Midwestern Queer History Bibliography
“Eastern South Dakota might seem to be the last place on earth to locate a likely queer history. Queer historiography, fortunately, has proven so prolific, so popular an academic pursuit, it is seemingly reaching the last place on earth for identifying a burgeoning, historical LGBTQ+ community.”
- Adam Sonstegard, "Outing the Midwestern 'Bachers' of Garland's A Little Norsk," Midwest Quarterly 62, no. 1 (fall 2020): 27, ProQuest.
While this bibliography continues to grow and is a living document, the bulk of it was organized for and discussed in the presentation "Midwestern Queer History in Practice," presented at the Midwestern History Association conference at Miami University (Ohio) in 2026. Its organization follows the periods laid out in that presentation, and each period includes historical context also originating from it. For alternative historiographies, consider the book review "Midwestern History is Out of the Closet" by Matthew Pehl (Middle West Review 6, no. 2, spring 2020) and the opening article of "Queering the Middle" (a special issue of GLQ published in 2014) written by Martin F. Manalansan IV, Chantal Nadeau, Richard T. Rodríguez, and Siobhan B. Somerville."Midwest" includes the American states Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; border communities (such as the Ozarks); and the historical and current lands of Indigenous people contained within these borders. Some works focus on histories of places with firm boundaries, such as cities and states, others on imagined places with fluid boundaries, such as "the heartland." This bibliography does not include the studies of the West that mention but do not specifically examine Midwestern locales, although works like Nayan Shah's Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality, and the Law in the North American West and Peter Boag's Re-dressing America's Frontier Past (both University of California Press, 2011) may still be useful when developing a framework for studying this region.In lieu of annotations, this bibliography associates simple keywords with each citation. There are five categories of keywords: Region, Affiliation (author), Affiliation (publisher), Subject, and Format. Region refers to any geographical unit smaller than the entire region, starting with state and then shrinking in scale (ex. North Dakota, Grand Forks). Affiliation (author) refers to the identity of the author, whether they identify themselves with a college, university, or other academic institution (ex. Washington University librarian, or "Academic, Washington University"); a public history institution (ex. public historian at the Minnesota Historical Society, or "Public, Minnesota Historical Society"); or outside of these institutions, listed as "Community." Affiliation (publisher) is similar, although "Community" becomes "Independent" (ex. "Independent, Arcadia Publishing"). Subject refers to a limited list of other major topics works discuss: critical geography (from rural to urban and suburban), race, student activism, political history, legal history, and queer media. That list as their respective keywords is: Geography, Race, Students, Political, Legal, Media. Format refers to what form works take, from books and articles in academic and public history journals to capstones and digital projects.This bibliography and the historiography represented here are not prescriptive. Instead, using a large corpus, this is a demonstration of one of many ways to interpret the wealth of existing work on Midwestern queer history.
“[We’re] moving beyond ‘The Midwest is absent, we have to center the Midwest in some way’ into ‘What else can we say in this moment? What’s the range of scholarship we can engage with and think about people’s lived experiences across the Midwest?’”
- Clare Forstie, “Queer Histories of the Midwest—Panel Debrief,” JAH Podcast, episode 25 (August 12, 2025): 4:30–5:30.
Nascent methods and narratives, 1989–1999
During this time, scholars attempted to conceptualize gay and lesbian (GL) Midwest, applying ethnographic methods to study contemporary and historical GL life in the region. University presses published case studies by Joseph P. Goodwin (More Man Than You'll Ever Be! Gay Folklore and Acculturation in Middle America, Indiana University Press, 1989) and Jerry Lee Kramer ("Bachelor Farmers and Spinsters: Gay and Lesbian Identities and Communities in Rural North Dakota," in Mapping Desire, Routledge, 1995) as well as collections of interviews edited by Karen Osborne and William Spurlin (Reclaiming the Heartland: Lesbian and Gay Voices from the Midwest, University of Minnesota Press, 1995) and Will Fellows (Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest, University of Wisconsin Press, 1997).One notable detractor of this regional turn in GL studies was queer historian Robert J. Corber. In his book review "Queer Regionalism," which discussed Reclaiming the Heartland and Farm Boys alongside two other works, he commented that the "most striking about Southern and Midwestern lesbian and gay experience is how similar it is to lesbian and gay experience elsewhere in the nation," arguing that authors had not convincingly made the case that region mattered (American Literary History 11, no. 2 (summer 1999): 394).
