Holes In History- the search to fill the gaps of Queer history

I hear all too often that queer history is fragmented, which is undoubtably true. Generally speaking, there are holes in history. One could argue that there are holes in every facet of history, thinking specifically to greek history, chinca/o history, women's history, middle class history and especially history before the photograph. History is the victim of time, which ironically is the very element that creates history. So is queer history too fragmented to be pieced together, or have we not put in the work? Teasing the queer out of history creates our history.

The archivist I work with mentioned an equally interesting point. She emphasized looking for the other side of queer history, those working against queer people, performing medical treatments and experiments and other variations of queer bigots. Those stories inform the struggle of queer culture and are more likely to be the victim of time.

The next time you hear that queer history is fragmented, ask them if they have ever been in their local archive? If they know any historically queer figure in their town. Most likely they will say no; however, if they are able minded and know an answer to any one of these questions ask them to write about it. Start a blog, make a Facebook post, or even share the information on the new QueerWiki.

We have a history, there are tools to write, we just need to put in the time.