Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Know Your Pride History With These Books

Pride is here, a glorious month devoted to the LGBTQ+ community. It's a celebratory stretch, for certain, but also an important reminder to self-educate about important movements, whether you're actively part of them or supporting them as allies.

One of the best ways to absorb and respect a movement is by taking in its historical arc. We've come a long way, but the journey has really just begun. A great way to refuel the momentum of progress is by taking in how much evolution has already taken place. Like so many important pushes for freedom by unfairly marginalized communities in this country — the Black community, the AAPI community, the disabled community, women, and more — the fight for LGBTQ+ rights has involved key figures, moments, and triumphs. That Pride history guides the next steps of the movement and is imperative to understand going forward.

Yes, clank your glasses in the name of equal rights for all. March at gatherings and fund the related causes, if you're able. But remember to educate yourself as well. Here is some worthwhile literature to enlighten you on all things LBGTQ+ history, which is valuable for both the scholar and novice (and everybody in between). It's by no means a complete list, but a great way to further your knowledge and contextual understanding as we celebrate Pride in 2022.

Queer: A Collection of LGBTQ Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday
Queer: A Collection of Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday
Jump to details
The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle
The Gay Revolution
Jump to details
The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
The Lavender Scare
Jump to details
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity
Black on Both Sides
Jump to details
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States
Real Queer America
Jump to details
The Stonewall Reader
The Stonewall Reader
Jump to details
Transgender History (Seal Studies)
Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution
Jump to details
Queer LGBTQ Writing book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Queer: A Collection of Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday

This historical compilation, assembled by Frank Wynne, looks at the queer experience through the lens of poets and writers over the ages. It’s a fantastic reminder of how coming out has been a part of humanity since the beginning and doing so is not only beautiful, but it can make for gorgeous prose.

Queer: A Collection of LGBTQ Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday
Queer: A Collection of Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday
The Gay Revolution book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Gay Revolution

The full title of this book is The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle and for good reason. The journey has been arduous, with lives lost, awful laws enacted, and people persecuted. This book is comprehensive and full of firsthand accounts from prominent figures in the revolution, starting from the 1950s on.

The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle
The Gay Revolution
The Lavender Scare book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Lavender Scare

This book covers the particularly dark and clandestine period during the Cold War in which communists and homosexuals were essentially treated as enemies of the state. The award-winning book takes a deep dive into it all, pulling from formerly classified documents to paint the sobering picture. It’s a haunting reminder of federal policy that badly needed reform.

The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
The Lavender Scare
Black on Both Sides book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Black on Both Sides

Not to be confused with the great Mos Def album of the same name, this C. Riley Snorton book chronicles the history of the Black trans community. It takes a detailed look at the slave era and trans culture at the time, so often punished or ignored. While things have changed in the last 150 years, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the anti-trans ways of yesteryear and those of today.

Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity
Black on Both Sides
Real Queer America book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Real Queer America

Daring and brutally American, this book examines queer life in red states, places notoriously hostile toward marginalized communities. It’s the work of an author who went from being a Mormon woman to marrying a fellow woman. It’s an eye-opening road trip for the ages and a surprisingly hopeful one, pointing out the many positive tales that unfold in unexpected corners of our country.

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States
Real Queer America
The Stonewall Reader book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Stonewall Reader

A list like this has to have at least one book that focuses on Stonewall. While the New York uprising wasn’t necessarily the first of its kind (there were others way back, not to mention similar ones like the Black Cat that predated this), it’s hugely important and has become a symbol of the movement at large. This book, edited by the New York Public Library, gives you a vivid picture of not only the event itself, but how it built over the years as well as its immediate aftermath.

The Stonewall Reader
The Stonewall Reader
Transgender History book cover
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution

An important read amid anti-trans legislation that continues to rear its ugly head in this country, this book offers a healthy synopsis of the movement from the Baby Boom era forward. It’s by no means a comprehensive book but it does highlight the major talking points nicely, illustrating the trajectory of the trans movement and the battles still being waged.

Transgender History (Seal Studies)
Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
The 7 Best Books About Sleep to Help Curb Your Terrible Bedtime Habits
Reading These Books Before Bedtime Can Help You Fall Asleep
A man lies asleep in bed

Sleep is a vital component of living a healthy life, and it's something we all struggle with from time to time. The best nightly activity to help you prepare for sleep is to read before going to bed, but deciding what to read can get tricky! You don't want such a dry, dull book that you can't even make it to page two, but you also don't want a suspenseful thriller that keeps you up all night.

So instead of reading something boring or overly stimulating, we found the seven best books about sleep to help you get more. Not only can the act of reading one of them allow you to fall asleep faster, but you might learn something useful in the process that can improve your bedtime habits for life.

Read more
Don’t Start Your Audible Membership Without Getting Two Free Books!
Audible home screen shown on tablet, phone, smartwatch, with Alexa in the foreground, on a black background.

If you love to read, then don't miss this awesome deal going on now. Right now, you can sign up for an Audible trial with your Prime membership and get two free books included! Try Audible Plus for free for $30 days, then pay just $15 a month after that. You'll get access to hundreds of thousands of titles. Listen to your favorite books as audio versions, or discover new stories when you browse the selection. Whether you're into high fantasy, New York Times Best Sellers, historical non-fiction, politics, or classical literature, there's something for everyone on Audible. Download the Audible App now and sign up for your free trial to get started.

Buy Now

Read more
Walmart has a 75-inch 4K TV for less than $500 (seriously)
The Onn. 75-inch Frameless 4K TV on a white background.

If you love to watch sports regularly, you need a suitably large TV to truly enjoy everything that's unfolding in front of your eyes. That's why we're excited to see Walmart offering an Onn. 75-inch Frameless 4K TV for $498 for a limited time only. Usually priced at $578, you're saving $80 off the regular price making this a pretty sweet deal. If you need to know more about the TV, keep reading. If you're already sold you can simply tap the buy button below to get straight to making a purchase.

Why you should buy the Onn. 75-inch Frameless 4K TV
One of the best ways to watch live sports online is through a smart TV with a massive screen. That's easily the case with the Onn. 75-inch Frameless 4K TV. It has a truly vast 75-inch panel which means you should double-check check your living space has enough room to fully accommodate it. If you're keen to have a TV take up much of the room though, this is a seriously cheap bargain.

Read more