| Citation (CMOS 18, NB) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Drexel, Allen. “Before Paris Burned: Race, Class, and Male Homosexuality on the Chicago South Side, 1935–1960.” In Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories, edited by Brett Beemyn. Routledge, 1997. | Region: Illinois, Chicago, South Side ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Dartmouth College ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Subject: Race ; Format: Book, chapter |
| Johnson, David K. “The Kids of Fairytown: Gay Male Culture on Chicago's Near North Side in the 1930s.” In Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories, edited by Brett Beemyn. Routledge, 1997. | Region: Illinois, Chicago, Near North Side ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Northwestern University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Format: Book, chapter |
| Retzloff, Tim. “Cars and Bars: Assembling Gay Men in Postwar Flint, Michigan.” In Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories, edited by Brett Beemyn. Routledge, 1997. | Region: Michigan, Flint ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Format: Book, chapter |
| Thorpe, Roey. “The Changing Face of Lesbian Bars in Detroit 1938–1965.” In Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories, edited by Brett Beemyn. Routledge, 1997. | Region: Michigan, Detroit ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Format: Book, chapter |
Universities at the center, 2000–2012
In the 2000s, universities served as the center of knowledge production and sharing around Midwestern queer history. Student projects emerged, including those investigating home universities in the Midwest as sites of queer history via LGBT student centers (ex. Clink, Bullimore) and bringing local community histories into academia (ex. Drew). Two student projects became enduring digital exhibits on OutHistory.org: Tristian Cabello's "Queer Bronzeville" and Susan Stryker's students' "The Midwest's 'Gay Mecca.'" And while museums and independent presses began to publish local queer histories, university presses ultimately published pivotal historic texts written by community members: Chicago Whispers by St. Sukie de la Croix (University of Wisconsin Press, 2012) and Land of 10,000 Loves by Stewart Van Cleve (University of Minnesota Press, 2012).
| Citation (CMOS 18, NB) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Clink, Kellian Donna. “A History of the Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Students on the Campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato.” EdS thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2005. Cornerstone. | Region: Minnesota, Mankato ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Minnesota State University, Mankato ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Minnesota State University, Mankato ; Subject: Students ; Format: Capstone |
| Bullimore, Phillip James. “Pressure from All Sides: A Comparative History of the Issues and Policies Related to the Gay and Lesbian Student Populations of The Ohio State University and The University of Michigan, 1971 to 1994.” Senior honors thesis, The Ohio State University, 2006. Knowledge Bank. | Region: Michigan, Ann Arbor ; Region: Ohio, Columbus ; Affiliation (author): Academic, The Ohio State University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, The Ohio State University ; Subject: Students ; Format: Capstone |
| Baim, Tracy, editor. Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community. Agate Surrey, 2008. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Agate ; Subject: Race, Black ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Book |
| Cabello, Tristan. “Queer Bronzeville, 1900–1985.” OutHistory.org, 2008. outhistory.org/exhibits/show/queer-bronzeville. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Northwestern University ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, OutHistory.org ; Subject: Race, Black ; Format: Website |
| Hanson, Dan C. History of the Minnesota Gay and Lesbian Legal Assistance (MnGALLA). Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation, 2008. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Community, lawyer ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Friends of the Bill of the Rights Foundation ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Book |
| Rose, Katrina C. “Is the Renaissance Still Alive in Michigan? Or Just Extrinsic? Transsexuals’ Rights After National Pride at Work.” Ohio Northern University Law Review 35 (2009): 107–154. | Region: Michigan ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Iowa ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Ohio Northern University ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Drew, Michael. “A Milwaukee Tradition: A Comparative History of the Gay People's Union and the City Club of Milwaukee.” Paper, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2010. MINDS@UW. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire ; Subject: Media ; Format: Capstone |
| Pierce, Jennifer L., editor. Queer Twin Cities: Twin Cities GLBT Oral History Project. University of Minnesota Press, 2010. | Region: Minnesota, Twin Cities ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Minnesota ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Minnesota ; Format: Book |
