Chapter 8: Twentieth-Century Queer Culture and Community in the United States

Studies of sexuality highlight the unstable and changing nature of social categories. Labels and understandings of sexuality changed significantly across the twentieth century, shaping how people experienced queer life. “Queer” is used here as an inclusive term to describe a wide range of labels used at different times in the twentieth century, such as “bulldagger” (a masculine woman), “fairy” or “pansy” (a feminine man), “gay,” “lesbian,” and “homosexual.” This diversity of identities hints to another crucial point: sexuality is shaped by other factors such as race, gender, and class. “Bulldagger” was frequently applied to Black women, while most fairies were working-class men. Despite evolving understandings of sexuality and changing social and political contexts, there were many threads of continuity in queer life. Regardless of how they identified or were labeled, queer people built communities, created alternative forms of kinship, and produced artistic works throughout the twentieth century.