Historians should not assume that religious institutions have always been hostile to gay rights.
Author: Gillian Frank
CFP: Histories of Music and Sexuality
What is the relationship between music and sexuality?
After Roe: Engaging the Lost History of the Abortion Debate
Interview by Jennifer Au, Taylor Branch, Sharim Estevez, Evelyn Giovine, Juliette Hackett, Jarron McAllister, Rebecca Neill, and Colleen O’Gorman Edited by Gillian Frank This post is part of a new series for NOTCHES, which features students interviewing authors of recent works in the history of sexuality. Our second entry has students […]
Martin Luther King Jr. and the History of Sexuality
Gillian Frank Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. To reflect upon Dr. King’s life, legacy and influence, NOTCHES offers some primary sources with which to begin thinking about King’s place in the history of sexuality. Even as historians are increasingly reckoning with King’s complicated private life, King’s views on […]
David Bowie (1947-2016) and the History of Sexuality
Gillian Frank We at Notches mourn the passing of the iconic singer and performer David Bowie. A dynamic artist, Bowie pushed the boundaries of genre, gender, and sexuality in his life and work. His sexual identity and its public performance were versatile, challenging and complex. To reflect upon his life and influence, we offer some sources to […]
A Christmas Abortion
Gillian Frank On Christmas Eve 1955, Jacqueline Smith died from an illegal abortion at her boyfriend Thomas G. Daniel’s apartment. Jacqueline Smith was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1935. A quiet, driven and talented artist, she graduated from high school in 1953 and moved to New York City where she […]
Stalling Civil Rights: Conservative Sexual Thought has been in the Toilet Since the 1940s
Gillian Frank Houston’s Proposition 1 bathroom ordinance. What does it mean to you? Any man at any time could enter a woman’s bathroom simply by claiming to be a woman that day. No one is exempt. Even registered sex offenders could follow women or young girls into the bathroom and […]