Resources / Links

The history and experiences of marginalized groups is so easily twisted, especially in an environment where people will just say things with no evidence (or even in direct conflict with known evidence!) because they'd rather believe a lie that continues the narrative they want to push than accept facts.

While this is a personal site, and I am only simply a person and cannot be removed from the societal biases that have been ingrained in me from birth, the biggest thing I ask from you, dear reader, is to read primary documents and make your own decisions. To truly look at what other people have said, are saying, and try to understand where they're coming from. Sometimes, it really is just complete bullshit that should be immediately discarded. But, sometimes, they can offer a helpful piece of the puzzle of life and the human experience that you've been missing... No one person can see the entirety of the world, but literature, a variety of literature from diverse authors, is the closest way to get there, I think.

That all said... The issue of primary sources being easily damaged or unknown to the general public still remains. People have always written and spoken about their experiences, but it's often not that widespread.

Imagine this: you go to a lecture in a packed auditorium. The speaker's words are so powerful, heartfelt, but they slip away from you in an instant. In a year, will you remember what was said? What if you write a journal entry that night? What if you record it? This is still not a perfect solution, of course: journals can be lost and video files can be corrupted, just to name a few. But, still, having tangible proof of these events can help preserve these moments for future generations, who weren't present at the actual event.


In summary... information should remain accessible, in many forms! Here are some links to help you find valuable resources regarding people's lives in the past or even how you can help preserve history for future generations:

  • a brief guide for locating various books, movies, zines, etc
  • How do I get into bookbinding? - again, what's on the internet isn't guaranteed to last forever. companies go bankrupt, archives become corrupted, necessary software is phased out and becomes obsolete (rip flash)... wouldn't you like to have a hard copy of your favorite stories and fics?
    • (also, here's a gallery of my personal stuff, lol)
  • you can also consider donating things like diaries or zines to museums or other archives of interest. many universities, for example, have specialized departments for preserving local historical documents regarding marginalized people's experiences. there's also the Great Diary Project, which I believe is UK-only but is still a neat concept! a brief list of lesbian & general LGBT archives & / or zines to explore:
    • Lesbian Connection (1974 - present): "The free worldwide forum of news & ideas for, by and about lesbians." A friend from Dreamwidth sent me some recent back issues. It really does read like analogue forum posts, with personal anecdotes, intercommunity debates (as one commenter said: "arguing is a lesbian tradition!"), book recs, listings for lesbian / women's festivals, etc.
    • Sinister Wisdom (1976 - present): a magazine featuring creative writing, political essays, poems, etc. most issues are based around specific themes, like disability, race, religion, nature, etc. The archive of back issues is available on their site, spanning from 1976 to 2012.
    • The Lesbian Herstory Archives: a museum devoted to (mostly American) lesbian history, started in the 1970's. Their website is a bit difficult to navigate, honestly, but their archives of buttons and tshirts are interesting to browse.
    • JSTOR has an archive of some other, historical lesbian and / or feminist magazines, newsletters, etc, if you wanted to look through them, as well. Dykes & Gorgons (1973) is... interesting, to say the least.
  • don't forget about taking legal steps to protect yourself and be sure your wishes are met even when you're gone, as well! for example, a few years ago, there was a reddit post where a man's homophobic family disregarded his will that said he wanted his assets to go to his boyfriend, and likely (rightfully) got the pants sued off of them. sites like formspal provide templates for legal documents like wills and additional guidance for filling them out.


Also, for lack of a better place to put these, here are some articles / video essays / etc from elsewhere on the internet that I thought were really insightful!

  • "Social Networks Are Not Communities" and "Not Getting Radicalized is a Radical Act" by blueshiftofdeath on Dreamwidth. so well articulated, well researched, and about topics that I've been thinking about / haunted by for several years!
  • Kaz Rowe on Youtube: video essays about a variety of historical topics. Honestly, I've only watched their video about Maude Adams / Peter Pan so far, but I thought it was really nicely presented and in a fun format (complete with set, costumes, music, etc). definitely want to check out more later!
  • Jessica Kellgren-Fozard on Youtube: videoes about LGBT history, personal vlogs, disability awareness, etc. I particularly liked this video about Marlene Dietrich!
  • Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast: a podcast talking about lesbian & lesbian-adjacent history & lit. biographies of historial women, analyzing old books & tropes, contemporary book reviews and interviews with authors, etc.
  • "Gen Alpha Can't Read and It's Worse than You Think": a video essay by ashley viola describing the structural failures of the US educational system, the effects of the pandemic & technology, etc. very worrying...
  • "The Problem With Lesbian Romance Novels": a video essay by a sunny book nook, talking about how lesbian novels specifically seem to not actually represent lesbian experiences (ex: characters are always very gender conforming, no chemistry between leads, rarely ever depict women who actually consider themselves lesbians, etc) and are just kind of shallow in general.