| Rottman, Andrea. “Passing Gay Rights in Wisconsin, 1967–1983.” MA thesis, Freie Universität Berlin, 2010. Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. | Region: Wisconsin ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Freie Universität Berlin ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Freie Universität Berlin ; Subject: Political ; Format: Capstone |
| Susan Stryker’s students. “The Midwest's ‘Queer Mecca’: 40 Years of GLBTQ History in Bloomington, Indiana, 1969–2009.” OutHistory.org, 2010. outhistory.org/exhibits/show/bloomington/bloomingtonintro. | Region: Indiana, Bloomington ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Indiana University Bloomington ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Indiana University Bloomington ; Format: Website |
| Austin, Jill and Jennifer Brier, editors. Out in Chicago: LGBT History at the Crossroads. Chicago History Museum, 2011. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Public, Chicago History Museum ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Chicago History Museum ; Format: Book |
| Smith, Jason. “Gay Pride v. the City of Minneapolis: The Gay Pride Block Party Case.” Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation, 2011. | Region: Minnesota, Minneapolis ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Book |
| De la Croix, St. Sukie. Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall. University of Wisconsin Press, 2012. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Wisconsin ; Format: Book |
| Passet, Joanne E. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Gay and Lesbian Books in Midwestern Public Libraries, 1900–1969.” Library Trends 60, no. 4 (spring 2012): 749–64. IDEALS. | Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic ; Subject: Media ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Van Cleve, Stewart. Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, 2012. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Minnesota ; Format: Book |
New methods and forms, 2013–2018
During this period, scholars en masse began to interrogate norms about gender, sexuality, and place in the history of the Midwest. By "centering" and "queering" the Midwest in doing scholarship, many scholars challenged the idea that Middle America is an inherently cisheterosexual region, one that would not be receptive to emerging marriage equality, for example. Scholars also challenged metronormativity, often aligning the greater Midwest with rurality.Authors also decentered standard university-based publishing and networks during this period. Works on this topic written by graduate students started to appear in local history journals, and digital projects by academics that solicited feedback from the public emerged, most notably "Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis."
| Citation (CMOS 18, NB) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Hewetson, Dick. History of the Gay Movement in Minnesota and the Role of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation, 2013. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Community, activist ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
| Johnson, Colin R. Just Queer Folks: Gender and Sexuality in Rural America. Temple University Press, 2013. | Region: Ohio, Mansfield ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Indiana University Bloomington ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Temple University ; Subject: Geography, rural ; Format: Book |
| Herring, Scott. "'Hixploitation' Cinema, Regional Drive-ins, and the Cultural Emergence of a Queer New Right." Queering the Middle, GLQ 20 (2014): 95–113. | Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Duke University ; Subject: Media ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Rowe, Carolyn Joyce. "Michigan Womyn's Musical Festival: Place Making and the Queer Persistance of Feminism." PhD dissertation, University of British Columbia, 2014. Open Collections. | Region: Michigan, Oceana County ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of British Columbia ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of British Columbia ; Format: Capstone |
| Schroeder, Christopher G. "(Un)holy Toledo: Intersectionality, Interdependence, and Neighborhood (Trans)formation in Toledo, Ohio." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 104, no. 1 (2014): 166–81. | Region: Ohio, Toledo ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Subject: Geography, urban ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Skidmore, Emily. "Ralph Kerwineo's Queer Body: Narrating the Scales of Social Membership in the Early Twentieth Century." GLQ 20 (2014): 41–74. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Academic, DePaul University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Duke University ; Subject: Race, Latin ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Syrett, Nicholas L. “Mobility, Circulation, and Correspondence: Queer White Men in the Midcentury Midwest.” Queering the Middle, GLQ 20 (2014): 75–94. | Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Duke University ; Subject: Race, critical whiteness ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Torres, Lourdes. “Compañeras in the Middle: Toward a History of Latina Lesbian Organizing in Chicago.” Queering the Middle, GLQ 20 (2014): 141–66. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Duke University ; Subject: Race, Latin ; Subject: Geography, urban ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Bibus, Beth. “Battleground State: Minnesota.” In Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Civil Rights: A Public Policy Agenda for Uniting a Divided America, edited by Wallace Swan. Routledge, 2015. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Public ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Taylor & Francis ; Subject: Legal ; Subject: Political ;Format: Book, chapter |
