the AIDS epidemic, into Callen-Lorde, one of the largest healthcare providers for LGBTQ people in medical need. Through his numerous books, essays, and articles, Perry explores themes of identity, sexuality, and social justice. In addition to his literary work, Perry is actively involved in advocacy, dedicating himself to amplifying queer voices and fostering inclusivity. His efforts have significantly shaped the LGBTQ literary landscape.

Discover the inspiring story of a man on the move who was born into the challenges of being too Jewish, financially strained, and gay. Overcoming assimilation tendencies and intrinsic disadvantages, he manages to advance gay liberation ideologies without losing himself along the way. It is a tale of resilience, self-discovery, and exploring the delicate balance between identity and advocacy.

Martha Shelley was born in New York City to grandparents who escaped Eastern Europe pre-Holocaust, and she attributes much of her good fortune to luck, willpower, intelligence, and, most importantly, keeping both eyes on the prize. 

Inspired by the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, Martha found herself in the heart of feminist fervor in New York City, actively participating in feminism’s Second Wave and helping create Gay Liberation. In 1967, Martha joined the New York City chapter of the lesbian homophile organization, the Daughters of Bilitis, of which she later became president. However, things quickly changed! She was too brash and radical for a lesbian homophile group. Assimilation? No! In the aftermath of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall Riots, Martha co-founded the Gay Liberation Front, the pioneering gay activist group that kickstarted a mass movement. Folks, Gay Liberation Fronts were everywhere: Europe, Australia, and all across the States! 

Martha Shelley's story is an inspiring testament to the interplay of chance and intentional choices. It demonstrates that life can be shaped by both and dedicated to the relentless pursuit of equality and social justice. Episode One of Season Two of the QueerCore Podcast is all about how a woman stood up to the world and said, no, no, no! I don’t want a piece of your pie. I want to destroy the bakery.

The QueerCore Podcast is coming at you hot and better than ever! Join us in Season 2, where we feature pioneering members of the New York City Gay Liberation Front. Oh yes, we will also have a multi-series, massive exposé on the hidden origins of the LGBTQ Rainbow Flag! 

In 1967, ex-military man Keith St Clare became editor of "Vanguard," a radical pre-Stonewall queer magazine that fearlessly explored taboo areas of queer culture and adamantly rejected the idea of "assimilation."

A quick bite of Jayne County, America's first openly-transgender rock star whose foul-mouthed, unapologetic music inspired artists like David Bowie, Patti Smith and the Ramones. Jayne has always bucked convention to be herself.

In 1977, Jack Fritscher, an ex-seminarian, became editor-in-chief of Drummer magazine, and helped spread the once underground cultures of leather, cigar fetish, and BDSM to the wider world. This is the first of our new mini episodes called Quickies.