America Moved On From Its Gay-Rights Moment—And Left a Legal Mess Behind
Half a decade after the Supreme Court’s same-sex-marriage decision, the justices and Congress are still trying to figure out what federal law should say about LGBTQ rights.
The LGBTQ Health Clinic That Faced a Dark Truth About the AIDS Crisis
America has rarely treated all people with HIV equally.
How Schools Reinvigorated the Stonewall Revolution
Since the creation of high-school LGBTQ clubs, their mere existence has made life easier for queer youth.
The Unfulfilled Promise of LGBTQ Rights in South Africa
The country has some of the most progressive laws in the world, but refugees fleeing homophobia elsewhere often find a country that is morally conservative, hostile, and profoundly violent.
How the Memory of Stonewall Lives On in a Meme
The question “Who threw the first brick?” has become a way to celebrate gay icons and to inject joy into a sobering historical moment.
Creating the First Visual History of Queer Life Before Stonewall
Making a landmark documentary about LGBTQ Americans before 1969 meant digging through countless archives to find traces of a forgotten subculture.
How Stonewall Reversed a Long History of Justifying Police Surveillance
Entrapment schemes targeting gay men continue across the country, but the Stonewall resistance changed their meaning.
How One Mom Changed Other Parents’ Minds About Their Children’s Sexuality
For nearly 40 years, Paulette Goodman has been helping people accept their LGBTQ children.
The Struggle for Gay Rights Is Over
For those born into a form of adversity, sometimes the hardest thing to do is admitting that they’ve won.
Before Stonewall, There Was a Bookstore
Networks of activists transformed Stonewall from an isolated event into a turning point in the struggle for gay power.
Tracing the Internal Queer Revolution
Riots and parades have made LGBTQ people visible. But a new anthology of writings from before, during, and after Stonewall shows the inward changes as more essential.
The Forgotten History of Gay Entrapment
Routine arrests were the linchpin of a social system intended to humiliate LGBTQ people.
Celebrating My (Gay) Divorce
Marriage equality means divorce equality—and I feel pride, as well as sadness, about my split from my husband.
The Photographer Who Captured 20th-Century Queer Life
Joan E. Biren’s images from the ’70s and ’80s—which appear in the new exhibit “Art After Stonewall”—reflect an effort to document and encourage lesbian love.
Cruising in the Age of Consent
Gay men once developed codes to ensure safety in the hunt for sex. Can they help #MeToo do the same?
The Queasy Double Message of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Need to Calm Down’
The singer’s pro-gay single strangely compares her struggles with fame to more dangerous kinds of persecution.
The British Empire's Homophobia Lives On in Former Colonies
Activists argue it is homophobia, not homosexuality, that has been imported from the West.
The Three-Letter Word That Triggered a Revolution
Fifty-five years ago, a congressman made a single addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that changed everything.
Why Drag Is the Ultimate Retort to Trump
RuPaul versus the White House
How Gay Marriage Became a Constitutional Right
The untold story of the improbable campaign that finally tipped the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Gay Guide to Wedded Bliss
Research finds that same-sex unions are happier than heterosexual marriages. What can gay and lesbian couples teach straight ones about living in harmony?
An Amazing 1969 Account of the Stonewall Uprising
Despite progress, the circumstances that gave rise to the rebellion that began the contemporary gay rights movement haven't changed as much as we might think.