Gay men have existed for thousands of years

When we think about gay history, there is a tendency to jump directly from ancient Rome (circa 400 CE) to Stonewall in the summer of 1969.  We largely ignore the 1600 years between the two, despite ample evidence of gay people not just existing, but living openly in many parts of the world.  

When we look at this time in history, we focus on Europe where homosexuality was condemned by religious leaders and living as openly gay people was punishable by death, and we were frequently murdered in horrible ways.  Under this barbaric religious rule, we had no choice but to hide and suppress our true selves.  Because we hid it's easy to pretend we didn't exist.  But that's just not true.

For the past several years, I've subscribed to a daily email from Gay Wisdom.  Each day, I get to read the stories of the GLBT people who came before us. 

Take time to read about our gay ancestors, and you'll realize we aren't new to the world.  We've been part of the fabric of society since the dawn of recorded history -- we've just recently been given permission to come out of the shadows and be part of it once again.


Today's quote comes from Daniel Hall, who describes himself as a gay man (cis), out since 1983. Quaker, artist, sailor, motorcyclist.