These Old Queers

Thomas takes us through the world of 17th and 18th century smut...which curiously features a wealth of lesbian pornography.

Sources:

The School of Venus, or the Ladies Delight, Reduced into Rules of Practice (Orig. L'Ecole des filles, ou la Philosophie des dames, attributed to Michel Millot and Jean L'Ange 1650.)

The School of Women (Orig. Aloisiae Sigae Toletanae Satyra sotadica de arcanis Amoris et Veneris, Nichlas Chorier, 1660).

Aristotle, pseud. Aristotle's Masterpiece, Secrets of generation displayed in all the parts thereof. London:

Literature on the subject:

Mudge, Bradford K., ed. When flesh becomes word: an anthology of early eighteenth-century libertine literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Peakman, Julie. Mighty lewd books: the development of pornography in eighteenth-century England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Toulalan, Sarah. Imagining sex. Pornography and bodies in seventeenth-century England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

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