Over here at Private Parts Unknown, we celebrate the shit out of LGBT History Month. One of us is bi, one of us has long considered herself straight-ish but is feeling queerer by the year, and both of us are lucky to get to be our full, ever-evolving selves publicly. We want that for every LGBTQ person on earth.
October marks a month-long celebration of the history, contributions, and achievements of this extraordinary community, so we wanted to put the spotlight on a couple of notable LGBTQ+ folks you should know!
LGBT History Month was founded by Missouri high school teacher Rodney Wilson in 1994. He was also the first openly gay public school teacher in their state. Wilson came out to his history class during a lesson about the Holocaust. He explained that if he had lived in Germany during World War II, he likely would have been imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis for being gay. What began as a history lesson evolved into a much broader mission to teach young people about gay history. Inspired by Womenโs History Month and Black History Month, he worked with national organizations to develop a gay-friendly curriculum for educators.
Marsha โPay it No Mindโ Johnson (1945-1992) was a Black transgender activist at the forefront of pivotal moments in the movement.ย She was a force behind the Stonewall Riots, co-founded the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), and helped lead the surrounding activism that sparked a new phase of the LGBTQ+ movement in 1969. She was also unapologetically herself โ an icon, a sex worker, a muse, a victim, and a revolutionary.
Follow one of our favorite Instagram accounts, @LGBT_history, for more inspirational photos, stories, and celebration.
This month, we encourage you to check out our LGBTQ+ Private Parts Unknown episode playlist, where we highlight our past guests who are out and proud around the world!
Transitioning During a Pandemic with Jaclyn Moore โฌ๏ธ
Lastly, our recent episode with Jaclyn Moore is more timely and vital than ever! Jaclyn is a talented TV writer, showrunner, and former sex worker who we absolutely adore. We discuss her experience transitioning during the pandemic, the New Orleans queer scene (which sheโs exploring thanks to her new job co-showrunning Peacockโs newย Queer as Folkย reboot!), her previous career as a sex worker, how sex work allowed her to explore her sexuality and gave her freedom to pursue marking art, and more.
Recently, Jaclyn has been publicly critical of Netflix and Dave Chappelle for the dangerous and transphobic rhetoric in his latest comedy special. While Jaclynโs episode was recorded before the controversy, we talk a lot about the transphobia sheโs experienced on her journey thus far. Check out this Variety article for an interview with Jaclyn on why she wonโt be working with the streamer they stop โpromoting and profiting from dangerous transphobic content.โ
xo Cokes & Sof