Exploring the Secret Lesbian World of Interwar Paris
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Note: I’ve been informed that one of my sources, the author of Female Masculinity, goes by Jack Halberstam now! The paper I referenced includes his deadname on it as it was published beforehand. My apologies, I wish I could edit the video itself.
After WW1, a vibrant underground community of Sapphic women found community together in Paris. Come learn with me about the big names, their favorite haunts, and the queer history that led there!
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Sources
Seeing Queerly: The Emergence of Lesbian Visual Codes in Interwar Paris by Lowry Martin II
Women together/women apart : portraits of lesbian Paris by Tirza True Latimer
Looking like a lesbian: The sexual politics of portraiture in Paris between the wars by Tirza True Latimer
“A Woman Dressed like a Man”: Gender Trouble at the Sapphic Cabaret, Paris, 1930-1960 by Tamara Chaplin
The modern woman revisited : Paris between the wars by Whitney Chadwick, Tirza True Latimer
No modernism without lesbians by Diana Souhami
Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion by Eleanor Medhurst
‘Our jolly marin wear’: The queer fashionability of the sailor uniform in interwar France and Britain By Andrew Stephenson
Gender, Sexuality, and the City in the Early Twentieth Century by Birgitte Søland
Disruptive Acts: The New Woman in Fin-de-Siecle France by Mary Louise Roberts
Female Masculinity by Jack Halberstam
Beyond the Myth of Lesbian Montmartre: The Case of Chez Palmyre by Leslie Choquette
Histories of French Sexuality: From the Enlightenment to the Present edited by Nina Kushner, Andrew Israel Ross
The frail social body : pornography, homosexuality, and other fantasies in interwar France by Carolyn J. Dean archive.org/de...
Passing Fashions: Reading Female Masculinities in the 1920s by Laura Doan
Who's Afraid of Stephen Gordon?: The Lesbian in the United States Popular Imagination of the 1920s by Sherrie A. Inness
Theorizing Female Inversion: Sexology, Discipline, and Gender at the Fin de Siècle by Heike Bauer
Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun by Jennifer L. Shaw
Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis by Jeffrey H. Jackson
Fashioning Sapphism: The Origins of a Modern English Lesbian Culture by Laura Doan
One is not Born a Woman by Monique Wittig
Banishing the Beast: English Feminism and Sexual Morality 1885-1914 by Lucy Bland
1920s newspapers talk about gender as if they're describing Pokemon battles. "In an attempt to compete with effeminate men, the tomboy will evolve into a boyette, and ultimately a lesbian."
Omg I love this 😂
The fuck 🤣
Ooh, I choose you!
My mom was once sent home from elementary school in the 60s because her mom sent her to school with snow pants on under her dress. The freak outs about girls in pants was long lasting and utterly bizarre.
I'm 50 this year. last time I wore skirts or dresses was when I was about three. Mum kept having to sort out exceptions for me at school so I could stay in trousers lol. I'm also a lesbian who only wears men's clothes, and thanks to Kaz, I have got the confidence to wear what hats I like. Currently a trilby, but damn, I am tempted by a topper like they are wearing in this video. I'd love to larp as a Victorian industrialist.
@@varalys I remember years ago seeing a meme that said "Lesbians don't dress like men. Men dress butch, and they do it poorly". And I am pretty okay with that. 🤣🤣
Yep, that rule definitely sounds idiotic, but it does demonstrate patriarchal control and ideology at work.
And religion with a small c. Up until the nineties all UK schools were religious schools by default. Although weirdly the least bad about my trouser wearing was my actual CofE juniors school.
My grandma and her neighborhood friends sent my mom and their daughters to school in pants on cold days over and over again until the school board had to change their dress code to let "young ladies wear trousers or blue jeans on days under 55 degrees"
Our local radical queer bar closed recently and this video made me tear up a bit. Our history is vast and beautiful and we will endure like ivy through the cracks
Chicago too, RIP Berlin
same here, one closed for real bad reasons and the other now became straight, and I'm in the capital city of my country with another 2M people, it's depressing
Ours was the only accessible bar too! 💔 I've never even heard of any other accessible bar in...the world???
Now the only place is the one full of chasers 😑
What the fuck is a radical queer? A gay guy with a suic*de vest?
