Learning about PRIDE Month with Library Resources

The library has a wealth of online resources for exploring LGBT+ history and we've picked out a few to share with you. OU login required.  

• Who’s Who in Gay and Lesbian History is a fascinating reference work on the key men and women in the history of homosexuality from antiquity to the middle of the twentieth century.  

• If you want to know more about what being transgender is the Dictionary of Gender Studies is really helpful. Check out the definitions for transgender and gender dysphoria.  

• Roberta Cowell was the first known British transgender woman to undergo gender reassignment surgery and have her birth certificate changed.  Infotrac Newstand, a newspaper database, has an article from the Belfast Telegraph about her life. The Gender Recognition Act in 2004 provided transgender people with legal recognition in their acquired gender. You can track down the act using JustisOne UK Core. 

A few e-book titles:  

• The gay and lesbian literary heritage : a reader's companion to the writers and their works, from antiquity to the present by C.J Summers (2013) includes in-depth critical essays on major gay and lesbian authors in world literature and briefer treatments of other topic with nearly 400 articles by more than 175scholars from around the world.  

• 1960s Counterculture : Documents Decoded  by J. Willis (2015) devotes a chapter on LGBT protests with primary sources.  

• Out of the Closet, Into the Archives : Researching Sexual Histories by A.L. Stone and J. Cantrell (2015). Reviewing the book for Gender & Society, Lynn Comella writes, “The collection’s strength lies in its ability to bring queer archives and, by extension, queer history, to life.”  

• Historical dictionary of the lesbian and gay liberation movements by J. Myers (2012). Paraphrased from the book description: “Covers the history of this movement through a cross-referenced dictionary with entries on specific countries and regions, influential historical figures, laws, historical terms, contemporary events and legal decisions.”