The history of LGBT/queer communities does not exclude the impact of African-Americans that identified as such. Recovering the history of these figures marks importance in the practice of LGBT/queer history central to the United States as it uncovers the separate, but togetherness, of their cultures. This exposes the values and significance of culture, sexuality, and LGBT/queer representation. The history of gender and sexual identity as two different things is deeply rooted in their social construction. The complexities of these two can be seen through various definitions and viewpoints that have been laid out by different individuals, including people of power/authorities such as medical professionals, and those who have chosen to create
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In the 1920s to the 1930s, people such as Gladys Bentley, Bessie Smith, and Bruce Nugent helped pave the way for the expression of sexual identities, understanding it, and owning it. These figures inspired the open expression of sexual identities that were clearly something other than heterosexual through their art forms. In the Harlem Renaissance, sexual orientation (homosexuality and bisexuality in this case) is both embraced and acknowledged as something that is portrayed through actions and behavior. In “A Spectacle in Color,” those who were queer identified or had “homosexual/lesbian” tendencies either recognized it or didn’t, as “nearly all these women adopted a heterosexual public persona, most favoring a “red hot mama” style, and kept their love affairs with women a secret, but a few acknowledged their sexuality openly (Garber, 326).” At the time, this was happening because expressing homosexuality in the outside world vs. on stage during the night life was very different; women such as Gladys Bentley chose to openly express their lesbianism on and off stage through masculine dress, performance, and her relations with women. However, this era indicated something out of the ordinary: sexuality is not directly connected to sexual history, which has often been confused. Sexual orientation in itself can also be discovered without having any purely sexual experiences. It is not always understood clearly. This is taken into consideration in Richard Bruce Nugent’s “Smoke, Lillies and Jade.” As the protagonist of the story continuously goes through a back and forth stream of consciousness, only being truly present to take a smoke break, these thoughts indicate an awareness of his bisexuality. The main character, Alex, goes through memories with two of his lovers; one male and one female. He questions this all and if it is
In the 1920s to the 1930s, people such as Gladys Bentley, Bessie Smith, and Bruce Nugent helped pave the way for the expression of sexual identities, understanding it, and owning it. These figures inspired the open expression of sexual identities that were clearly something other than heterosexual through their art forms. In the Harlem Renaissance, sexual orientation (homosexuality and bisexuality in this case) is both embraced and acknowledged as something that is portrayed through actions and behavior. In “A Spectacle in Color,” those who were queer identified or had “homosexual/lesbian” tendencies either recognized it or didn’t, as “nearly all these women adopted a heterosexual public persona, most favoring a “red hot mama” style, and kept their love affairs with women a secret, but a few acknowledged their sexuality openly (Garber, 326).” At the time, this was happening because expressing homosexuality in the outside world vs. on stage during the night life was very different; women such as Gladys Bentley chose to openly express their lesbianism on and off stage through masculine dress, performance, and her relations with women. However, this era indicated something out of the ordinary: sexuality is not directly connected to sexual history, which has often been confused. Sexual orientation in itself can also be discovered without having any purely sexual experiences. It is not always understood clearly. This is taken into consideration in Richard Bruce Nugent’s “Smoke, Lillies and Jade.” As the protagonist of the story continuously goes through a back and forth stream of consciousness, only being truly present to take a smoke break, these thoughts indicate an awareness of his bisexuality. The main character, Alex, goes through memories with two of his lovers; one male and one female. He questions this all and if it is