"Huge Good Luck Babe moment for Natalie, im sure" caught me off-guard, i love the Chappel Roanification of the lesbian hivemind
Hearing that had me spit out my drink 😭😭😭
Chappell Roan world domination !!
I’m hot to go! But are you?
Absolutely!
New Chappel Roan fan here. I adore her music.
OH MY GOD THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THIS VIDEO HHAH THIS IS SO COOL 😭
the intro is pure genius! I was hoping for a cameo by Antonella "Nella" Insera of Nostalgia Chik fame.
Yesss, it is amazing!!
There she goes, raising the bar for all of us and doing it flawlessly!
@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914 did you see that Lindsay met up with Cinema Snob on one of her book tour stops? I had war flashbacks upon seeing them in the same room together 😂
@@rowangrisez9553I'm so disappointed I couldn't attend. Say what you will about everything that happened, I love them both so much.
I remember in the 2010s there was this sentiment that you couldn't tell who was queer anymore because in years prior if you saw a woman wearing masc clothes, heavily tattooed with short hair it was assumed she was a lesbian. I don't think it was necessarily the straights coopting queer style but rather clothing becoming more neutral and body mods becoming more normalized. The majority of queer idenitifiers are ment to be able to worn in plain sight and interpret by those who know. In away that often means constantly shifting, if something becomes too well known outside of queer culture or just becomes too common -- we pick something knew. Recently people were talking about "can non lesbians wear carabiners?" And like sure, it's a functional accessory, it's not a sacred object. Queer culture will persist regardless.
The latest advice I've seen (as an elder Millennial trying to get back into the queer dating scene) has been if you want to advertise that you're queer: just dress however men on Twitter would tell you they hate. That can be super butch, but also hyperfeminine à la Chappell Roan 😂
This also happened post-2020 as well. Things that were the subtle markers of queerness in the 2010s are now just mainstream fashion. I remember seeing queer people talking about how they were seeing people who registered as queer to them but actually weren't much more frequently then they ever had been before. I think the difference is that with the short hair thing in the 2010s, I remember it being more about straight people not being able to clock queer people, but the more recent version is queer people trying to find other queer people.
For me it’s the lil eyebrow notch. Hopefully it at least signifies some level of queerness or at the very least art student vibes ;;w;;
The same thing happened with the 'castro clone' look from the 70s. Now the t-shirt and tight jeans combo is a staple in menswear. And to think plenty of guys consider it "gay" to wear anything a little more daring than that lol
I....didn't know carabiners were an indicator. I'm a bi woman, but I also really like clipping things to other things so I'm less likely to lose them.
I went to a woman's university. I started there in the fall of 1973. I was told my students and a few employees who had been there stories. For example, it was sometime shortly before I started that girls were not allowed of of the dorm if they did not wear a dress. If roommates in the dorm, one could not wear a nightgown if the other was wearing pajamas. Girls who had gym classes, had to wear a dress to the gym before they could change into gym clothes and then had to change back after class. I have ALWAYS been glad I did not have to endure these rules! I turned 70 last year. Putting on a pretty dress isn't the worst thing I've ever done, but it sure isn't my favorite thing!
Goodness, you can't wear a nightgown if your roommate is wearing pyjamas?! How horrible to not even be able to feel comfortable in your own dorm room! And having to get dressed three times just to go to gym class, because God forbid they be seen in shameful pants... I'm glad you didn't have to go through that too.
@@taylamuller1811 yeah, it was stupid, but it was halfway through my senior year of high school that we were allowed to go to classes in pant suits... after that, anything went it seems. Now I see kids from middle school who have to wear a certain color shirt for their grade... like orange for 8th - something like that. So glad I don't have to figure that stuff out!
I'm literally 25 seconds in and WOW PRODUCTION VALUE HELLO???!!
I passed this on to my daughter. They recently came out to us as non-binary, and is still figuring out other things about their sexuality (made doubly hard because they're Autistic). I thought this might be of some interest to them. Thank you for videos like these that help and entertain not only the LGBTQIA+ community, but CIS-HET people like myself.
The word autistic is pseudo trash
Big hugs from a fellow autistic nonbinary/agender person
@@virgoboi24 I hope you're having a great Pride Month! 💜💜
enby autistic person here- this is so sweet! make sure they are comfortable with words like “daughter”. they may prefer other words (and may not!) ❤ i’m so glad they have you to be there for them. i wish my mum embraced my gender like you
Fellow autistic enby here! I'm so happy for your kid, I wish my parents were half as accepting as you. Also, I have a tiny suggestion to ask them if they feel comfortable being called your daughter (instead of your kid or child) because that term might potentially make them feel uncomfortable.
