How far back can we trace the history of LGBTQ families? Consider: Sappho and Alexander the Great both likely fell under the big queer umbrella and had children. For LGBTQ History Month, then, here’s a little about the long history of LGBTQ families.
It is true that we need to be careful assigning modern terms to pre-modern figures like Sappho (6th-7th century BCE) and Alexander the Great (4th century BCE). The fact is, though, that same-sex relationships certainly existed in the ancient world. Transgender people and a nonbinary view of gender have existed for millennia as well. Given the iffy state of birth control methods before the advent of modern medicine, too, it is likely that by intention or otherwise, at least some of these people would have had and raised biological children—and depending upon the culture, may also have raised children who were not biologically theirs. They are our queer-parent forebears, despite many differences of time and place.
Even looking solely at the history of out LGBTQ parents in the modern sense, we can trace our roots back to the time just after World War II. We LGBTQ parents and our children are therefore not a newfangled and untested phenomenon, despite some opinions to the contrary. We have a past to be proud of and the shoulders of role models to stand on—three-quarters of a century in the modern era, and millennia before that.
I’ve been writing about this for a while—here are four key pieces, which I hope you will find informative and enjoyable:
- “A Short History of LGBTQ Parenting” offers a broad overview of our history.
- In “Seeking LGBTQ Parents in History,” I look back to the 19th century and beyond to discover our queer parenting roots.
- “Milestones in LGBT Parenting History” is a timeline of some LGBTQ parenting “firsts” during the modern era. You’ll learn the answer to questions like “What was the first television movie to depict a gay dad?” and “When did a court first rule that a transgender parent could retain child custody?” I first wrote this a few years back, but have been updating it.
- In “LGBTQ Families: Past, Present, and Future,” I call for a broad and inclusive view of what it means or has meant to be part of an LGBTQ family, which has implications for how we look at our history.
Knowing our history can give us roots that provide stability in the present and sustenance for growth in the future. This month, I encourage you to learn more about the history not only of LGBTQ people in general, but about LGBTQ parents and our children in particular. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.