| Denby, Eric. “Fighting for Inclusion: The Origin of Gay Liberation at the University of Michigan.” MA thesis, Western Michigan University, 2015. ScholarWorks. | Region: Michigan, Ann Arbor ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Western Michigan University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Western Michigan University ; Subject: Students ;Format: Capstone |
| Hommerding, Christopher. “’As Gay as Any Gypsy Caravan’: Grant Wood and the Queer Pastoral at the Stone City Art Colony.” The Annals of Iowa 73 (fall 2015): 378–412. | Region: Iowa, Stone City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, State Historical Society of Iowa ;Format: Article, public history |
| Neal, Autumn. “Homosexuality in the Heartland: Alternative Print Media from 1970s Kansas City.” Lucerna: Honors Undergraduate Journal 10 (2015): 63–81. MOSpace. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Subject: Media ; Format: Article, undergraduate journal |
| Retzloff, Tim. “The Association of (Gay) Suburban People.” Places, April 2015. placesjournal.org/article/the-association-of-gay-suburban-people | Region: Michigan, Detroit area ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Michigan State University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Public ; Subject: Geography, urban, suburban ; Format: Article, academic journal ; Format: Digital |
| Rottmann, Andrea. “God Loves Them As They Are: How Religion Helped Pass Gay Rights in Wisconsin.” Wisconsin Magazine of History 99, no. 2 (winter 2015): 2–13. | Region: Wisconsin ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Michigan ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Subject: Political ; Format: Article, public history |
| Scharlau, Kevin. “Navigating Change in the Homophile Heartland: Kansas City's Phoenix Society and the Early Gay Rights Movement, 1966–1971.” Missouri Historical Review 109, no. 4 (July 2015): 234–53. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, State Historical Society of Missouri ; Subject: Political ; Format: Article, public history |
| Witosky, Tom and Marc Hansen. Equal Before the Law: How Iowa Led Americans to Marriage Equality. University of Iowa Press, 2015. | Region: Iowa ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Iowa ; Subject: Political ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Book |
| Scharlau, Kevin. “Duplicity: The University of Missouri Confronts Gay Lib, 1971–8.” Thesis, 2016. GLAMA. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Subject: Political ; Subject: Legal ; Subject: Students ; Format: Capstone |
| Seyforth, Scott C and Nichole Barnes. “’In People’s Faces for Lesbian and Gay Rights’: Stories of Activism in Madison, Wisconsin, 1970 to 1990.” The Oral History Review 43, no. 1 (2016): 81–97. | Region: Wisconsin, Madison ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic ; Subject: Political ; Subject: Students ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Stewart-Winter, Timothy. Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Pennsylvania ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
| Takach, Mikhail. LGBT Milwaukee. Arcadia Publishing, 2016. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Arcadia Publishing ; Format: Book |
| Wineland, Ben. “Then and Now: The Origins and Development of the Gay Community in South Bend.” Undergraduate Research Journal of History 6 (2016): 69–79. | Region: Indiana, South Bend ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Indiana University South Bend ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Indiana University South Bend ; Format: Article, undergraduate journal |
| Cantwell, Christopher D., Stuart Hinds, Kathryn B. Carpenter, Taylor C. Bye, Samantha Bradfield, Allie Donnell, Avery Goetz, Samantha Hollingsworth, David Jenkins, Tyler Johnson, Gaile Juknevicius, Gaetano Mondello, Maria Olson, Leah Palmer, Kevin Ploth, and Jennifer Tufts, curators. “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights.” UMKC WordPress, 2017. info.umkc.edu/makinghistory. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Format: Digital |
| Esparza, René. “From Vice to Nice: Race, Sex, and the Gentrification of AIDS.” PhD thesis, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2017. | Region: Minnesota, Minneapolis ; Region: Minnesota, St. Paul ; Region: Minnesota, Twin Cities ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities ; Subject: Race ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Capstone |
| Friedman, Andrea and Miranda Rectenwald, project leads. “Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis.” Washington University Libraries, 2017. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9675a82d3d564c80b950361e709dff5e | Region: Missouri, St. Louis ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Washington University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Washington University ; Subject: Race ; Subject: Geography ; Format: Digital |
