Throwback Thursday Remembers This day In Queer History, Dec. 11th

We never stop, do we? Let's take a look back at what happened on this day, December 11th, for this week's Throwback Thursday.

1909

Swedish writer Selma Lagerlof (20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Decades later, her collection of love letters to her female companion Sophie Elkan (1853–1921) would be published. Elkan, a Jewish Swedish writer, was her friend and companion, and the letters reveal a deep love between them that continued from 1894 until Elkan's death in 1921.

1945

Gay rights activist, HIV/AODS activist, and prolific writer John Preston (December 11, 1945 – April 28, 1994) was born. He was the author of gay erotica and, pseudonymously, of a series of action-adventure stories with prominent gay characters. In addition, he edited gay non-fiction anthologies. He would make safe sex popular in sexually explicit writing, editing a safe sex anthology entitled Hot Living in 1985. He would also found the AIDS Project of Southern Maine. He died of AIDS complications on April 28, 1994, at age 48.

1980

In Ottawa, the Canadian Association of Lesbians and Gay Men (CALGM) appears before the Joint Senate/House Committee on the Constitution and begins their arguments towards the inclusion of "sexual orientation" into the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

1982

In a move that might surprise contemporary members of the community, San Francisco mayor Diane Feinstein vetoed a domestic partnership bill. Eh...it just wasn't time yet. A domestic partnership law for city employees would go into effect on February 14th, 1991. It wouldn't be until 1999 that domestic partnership would be made available for all same-sex couples (and opposite-sex couples where both parties were over 62). In 2016, that was extended for all opposite-sex couples.

1986

In another move that will surprise contemporary community members, Austin, Texas (yes, that Texas!), passes an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against people with AIDS. Can you imagine such a thing passing these days?

1998

The American Psychiatric Association in Denver approves a resolution to reject reparative (conversion) therapy for LGBT persons, stating that such therapies can cause depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. The year prior, the American Psychological Association passed a similar resolution. Dr. Nada Stotland, head of the association’s public affairs committee, explained to the Denver Post the stigmatizing nature of reparative therapy, which treats homosexuality as a disease, and can lead to increased discrimination, harassment, and violence towards the community.

2020

Bisexual Christy Hostege becomes mayor of Palm Springs, CA.

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