Hugh Ryan has two things to say. The first will be alarming, but the second might offer some comfort: “The future is so much stupider than I expected, but the past is so much smarter.”
Ryan would know. As a queer historian and author, he’s used to talking about state of queer affairs, past and present, especially with actress, activist, and season 9 Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant, Miss Peppermint. Together, the two are currently running Queer History 101, a monthly book club that’s taking a more expansive approach to history than simply reciting dates or names, at a time when their mission couldn’t be more important.
The queer community, especially transgender Americans, are under attack. The current administration is systematically wiping away trans people’s health information, gender autonomy, history, and employment opportunities, even in the case of national monuments like Stonewall, which is considered the birthplace of the modern movement for LGBT rights. “It’s shameful because we're seeing the cover up in front of our eyes,” Peppermint says. Many companies are also backing off their initiatives that once celebrated queer pride as part of greater crackdown on DEI.
But all is not lost, as long as queer communities are still able to preserve their own history. The answers might just not be directly in front of us, but behind.
