BCE to The Suffragettes
12-29-1898 – 06-08-1986 Elsa Gidlow – Born in Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom. She was a British-born, Canadian-American poet, freelance journalist, and philosopher. Gidlow is best known for writing On A Grey Thread (1923), possibly the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America. In the 1950s, she helped found Druid Heights, a bohemian community in Marin County, California.
While living there, she socialized with many famous artists, radical thinkers, mystics, and political activists, including, Dizzy Gillespie, Neil Young, Tom Robbins, Margo St. James, Alan Ginsberg, Baba Ram Dass, Robert Shapiro, Maude Oaks, Sara Bard Fields, and Maya Angelou. She was the author of thirteen books and appeared as herself in the documentary film, Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977). Completed just before her death, her book Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986), became the first published lesbian autobiography where the author didn’t use a pseudonym. It gives a personal and detailed account of her life seeking, finding, and creating a life with other lesbians at a time when little was recorded on the topic.
In 1918 she published Les Mouches Fantastiques, the first known LGB periodical in Canadian and North American history. She is best known for writing On A Grey Thread (1923), possibly the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America. In the 1950s, Gidlow helped found Druid Heights, a bohemian community in Marin County, California. She was the author of thirteen books and appeared as herself in the documentary film, Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977). Completed just before her death, her autobiography, Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986), recounts her life story. Towards the last years of her life, Gidlow experienced several strokes. She chose not to seek medical care in a hospital and died at home in Druid Heights at the age of 87. Gidlow’s estate donated her extensive personal papers to the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco in 1991.
12-29-1914 – 01-21-1989 Billy Tipton (Born Dorothy Lucille Tipton) – Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An American jazz musician, saxophone, and piano player; Tipton was a bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s.
When a serious music career was possible, Tipton adopted their father’s nickname, Billy, and more actively worked to pass as male by binding his breasts and padding his pants. At first, Tipton only dressed as male when performing, but by 1940, was living as a man in private life as well.
Tipton was never formally married but several women had drivers’ licenses identifying them as Mrs. Tipton.
It was only after death that the public discovered that Tipton was born female.
The Question for blog readers: is a lesbian who is a lesbian at home and passes as a man in the public square to access both the public square and rights the same as the woman thinking she is a man and deceiving the heterosexual woman at home while in public and career whereas passing for a man by audience and public.
Consider: Laws against cross dressing were to prevent women accessing the man’s world of rights and to prevent men from being sexually preyed upon by other men and less so that men did not prey upon women. The only laws that protected women to a degree were bigamy laws in North America, because women produced offspring to inherit under contract law, which marriage is.
1940s The Friends of Dorothy Era and The Hayes Code
12-29-1946 Marianne Faithfull – Born in Hampstead, London, England. She is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. The release of her song As Tears Go By in the 1960s made her an international star. She had a highly publicized romantic relationship with Mick Jagger. In 1994 she published her autobiography, Faithfull, in which she discussed her life, career, drug addictions, and bisexuality.
(photo: Women’s World Awards, Vienna, 2009)
1950s The Decade the public learned heterosexual women wanted sex
1955
Barbra Streisand recorded her first song, at the age of 13.
The Civil Rights 60s: When the Boomers were under 30
1962
The Crystals charted with “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” (#11 pop). Unfortunately, as with their previous hit, “He’s A Rebel,” it wasn’t the Crystals singing on the record but Darlene Love & the Blossoms, thanks to the decision-making shenanigans of producer Phil Spector.
USA Pop chart: #8 “Little Esther” Phillips “Release Me”,
1970s: Feminist, Gay Liberation and Lesbian Separatists: Civil Rights
1972 – As a result of the dismissal of a gay man from his job with the Seattle Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an action was filed seeking to change the Civil Service Rules which allowed the dismissal of homosexuals from Federal employment on the basis of sexual orientation alone. A year later a federal judge nullified the policy.
1973
USA Pop chart: the Carpenters were still at 7 after 13 weeks with their smash “Top Of The World”,
1977
the Canberra Times reported that a new book would depict Florence Nightingale, the sainted Lady with the Lamp, as a lesbian.
