queerhistorypatreon:

If the only queer history you know about is centered around America, it’s irresponsible to call yourself a queer history expert.

This blog, which is focused on queer history, gets messages from people from a wide variety of countries and cultures. And a common thread in these messages is the idea that their country isn’t as rich in queer culture as America. Which is almost never true, and so intensely heartbreaking to hear as someone who cares about sharing queer history because it is clear that queer historians are doing the community a disservice. 

The reason people have this completely false idea is because their favourite queer historian talks about Stonewall like it was the beginning of the queer movement globally. They talk about Harvey Milk, and Walt Whitman like they are the pillars of the queer community universally. 

They aren’t.

America is not the center of the queer community and historically never has been. Every country has their own queer community and with different cultures and obstacles And it is important to represent other countries in your work. 

And because of how common this problem is it’s hard to fix it. There isn’t much information about queer people to begin with, looking for information about historical figures who were queer and not American can be hard. But if you care about queer history, such obstacles aren’t something you will be unused to. We need to work harder, to give the queer community better.