Books to Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month

From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets on All in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soap to behind-the-scenes activism on the set of The Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash and Will & Grace’s mixed reception to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America.

In Stonewall, renowned historian and activist Martin Duberman tells the full story of this pivotal moment in history. With riveting narrative skill, he re-creates those revolutionary, sweltering nights in vivid detail through the lives of six people who were drawn into the struggle for LGBTQ rights. Their stories combine to form an unforgettable portrait of the repression that led up to the riots, which culminates when they triumphantly participate in the first gay rights march of 1970, the roots of today’s pride marches.

The riveting story of the conflict over same-sex marriage in the United States—the most significant civil rights breakthrough of the new millennium. This richly detailed narrative follows the coast-to-coast conflict through courtrooms and war rooms, bedrooms and boardrooms, to shed light on every aspect of a political and legal controversy that divided Americans like no other. Following a cast of characters that includes those who sought their own right to wed, those who fought to protect the traditional definition of marriage, and those who changed their minds about it, The Engagement is certain to become a seminal book on the modern culture wars.

Intellectually dynamic and endlessly provocative, this is more than a “who’s who” of queer history: it is a narrative that radically challenges how we understand American history. Drawing upon primary documents, literature, and cultural histories, scholar and activist Michael Bronski charts the breadth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from 1492 to the present, a testament to how the LGBTQ+ experience has profoundly shaped American culture and history.

Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She’s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, and begins dating women—soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach. But before long, trouble arrives. Painful secrets rear their heads; jobs go off the rails; evictions loom. Sneha struggles to be truly close and open with anybody, even as her friendships deepen, even as she throws herself headlong into a dizzying romance with Marina. It’s then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all.

Katie Daniels is a recent Kentucky transplant to New York reeling from a recent breakup with her fiancé. She has little idea what to expect when Cassidy Price enters her life—Cassidy’s sexy, self-assured, and wearing a men’s suit. When straight-laced Katie finds herself in a lesbian dive bar frequented by Cassidy, unexpected sparks fly, and life may never be the same for either woman.

In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. This commemorative edition includes a new foreword by Lorde-scholar and poet Cheryl Clarke, who celebrates the ways in which Lorde’s philosophies resonate more than twenty years after they were first published.

At just 26, Sarah McBride became the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention when she appeared at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. For years, Sarah struggled with her identity and the decision to come out. After making the decision to come out publicly, she found acceptance, success, and ultimately a love that was tragically cut short. Sarah’s story is a moving chronicle of love and loss.

Regina Gottlieb is a bisexual graduate student, who was warned about Professor Nicholas Brodeur long before arriving at the university where he teaches. He’s condemned on the walls of the women’s restroom, and enjoys films by Roman Polanski. But no one has warned Regina about his exceptional physical beauty—or his charismatic, volatile wife. My Education is the story of Regina’s growing understanding of her sexual, intellectual, and emotional lives.

On the streets of the Bronx, Aaron Soto has learned that proving his masculinity is essential to survival. But then he meets Thomas, who challenges everything Aaron thought he knew about himself. All the while, an organization called the Leteo Institute appears in the neighborhood, promising to erase the memories of those who wish to forget their traumatic pasts. Fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will love this part love story, part sci-fi fantasy that gets at the core of race, class, and sexuality in modern America.

Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony.

An acclaimed poet reclaims her origin story as the queer daughter of a Muslim Nigerian immigrant and a Black American visual artist in this groundbreaking memoir, combining lyrical prose, biting criticism, and haunting visuals. A unique combination of gripping memoir and Afrofuturist thought, in The Black Period, Hafizah manages to sidestep shame, confront disability, embrace forgiveness, and emerge from the erasures America imposes to exist proudly and unabashedly as herself.

Told from the perspective of a character named A, this young adult novel contemplates gender fluidity in all its complexity, with a fantastical twist. Every morning, A wakes up in a different body, with no control over this phenomenon and no warning of whose body it will be. A makes sure never to be noticed or get too involved with the host body’s life, until A wakes up in a boy named Justin’s body and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. Now that A feels affection for someone, the quest of finding one body to inhabit becomes A’s only wish.

Here, queer prospective parents will find sound advice for navigating complex medical, social and financial decisions. Trusted fertility midwife Kristin Kali walks you through the baby-making process: creating a timeline; fertile health for every body; preconception tests; identifying ovulation; donors, gamete banks, and surrogacy; methods of insemination including IUI, IVF and reciprocal IVF; navigating early pregnancy; and preparing for infant feeding, including lactation induction for trans women and nongestational parents.

Juliet Milagros Palante is a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx. Only, she’s not so closeted anymore. Not after coming out to her family the night before flying to Portland, Oregon, to intern with her favorite feminist writer. In a summer bursting with queer brown dance parties, a sexy fling with a motorcycling librarian, and intense explorations of race and identity, Juliet learns what it means to come out–to the world, to her family, to herself.

Compiled by journalist Coco Romack, this collection of stirring words is intended to enlighten, prompt change, provide encouragement, and deepen readers’ commitment to the movement. Celebrating activism, focusing on solutions, and avoiding apathy and pessimism, this book is an inspiration and a call to action. The back matter includes a brief bio for each person quoted to provide context for their life and work. Partial proceeds to benefit The Ali Forney Center.

What does nonbinary really mean? What is gender nonconforming? And isn’t they a plural pronoun? In this charming and disarming guide, a real-life they-using genderqueer writer unpacks all your burning questions in a fun, visual way.  Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, always human, this gender-friendly primer will get you up to speed. It’s about more than just bathrooms and pronouns–this is about gender expression and the freedom to choose how to identify.