Megan tells the heart-wrenching story of the fire of a neighborhood bar in 1973 that ripped through the local LBGTQIA+ community, and became the catalyst for the gay rights movement in New Orleans, Louisiana.

*Content Warning*

This episode involves the use of anti-gay slurs, as well as content that might be difficult to listen to. Please take care while listening.

Sources:

Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright. June 5, 2018

Townsend, Johnny. Let The Faggots Burn: The Upstairs Lounge Fire. Booklocker.com Inc. August 15, 2011.

Thomas tells us about a lesser-known queer uprising that happened in 1966 at an all night diner in San Francisco, California.

Sources:

Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. New York City: Seal Press, 2008. (Revised edition, 2017).

"Compton's Cafeteria Riot and the Legacy of Police Violence." GLBT Historical Society. 2021. Available on YouTube.

Thomas and Megan introduce themselves, discuss their queer coming-of-age experiences and why they identify as queer. In These Old Queers, they discuss queer history, identity and aging as queer people.

image: Thomas Donald Jacobs

https://www.bugsnart.com/

music: Harry Macdonough and the Orpheus Quartet - 'Pretty Baby' (1916) - Written by Egbert Van Alstyne, Tony Jackson and Gus Kahn - Library of Congress