“In The Private Life of Florence Nightingale, author Dr Richard Gordon tells the story of Florence as a lesbian who has a passionate affair with another woman.
“The account, though fictional, is based on fact.
1980s The Genderfuck Apathetics vs Yuppies : Aids the new STD on the list
1984
Band Aid were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Do They Know It’s Christmas? and Madonna was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Like A Virgin.’
1990s: The Queer Slur Reclaimed: Act Up! Lesbian Avengers and Queer Nation
1994
Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes pleaded guilty to arson charges for setting fire to and destroying boyfriend Andre Rison’s $1 million Atlanta mansion.
2000s – “gay and lesbian” to “lesbigay” to “Lgbt/Lgbtq/Lgbtq2”
2005
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents was established as an extension of the community organizing work that local activist Sue Kerr was regularly participating in
2010s Avocado Toast is the new Latte cheaper made at home, tastes better out
2012
Same-sex marriage takes effect in Maine with a voter approval of 53%-47%. Maryland and Washington State are the other states to win marriage equality by popular vote.
2012
According to sales data, Adele’s 21 had overtaken Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? to become the UK’s fourth biggest selling album of all-time. Latest data confirmed that, Oasis’ 1995 second album had sold 4,555,000 copies to date, while Adele’s 21 has surged ahead with sales of over 4,562,000 copies. The news came just over a year since 21 overtook Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black to become the UK’s biggest selling album of the 21st Century.
2013
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a $135,000 fine against bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Bakers Melissa and Aaron Klein said in 2013 that they wouldn’t bake a cake for Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, because same-sex marriage ran counter to their Christian beliefs. The Bowman-Cryers said in a complaint to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries that the bakers, owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa, were violating state law by discriminating against them due to their sexual orientation. An administrative law judge sided with them, and the state labor commissioner affirmed heavy damages against the bakers for causing the couple emotional and mental distress.
https://theweek.com/10things/739823/10-things-need-know-today-december-29-2017
2016
America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame announced its 2017 inductees as ABBA, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and many male acts. While in the Legends category, the Hall of Fame nominating board chose more male acts and Connie Francis.
Azealia Banks reveals that she has been sacrificing chickens for three years when she posts an Instagram video of her cleaning up the mess.
2018
Depression study of Lesbians and Bisexual women in China
2020s: Unnamed Common Oppressor/Religion VS: Sex/Gender Ideas vs Global Reality
2020
USA – that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare
Tuesday, December 29th, 2020, to be “Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.
2022
Women’s Declaration USA (WDI USA) vice president Lauren Levey sent the message below to U.S. Senate Majority Leader (also her senator) Charles Schumer. She sent it to both Senator Schumer’s public account and to the private account of one of his top staffers, and also submitted it via his Senate website.
https://karadansky.substack.com/p/lesbians-erased-by-the-democratic
2023
cited sources
Today in LGBT History by Ronni Sanlo
THIS DAY IN LGBT HISTORY – DECEMBER 29 | Ronni Sanlo
https://ronnisanlo.com › this-day-in-lgbt-history-decem…
Dec 29, 2019 — 1990 – Richard Dunne (1944 – December 29, 1990), director of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis from 1985-1989, dies of complications from AIDS at age …
Today in LGBT History – December 29 | Ronni Sanlohttps://ronnisanlo.com › today-in-lgbt-history-decembe…This is the first night of the annual “Lesbians across America campaign” at the June Mazer Lesbian Archives in Los … Today in LGBT History – December 29.
LGBT History Month
https://lgbtdailyspotlight.com/
~~~~
music and movie information from my previous blog
other discontinued blogs:
the As I peaked blog (2019 – 2022)
Gen X Mid Life changes: December 2012 – August 2020
My Original Blog to December 2, 2012
for which there were spin off blogs:
- Confessions of a teenaged poet
- Lez Flirt
- Living Well
- NatGeo Gallery
- The Shut-in Stand-Up Comedic look at life from the POV of a virtual shut-in
- Wayback Machine
- Youtube Channel
Dykes and Lesbians 
Leave a comment