When we think of our ;lesbian pioneers, ;women like ;Ellen DeGeneres and Billie Jean King ;presumably come to mind. But we at The Huffington Post wanted to teach you a little somethin’ somethin’ about your history in honor of October’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month. Below, feast your eyes on a group of ;undaunted ladies ;who helped paved the way for women and their ;women-loving ways, and ;check out the video above for HuffPost Live’s full conversation on lesbian history from the ancient times ;to now. ; Sappho Born on the Greek island of Lesbos around 615 B…
When we think of our ;lesbian pioneers, ;women like ;Ellen DeGeneres and Billie Jean King ;presumably come to mind. But we at The Huffington Post wanted to teach you a little somethin’ somethin’ about your history in honor of October’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month. Below, feast your eyes on a group of ;undaunted ladies ;who helped paved the way for women and their ;women-loving ways, and ;check out the video above for HuffPost Live’s full conversation on lesbian history from the ancient times ;to now. ;
Sappho
Born on the Greek island of Lesbos around 615 B.C., this
poet wrote of her yearning for women. Her name and place of birth have become synonymous with women who love women. ;
Queen Christina of Sweden
This member of Sweden’s royal family was crowned queen in 1644, though she renounced the throne a decade later. Queen Christina,
widely considered to be a lesbian by her biographers, was played by Greta Garbo in the aptly titled 1933 film “Queen Christina.”
Jane Addams
As one of the pioneering
leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, Jane Addams — a never confirmed but
rumored lesbian — ;founded the Hull House in Chicago in 1889 and the ;Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915. If that wasn’t enough, she won the ;
Nobel Peace Prize ;in 1931.
Rita Mae Brown
One of the most significant ;lesbian-themed novels in history is Rita Mae Brown’s ;
Rubyfruit Jungle, ;published in 1973. The activist, ;
New York Times best-selling author ;and ;
feminist icon ;– who ;says she ;was kicked out of the National Organization for Women —
;fought to get ;the women’s movement to
accept lesbians. ;
Gladys Bentley
Barbara Gittings
Hailed as being one of the longest-serving and most fearless activists in ;the lesbian community, Gittings ;
founded the New York chapter of The Daughters of Bilitis, picketed the White House in the ’60s, counseled gay people who were discriminated by the government — and her ;list of accomplishments continues.
Audre Lorde
As a self-professed
black, lesbian, feminist mother, poet, warrior, Ms. Lorde fought ;injustices against the marginalized throughout the mid-20th century through her
revered literary works. Despite ;many trying ;to silence ;her, she ;fearlessly embraced her identities. ;
Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon
One of America’s best known lesbian couples, Martin and Lyon, were together from the early 1950s until Martin’s death in 2008. In 1955, they
founded the Daughters of Bilitis — the first social and political organization for lesbians. ;
Patricia Highsmith
In 1952, novelist
Patricia Highsmith ;published the novel
The Price of Salt — ;the inspiration behind ;the ;highly-anticipated lesbian drama ;”
Carol,”
;starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Also included in her body work are the famous novels ;
Strangers on a Train, which later became ;an ;Alfred Hitchcock film, and
The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Barbara Jordan
Born and raised in Houston, Texas in 1972, Jordan became the first southern black female elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although she ;
never came out publicly, her ;Houston Chronicle
;obituary mentioned her 20-year relationship with Nancy Earl. ;
Join the conversation! What lesbian pioneers come to mind for you?
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11 Lesbians In History You Don’t Know But Should