| Hines, Heather. “The LGBT Community Responds: The Lavender Scare and the Creation of Midwestern Gay and Lesbian Publications.” MA thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2017. | Affiliation (author): Academic, Bowling Green State University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Bowling Green State University ; Subject: Media ; Format: Capstone |
| Hommerding, Christopher. “The Pixies of Pendarvis: History, Performance, and Queerness in Twentieth-Century Small-Town Wisconsin.” PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2017. UWDC. | Region: Wisconsin, Mineral Point ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; Format: Capstone |
| Jackson, Steven and Jason Nargis. “Making Chicago's Boystown.” WBEZ 91.5 Chicago, May 7, 2017. interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/makingboystown. | Region: Illinois, Chicago, Boystown ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Northwestern University ; Affiliation (author): Community, journalist ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, WBEZ ; Format: Digital |
| Batza, Katie.Before AIDS: Gay Health Politics in the 1970s. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018. | Region: Kansas ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Kansas ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Pennsylvania ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
| Elledge, Jim. The Boys of Fairy Town: Sodomites, Female Impersonators, Third-Sexers, Pansies, Queers, and Sex Morons in Chicago's First Century. Chicago Review Press, 2018. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Chicago Review Press ; Format: Book |
| Janovy, CJ. No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas. University Press of Kansas, 2018. | Region: Kansas ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Kansas ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
Abundance and crossover, 2019–2024
An overwhelming amount of work came out during this period, in the forms of: capstone projects, at least fifteen works from students at at least eleven colleges and universities; public history press articles and books, primarily through the Minnesota Historical Society and Wisconsin Historical Society; and books written by community historians and published by independent presses, especially Arcadia Publishing and Rattling Good Yarns Press.This section is split into two tables: 2019–2021 and 2022–2024.
| Citation (CMOS 18, NB) (2019–2021) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Barth, Noah. "Going Out, Diving In: Uncovering Queer History in Minneapolis." Minnesota History 69, no. 1 (spring 2019): 20–31. | Region: Minnesota, Minneapolis ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Format: Article, public history |
| Darnell, Ian Thomas. "Queering Decline: Sexuality, Race, and the Transformation of Twentieth-Century St. Louis." PhD dissertation, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2019. | Region: Missouri, St. Louis ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Illinois at Chicago ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Illinois at Chicago ; Subject: Race ; Format: Capstone |
| Dilley, Patrick. Gay Liberation to Campus Assimilation: Early Non-Heterosexual Student Organizing at Midwestern Universities. Palgrave MacMillan, 2019. | Affiliation (author): Academic, Southern Illinois University Carbondale ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Palgrave MacMillan ; Subject: Students ; Format: Book |
| George, Elisabeth Frances. "Lesbian and Gay Life in the Queen City and Beyond: Resistance, Space, and Community Mobilization in the Southwest Missouri Ozarks." PhD dissertation, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 2019. ProQuest. | Region: Missouri ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York ; Format: Capstone |
| Johansen, Bruce. "Out of Silence: FREE, Minnesota's First Gay Rights Organization." Minnesota History 66, no. 5 (spring 2019): 186–201. | Region: Minnesota, Minneapolis ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Subject: Political ; Format: Article, public history |
| Monegan, Max Turner. "A Different Kind of Community: Queerness and Urban Ambiguity in Northeast Ohio, 1945–1980." MA thesis, Kent State University, 2019. OhioLINK. | Region: Ohio, Akron ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Kent State University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Kent State University ; Subject: Geography ; Format: Capstone |
| Pha, Kong Pheng. "'Minnesota is Open to Everything': Queer Hmong and the Politics of Community Formation in the Diaspora." Minnesota History 66, no. 6 (summer 2019): 255–63. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Subject: Race, Hmong ; Format: Article, public history |
| Rose, Katrina C. "Reflections at the Silver Anniversary of the First Trans-Inclusive Gay Rights Statute: Ruminations on the Law and its History—and Why Both Should be Defended in an Era of Anti-Trans 'Bathroom Bills.'" UMass Law Review 14, no. 1 (2019): 70–149. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Community, lawyer ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Wagner, R. Richard. We’ve Been Here All Along: Wisconsin’s Early Gay History. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2019. | Region: Wisconsin ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Format: Book |