I don't mean to be critical or disrespectful, you're doing a great job and your support of your child is something I could only dream of receiving from my parents. 💜
im a cis male, but i used to frequent this lesbian bar in Dallas Texas called "MR.BIGGS" and i was welcomed with open arms every time i went on 25 cent drink nights. lesbians know how to party, it was some of the most fun ive ever had in a night club.
You are homer Simpson in that one clip lmao
I'm from a small town in a conservative country, let me tell you - our single gay club is the BEST club in the entire city! Even conservative youngsters go there because its the only club that has awesome music.
hahahahaha so proud you are a cuck
in my own way, i actually really identify with “the inverts”. i am a f*ggot and a d*ke, i am transsexual, and i exist entirely outside of the binary while completely understanding that i will still be boxed in. this approach has deeply alleviated my dysphoria and made me happier than ever.
all of kaz’ videos are absolutely ridiculously incredible, but this one takes the cake. i sobbed from the precious beginning to the pix from the 30s & 40s, it’s making me sad that we don’t have basement speakeasies reserved for all of the d*kes of today, but so beautiful that we had those and have the spaces we have now
i'm not out and i don't know if i can ever be out while my parents are alive. but learning about and knowing about queers of yesteryear who couldnt either makes me feel less like a failure for not coming out. thanks so much, kaz.
You are the only one who can decide when or whether to come out. You are NOT a failure.
I have more than a few friends in your situation. Some because of religious reasons with their parents and some because of cultural reasons. It always takes a little piece of your soul to have to hide that.
you're a wonderful person no matter if you're out or not. you are not a failure.
happy pride month, pal!
You have no obligation to come out, that’s only between you and yourself as only you know your circumstances especially in this day and age. You’re only obligated to be exactly who you are, even if it’s currently closeted. I wish you peace and happiness. Happy Pride 🌈❤
We accept you and you're valid!
I took my newly hatched trans daughter to Pride, and made her a patchwork purse based on the Trans Flag. Happy Pride, Guys, Gals, and Non-binary pals!
Absolutely love the way you said ‘newly hatched’ 😭❤️ it gives the vibe of like a flower blooming and as a 25 year old trans man who just started transitioning, it made me feel like this is my rebirth. Just made me really happy plus got a little laugh out of it!
@@fugitive_ whos abusing you into druging and mutilating yourself?
I came for the top hat and monocle...I stayed for the documentary.
truly an eye popping number of monocles featured in this vid!! love it
My town recently witnessed the launch of a queer-centered antifascist bookstore/cooperative shop, and WOW has it been successful. Finally, finally, finally, local queer folx have a venue (crucially: not a bar) where they can gather, bond, and build community. My daughter has found her people there, and I have never seen her happier or more at ease with herself.
Even in this era of ubiquitous parasocial/online friendships and communities, as Kaz very aptly pointed out, meeting up with others of your tribe in actual physical spaces where being your authentic self is safe and celebrated is so incredibly important.
On a different note...Kaz, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see you do a biography of Tove Jansson at some point. She was a fiery and complex and fascinating person by all accounts, and I can't think of anyone better suited to completing a review of her life and work.
So much of this is so great and I definitely agree on the Tove point!!! I’ve been reading Moomin and wondering about what a great and impactful person and author she must’ve been!!
Completely agree about a biography on Tove Jansson!
We really do need more queer spaces that are not centered around alcohol and party culture. I understand the significance in terms of queer history of these places, but as an ace person who chooses not to drink alcohol and is not comfortable with party culture (because it's centered around alcohol and sex), it's really hard to enjoy a lot of currently available queer spaces, or even Pride events.
@@hungrylikealoup omg this is
So
So unbelievably real and I’m glad someone said it like I wish the club wasn’t my only option to hang out in gay spaces
@@hungrylikealoup Exactly. Having alcohol-/party-centered venues for queer people is great, but it excludes an AWFUL lot of queer people...not least of which being those who don't drink or are not looking for sexual contacts. The other big group that gets excluded are young queer adults, ages 18-20, who are legally barred from those venues. I think that's one of the reasons the bookstore/queerspace in our town has taken off like it has--the younger queer community was starved for a place to come together.
