In 1994, the editor of the quarterly magazine of the Missouri Historical Society (MHS), then called Gateway Heritage, had to push hard to bring to publication an article I had written about Rev. Carol Cureton, the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, and the impact the twenty-seven-year-old out lesbian and the nascent “homosexual church”…
History
St. Louis LGBTQ History: MCC, Our World Too, Magnolia’s, and John D’Emilio
By Rodney Wilson I live in the past as much as I live in the present, and often I’m more comfortable in an imaginary conversation with the dead than when engaging with the living. In visiting the physical spaces that once sheltered people, dreams, movements, and institutions, I exchange the imagined, or the only read…
Roast Weekend: Property Researcher Michael McKinley’s Complete History on The Grey Fox Site
Michael McKinley, who will roast Grey Fox Pub tomorrow as Erica Foxx, works for the St. Louis Public Library and scours public records to learn about city properties. The following is his report on the Grey Fox site from 1893 to 2020. 3501-3503 South Spring Avenue SPRING AVENUE (N-S). Took its name from a…
The 10 Most Influential People in LGBTQ+ St. Louis in 2024
Meet this year’s Out in STL Awards honorees
Missouri History Museum Illuminates St. Louis’ LGBTQ+ History in Gateway to Pride Exhibit
It’s the museum’s first-ever exhibition dedicated to celebrating the history and contributions of LGBTQ+ St. Louisans.
A History of Pride in St. Louis
The year after Stonewall in 1970, what we now call Pride events began taking place across America. While St. Louis did not host its first Pride until 1980, many foundational events paved the way for modern era Pride celebrations across the St. Louis region. In 1977 and 1978, local gay rights rallies were held in…
Mid-20th Century LGBTQ History Revealed in Newly Released Tell-All Memoir — ‘Farm Boy, City Girl: From Gene to Miss Gina’
ST. LOUIS, May 27, 2020 – MiRiona Publishing and author John “Gene” E. Dawson recently announced the official release of his historic memoir, “Farm Boy, City Girl: From Gene to Miss Gina.” The book details Gene’s life growing up in Depression-era Iowa in a poor farming Irish-Catholic family and his adult years spent living on…
Looking Forward, Looking Back: LGBTQ History in St. Louis
It’s important to remember that Pride, social highlight and party extraordinaire that it’s become, started with a riot. Half a century ago the LGBT community (with trans women of color right up front) had enough of institutionalized bigotry and fought back hard against a pointless police raid at the Stonewall Inn. Our community comes together…
Rudis: Not Your Dad’s Leather Club
“More leather cycles through here in a week than most people will see in ten lifetimes,” says Thom Glowski as he looks around the workshop in the basement of the home he and his husband share in south city. Home to his business, LDD Leather Works, the workshop is where the self-taught leather maker creates…
True Tales of Transgender Aging
Too often, the narrative on transgender people is simplistic: it either focuses on the very real tragedies of bigotry and hate-based violence, or it is entirely youth-focused. But there’s a whole cohort of trans people who are facing another obstacle, one that comes for everyone eventually: age. Photographer Jess T. Dugan and her partner, professor…
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