| Wenzel, Joshua I. "A Different Christian Witness to Society: Christian Support for Gay Rights and Liberation in Minnesota, 1977–1993." Church History 88, no. 3 (September 2019): pp. 720–50. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Cambridge University ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Daniels, Paige. "Just What the Doctor Ordered: Treatment Methods of Homosexuality in Minnesota, 1920–1950." Undergraduate Honors thesis, Hamline University, 2020. DigitalCommons@Hamline. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Hamline University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Hamline University ; Format: Capstone |
| D'Emilio, John. Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago's LGBTQ Archives. University of Chicago Press, 2020. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Chicago ; Format: Book |
| Instenes, Lauren. "Fifty Years of Pride at Why Not III: Creating Queer Space in the Midwest." Midwest Queer Spaces, 2020. midwestqueerspaces.com | Region: Ohio, Springfield ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Columbia University ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent ; Format: Digital |
| Opsahl, Samuel Evan. "Circle City Strife: Gay and Lesbian Activism During the Hudnut Era." MA thesis, Indiana University, 2020. | Region: Indiana, Indianapolis ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Indiana University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Indiana University ; Subject: Political ; Format: Capstone |
| Seyforth, Scott C. "Glad to be Gay: Gay Cable Access Television in Madison." Wisconsin Magazine of History 104, no. 2 (winter 2020): 28–41. | Region: Wisconsin, Madison ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Subject: Media ; Format: Article, public history |
| Steffan, Michael. "Offensive to the Majority: The Formation, Activism, and Survival of the Iowa City Gay Liberation Front, 1970–1999." Undergraduate Honors thesis, University of Iowa, 2020. Iowa Research Online. | Region: Iowa, Iowa City ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Iowa ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Iowa ; Subject: Political ; Format: Capstone |
| Wagner, R. Richard. Coming Out, Moving Forward: Wisconsin's Recent Gay History. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2020. | Region: Wisconsin ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Format: Book |
| De la Croix, St. Sukie. Chicago After Stonewall: A History of LGBTQ Chicago From Gay Life to Gay Lib. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2021. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Subject: Media ; Format: Book |
| Ehrenhalt, Lizzie. "Over the Rainbow: Queer and Trans History in Minnesota." Mnopedia, 2021. mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/over-rainbow-queer-and-trans-history-minnesota | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Digital |
| Kalvaitis, Jenny and Kristen Whitson. We Will Always Be Here: A Guide to Exploring and Understanding the History of LGBTQ+ Activism in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2021. | Region: Wisconsin ; Affiliation (author): Public ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
| Schaffert, Timothy, Erin Colonna, Traci Robison, and Andrew Jewell. "Unkissed Kisses: LGBTQ+ Literature & the 150+ Year History of the University of Nebraska." Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska Lincoln Libraries, 2021. libarchives.unl.edu/project/unkissed-kisses | Region: Nebraska, Lincoln ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Nebraska Lincoln ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Nebraska Lincoln ; Subject: Media ; Format: Digital |
| Citation cont. (2022–2024) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Almlie, Liz. “Queer History, Gender History, and South Dakota Suffrage.” History in South Dakota, June 7, 2022. historysouthdakota.wordpress.com/2022/06/07/queer-history-gender-history-and-south-dakota-suffrage. | Region: South Dakota ; Affiliation (author): Public ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent ; Subject: Political ; Format: Digital |
| Carroll, Kidiocus. “Black Milwaukee and the Queerness of Social Life.” PhD dissertation, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 2022. University Digital Conservancy. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Minnesota Twin Cities ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Minnesota Twin Cities ; Subject: Race, Black ; Format: Capstone |
| Conell, Braydon. “Never Silent: Development of Gay Activism in the Cold War Midwest.” MA thesis, University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2022. | Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Nebraska-Kearney ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Nebraska-Kearney ; Subject: Political ; Format: Capstone |
| Kammeyer, Sarah Elizabeth. “Queering CoMo: An Exploratory Case Study of Queer Geographies in Columbia, Missouri Between 1991–2021.” MA thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2022. Mospace. | Region: Missouri, Columbia ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Columbia ; Affiliation (publisher): University of Missouri-Columbia ; Subject: Geography ; Format: Capstone |
