Category: LGBT Studies

5 Books to Read After LGBTQ+ History Month

Although LGBTQ+ History Month—an annual month-long (Oct 1-Oct 31, 2023) celebration of the history, culture, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community—is coming to an end, we’ve curated a list of books to add to your bookshelf so you can celebrate LGBTQ+ history all year long. You can also browse a list of all of our LGBTQ+ books on our website.… Continue Reading 5 Books to Read After LGBTQ+ History Month

The Reminiscences of a One-Hundred-and-One-Year-Old Man

The following is a guest blog post by Alison Li, author of Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution, which is available now wherever books are sold. When I was debating whether to write a biography of Dr. Harry Benjamin (1885-1986), several questions loomed large. Benjamin, a German-American physician, is best… Continue Reading The Reminiscences of a One-Hundred-and-One-Year-Old Man

Black “Lady Lovers” and the Search for Queer Community

The following is a guest post by Cookie Woolner, author of The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire before Stonewall which is now available wherever books are sold. Extraordinary in its scope and inventiveness to focus on their intimate lives . . . . Woolner’s beautiful prose and writing style makes this book a delight to read. Academics… Continue Reading Black “Lady Lovers” and the Search for Queer Community

New Books This Week

It’s our favorite day of the week: New Books Tuesday! Today we’re excited to share four new books which are now available wherever books are sold. Enjoy this weeks new books or check out our Hot Off the Press page to see everything new this month. Plus, if you want updates in your inbox every month on new titles and… Continue Reading New Books This Week

Forthcoming LGBTQ+ Studies Books

Although Pride month is coming to end, we encourage you to read diversely and support queer authors and literature all year round. In this reading list we’re highlighting some of our LGBTQ+ studies coming out later this year that we recommend adding to your shelf. The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire before Stonewall by Cookie Woolner September… Continue Reading Forthcoming LGBTQ+ Studies Books

Magic Tricks: An Excerpt from “Living Queer History”

The following is an excerpt from Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City by Gregory Samantha Rosenthal. Living Queer History tells the story of an LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, a small city on the edge of Appalachia. Interweaving  historical analysis, theory, and memoir, Gregory Samantha Rosenthal tells the story of their own journey—coming out and transitioning as… Continue Reading Magic Tricks: An Excerpt from “Living Queer History”

Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists

The following is an excerpt from Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists: Queer Women in the Urban South by La Shonda Mims, available wherever books are sold. Writing candidly about her struggles to understand sexuality, Carson McCullers identified herself as a sexual invert. She sought inspiration in the work of sexologist Havelock Ellis, who was active in an early twentieth-century community of… Continue Reading Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists

Samantha Rosenthal on Living Queer History

In case you missed last week’s online discussion, presented as part of the Shelf Life series of virtual events from the Virginia Festival of the Book, a program of Virginia Humanities: Samantha Rosenthal discussed Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City and the LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, that their book documents and celebrates. Interweaving historical analysis,… Continue Reading Samantha Rosenthal on Living Queer History

Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Ann Bingham)

Happy Women’s History Month! In celebration of this historical month, we’ll be sharing reading lists curated by our staff featuring all authors who identify as women. Today we’re sharing a list from our Exhibits and Awards Manager Ann Bingham. Click here to see the previously shared lists and learn more about how Women’s History Month came about. If you’re interested in purchasing any of… Continue Reading Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Ann Bingham)

Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Andreina Fernandez)

Happy Women’s History Month! Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In… Continue Reading Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Andreina Fernandez)

Author of Living Queer History Samantha Rosenthal featured on Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! Series

Last month, Samantha Rosenthal, author of Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City, spoke with Dr. Aleia M. Brown for Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! series. Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and… Continue Reading Author of Living Queer History Samantha Rosenthal featured on Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! Series

Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Biographies

In celebration of Black History Month, we’ve chosen to publish a new reading list every week featuring only Black authors. The first reading list covered Black Resistance, the second covered the Black American experience and this week’s reading list centers biographies; telling the stories of a few vastly different lives lived under the Black identity umbrella. As mentioned in the… Continue Reading Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Biographies

Steel Closets: Setting The Scene

The following is an excerpt from Anne Balay’s Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers. Even as substantial legal and social victories are being celebrated within the gay rights movement, much of working-class America still exists outside the current narratives of gay liberation. In Steel Closets, Anne Balay draws on oral history interviews with forty gay, lesbian, and transgender… Continue Reading Steel Closets: Setting The Scene

Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. Fannie Lou Hamer December marks the annual celebration of Universal Human Rights Month. The observance of this month began in 1948 when the U.N. wrote a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document was created after World War II and was used to “properly define what human rights would be protected universally”.… Continue Reading Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Pauli Murray: For All My Bravado, Deeply Engrained Notions of Respectability Filled Me With Distress, 1926 – 1940

Recently Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby was selected for North Carolina Reads, North Carolina Humanities’ statewide book club for 2022 that features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of North Carolina. To celebrate this accomplishment, we’ve decided to share an excerpt from this book. The Rev. Dr.… Continue Reading Pauli Murray: For All My Bravado, Deeply Engrained Notions of Respectability Filled Me With Distress, 1926 – 1940

UNC Libraries’ Off The Shelf Author Talk with Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal

Last month, Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal, author of Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City, was featured on UNC Libraries’ Off the Shelf series. Off the Shelf is a collaboration between the University Libraries and UNC Press to present new works on racial and social justice in our history and our world. Queer history is a living practice. Talk to… Continue Reading UNC Libraries’ Off The Shelf Author Talk with Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal

Workers’ Rights: A Reading List

Yesterday was Labor Day, “a federal holiday that recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.” The very first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882, but, as many of you may know, we’re still fighting for a living wage for all, better working conditions and effective, well-protected workers’ rights. Below are some recommended… Continue Reading Workers’ Rights: A Reading List

New Orleans, A Resilient People: A Reading List

To help the victims of Hurricane Ida, visit these links to learn more about the local organizations who need your financial support in serving those affected: How to Help Hurricane Ida Victims Right Now Want to donate or volunteer to assist those affected by Hurricane Ida? Here’s how to help If you’ve been keeping up with the national news, you… Continue Reading New Orleans, A Resilient People: A Reading List

UNC Press Author Dr. Heather Berg in Conversation with femi babylon, Cassandra Troy, Kathi Weeks and Connor Habib

Hosted by Seattle-based community Red May (“Your one month vacation from capitalism”), Dr. Heather Berg, author of Porn Work: Sex, Labor, and Late Capitalism, spoke on a panel recently about anti-work politics, sex work and some other great topics. Next Tuesday, catch Heather at Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! Work, Inequality, Gender, and Capitalism in Modern America Panel. Click here… Continue Reading UNC Press Author Dr. Heather Berg in Conversation with femi babylon, Cassandra Troy, Kathi Weeks and Connor Habib

Pauli Murray: A Child of Destiny or A Nobody Without Identity, 1910–1926

To further celebrate Pride Month, the following is an excerpt from Troy R. Saxby’s Pauli Murray: A Personal And Political Life. This book is one of five titles from a reading list we created in commemoration of Pride Month; view the entire reading list here. Pauli Murray long believed that she was born on November 20, 1910, and named Anna Pauline Murray.… Continue Reading Pauli Murray: A Child of Destiny or A Nobody Without Identity, 1910–1926