| Karlin, Rick and St. Sukie de la Croix. Last Call Chicago: A History of 1001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2022. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Format: Book |
| Kingsburg, Jeremy. “Ozaawindib’s World: Ojibwe Family, Gender, Warfare, and Politics 1748–1826.” PhD dissertation, University of Iowa, 2022. Iowa Research Online. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Iowa ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Iowa ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Capstone |
| Kammeyer, Sarah Elizabeth. “Queering CoMo: An Exploratory Case Study of Queer Geographies in Columbia, Missouri Between 1991–2021.” MA thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2022. Mospace. | Region: Missouri, Columbia ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Columbia ; Affiliation (publisher): University of Missouri-Columbia ; Subject: Geography ; Format: Capstone |
| Karlin, Rick and St. Sukie de la Croix. Last Call Chicago: A History of 1001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2022. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Format: Book |
| Kingsburg, Jeremy. “Ozaawindib’s World: Ojibwe Family, Gender, Warfare, and Politics 1748–1826.” PhD dissertation, University of Iowa, 2022. Iowa Research Online. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Iowa ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Iowa ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Capstone |
| Maliskey, Jeff. “The History of Queer Resistance And Student Activism at the University of North Dakota.” PhD dissertation, University of North Dakota, 2022. | Region: North Dakota, Grand Forks ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of North Dakota ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of North Dakota ; Subject: Students ; Format: Capstone |
| Runge, Kelsey M. “Show Me My Rights: Queer Activism in Kansas City and St. Louis, 1977–1993.” MA thesis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2022. MOspace. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Region: Missouri, St. Louis ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; Subject: Political ; Format: Capstone |
| Schreyer, Katie. “Dayton is Burning: A Survey of Drag History and Performance in Southwest and Central Ohio.” Senior Honors thesis, University of Dayton, 2022. University of Dayton eCommons. | Region: Ohio, Dayton ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Dayton ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Dayton ; Format: Capstone |
| Takach, Michail and B. J. Daniels. A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamor. Arcadia Publishing, 2022. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Arcadia Publishing ; Format: Book |
| Trump, Brian M. “Sex Crimes and Criminal Sexuality: Legislating and Policing Community Boundaries in Nebraska, 1880–1980.” PhD dissertation, University of Kansas, 2022. | Region: Nebraska ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Kansas ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Kansas ; Subject: Legal ; Format: Capstone |
| Amick, Tyler J. “Queer Frontier: Gender, Sexuality, and Intimacy in Minnesota Before 1900.” MA thesis, University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2023. | Region: Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Nebraska-Kearney ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Nebraska-Kearney ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Capstone |
| Coures, Kelley M. Out in Evansville: An LGBTQ+ History of River City. Arcadia Publishing, 2023. | Region: Indiana, Evansville ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Arcadia Publishing ; Format: Book |
| Keehnen, Owen. Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2023. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community, journalist ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Format: Book |
| Deppe, Mackenzie Renae. “Midwest Drag: Black Community, Resistance, and Perseverance.” MA thesis, Washington State University, 2024. Research Exchange. | Affiliation (author): Academic, Washington State University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Washington State University ; Subject: Race, Black ; Format: Capstone |
| Dunnam, Kierra. “The History of LGBTQA+ Studies, Communities, and Support at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.” Nebraska U: A Collaborative History, spring 2024. archives-spec.unl.edu/student-projects/lgbtqa-unlhistory. | Region: Nebraska, Lincoln ; Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Nebraska-Lincoln ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Nebraska-Lincoln ; Subject: Students ; Format: Digital |
| Hornbeak, Holly. “The Queer History of Dayton.” 2024. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e7121203e1a343faa78825bc0d181e09. | Region: Ohio, Dayton ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent ; Format: Digital |
| Kleber, Michaela. *’No cause for distrust’: Gender Plurality in Illinois-French First Contacts.” Journal of American History 111, no. 2 (September 2024): 241–266. | Region: Illinois ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Northwestern University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Oxford University ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Rigdon, Syd. “The Lynching of Perry Norman: Anti-Queer Violence in Early Twentieth Century America.” Senior Honors thesis, Georgia Southern University, 2024. Digital Commons @ Georgia Southern. | Region: Missouri, Dent County ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Georgia Southern University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Georgia Southern University ; Format: Capstone |
| Rose-Mockry, Katherine. Liberating Lawrence: Gay Activism in the 1970s at the University of Kansas. University of Kansas Press, 2024. | Region: Kansas, Lawrence ; Affiliation (author): Community ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Kansas ; Subject: Students ; Format: Book |
| Takach, Michail. “Black Nite, Part Two: From Legend to Landmark.” Wisconsin Magazine of History 108, no. 1 (fall 2024): 30–41. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Community, Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Format: Article, public history journal |
| Takach, Michail. “Discovering the True Story Behind Wisconsin's First LGBTQ Uprising.” Wisconsin Magazine of History 107, no. 4 (summer 2024): 35–40. | Region: Wisconsin, Milwaukee ; Affiliation (author): Community, Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Wisconsin Historical Society ; Format: Article, public history journal |
Nascent formation of a field, 2025–present
Trends from the previous period continue (ex. Arcadia Publishing released Cincinnati Before Stonewall four days after the Midwestern History Association conference in 2026). Notably, a professional and narrative turn is in progress. In 2025, scholars began organizing panels on Midwestern queer history at conferences dedicated to histories of place, from the Organization of American Historians conference in 2025 to the American Historical Association as well as the Midwestern History Association annual conferences in 2026. Overarching historical narratives of the region, such as Joy Ellison's The Trans Midwest: Trans Feminist Coalition Building Since World War II (2027), are coming out. Midwestern queer history is becoming a salient (sub)field of study.
| Citation (CMOS 18, NB) | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Batza, Katie. AIDS in the Heartland: How Unlikely Coalitions Created a Blueprint for LGBTQ Politics. University of North Carolina Press, 2025. | Affiliation (author): Academic, University of Kansas ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of North Carolina ; Subject: Political ; Format: Book |
| Esparza, René. From Vice to Nice: Midwestern Politics and the Gentrification of AIDS. University of North Carolina Press, 2025. | Region: Minnesota, Twin Cities ; Region: Minnesota, Minneapolis ; Region: Minnesota, St. Paul ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Washington University ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of North Carolina ; Subject: Race ; Subject: Political ; Subject: Legal ; Subject: Geography, urban ; Format: Book |
| Fuller, Gereon, Jamie Kherbaoui, Kimmy Tanaka, Leila Stallone, Livia Lund, Lizzie Ehrenhalt, Luis Valderrama, and Ulysses Swanson, staff team. “Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit & LGBTQIA+ History Map.” Minnesota Historical Society, 2025. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ff9c23776f1d4b729caac2d034f2a09f | Region: Minnesota ; Region: Minnesota, Greater Minnesota ; Affiliation (author): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Affiliation (publisher): Public, Minnesota Historical Society ; Subject: Race, Indigenous ; Subject: Political ; Format: Digital |
| Fuller, Hannah. “Only in the Big City: Isolation, Rurality, and Leisure in Lesbian Chicago, 1971–1996.” Journal of Urban History OnlineFirst, September 28, 2025. doi.org/10.1177/00961442251371627. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Academic, Loyola University Chicago ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, Urban History Association ; Subject: Geography, rural ; Format: Digital ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Keehnen, Owen. Gay Chicago Memories: 1300 N. Wells. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2025. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community, journalist ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Format: Book |
| Marques, Hollie. “The Foundation of a Movement: Kansas City's Role in Homophile Activism, 1966–1971.” Middle West Review 11, no. 2 (spring 2025): 147–54. | Region: Missouri, Kansas City ; Affiliation (author): Academic ; Affiliation (publisher): Academic, University of Nebraska ; Subject: Political ; Format: Article, academic journal |
| Hogue, Jacob. Cincinnati Before Stonewall: The Untold Queer History of the Queen City. Arcadia Publishing, 2026. | Region: Ohio, Cincinnati ; Affiliation (author): Public ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Arcadia Publishing ; Format: Book |
| Keehnen, Owen. A Place for Us: Gay Life at Chicago’s Belmont Rocks. Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2026. | Region: Illinois, Chicago ; Affiliation (author): Community, journalist ; Affiliation (publisher): Independent, Rattling Good Yarns Press ; Format: Book |
Organized by Ulysses H. Swanson
First created: May 1, 2026
Last updated June 4, 2026