In other news...I stopped by there earlier today, and THEY HAD KAZ'S BOOK!! They have one less now, and I have new reading material. 😀
🏳🌈
Yes I’m reading fair play right now!! I love Tove!
I'm a woman with a very unbalanced prescription (one eye is barely nearsighted, the other significantly more so), so that wearing a monocle would actually work well for me. I was chatting with a guy friend of mine a few months ago about it, and I referred to it offhand as going for that 1920s lesbian chic. My friend had no idea what I was talking about and was completely confused, lol.
Btw, amazing video, and the top hat and tux look amazing on you. :)
You can still get prescriptions for them!
Fun fact: In my former communist country (and i imagine it would have been the same in all communist countries), being gay/lesbian was considered a thing of ”the decadent West”. And in the ”West” being gay/lesbian would have one seen as communist.......
All the others are easily thrown into the same basket. Makes life very easy and you don’t hurt your head to much through thinking.
"Gay rights for thee and not for me". Communists did covertly provide funding and other support to gay rights movements in hostile countries because they thought it would be a destabilizing influence on their society. Whether or not they were right is a question for smarter people than me.
@@sonkeschluter3654thats the never ending trend in humanity it seems. If you make all people different to you an "other," no matter how harmless they are, you can feel safe, secure and find someone to blame for your fears and issues.
"The legalisation of homosexuality was confirmed in the Penal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1922, and following its redrafting in 1926... demonstrates a principled intent to decriminalize the act between consenting adults, expressed from the earliest efforts to write a socialist criminal code in 1918 to the eventual adoption of legislation in 1922".
This regressed somewhat under Stalin as part of the revisionist tendencies of his government, but it never was as oppressive as the capitalist states were. Not even close. Comparing 20th century socialist/communist states' attitudes towards queerness with the attitudes of the capitalist hegemony and coming to the conclusion that there is any kind of similarity is wild.
The USSR was legalizing queerness in the 1920s (the Russian state of the USSR did, as evidenced above) and had social shifts happening in the 1910s that facilitated that legalization. On the other hand, the US supported the Nazis burning the totality of the research of the Institute of Sexual Research which included, in part, the beginning of the modern scientific understanding of how transgender people are part of society at large and was a giant leap forward in trans/queer acceptance and allyship a decade after some states in the USSR were decriminalizing queerness.
The Stonewall Riots happened in 1969, the same year as the moon landing. The cops who were assaulting the queer people at Stonewall are probably still alive; one of them could be your grandpa or your dad depending on your age. There was a multi-generational gap between how the socialist states and capitalist states approached queerness. Many capitalist states, being fundamentally right wing and reactionary, still oppress or criminalize queerness (e.g. the US).
Hope everybody’s having a great Pride month! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I hope you are too! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Peace and love to all. First year as a self admitted "platonic pansexual" living a heterosexual lovelife.
I'm just currently incarnated as a cisman who prefers female presenting humanoids for carnal love.
With a poetic license I now understand I am a platonic pansexual, a being or spirit as others who can't be known before we meet them. The Doctor (Eccleston & Capaldi) were so amazing as beings. More
@@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914Ncuti is amazing in the role! I've been waiting Doctor Who since the late 70s (Tom will always be my Doctor), but Ncuti's performance is absolutely brilliant.
Shout out to…. The gays 🏳️🌈
Happy Pride to you!
I'm 70 and when I was going to high school (in Chicago where it gets mighty cold in the winter), girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. If you wore them under a skirt or in place of one, you had to change as soon as you got there. GUESS WHO WORE PANTS TO SCHOOL ANYWAY?! And refused to change out of them. Yup, me, and I have no doubt other girls in the country. (Of course, I got sent home...more than once.) Y'all, you're welcome 'cause we did that so you could wear clothing appropriate to the season and your own inclinations.
so what I learned is that i need to start keeping my receipts and sow them together into a blanket for easy hrt
5:44 just fyi the author of "Female Masculinity" now goes by Jack Halberstam, and you may see newer editions of the book with that name :) Great read btw!
What a beautifully made video. As someone who has spent most of her 73 years studying oppression, this is one of best presentations I have seen on both that period and its similarity to what’s happening today among groups who have enjoyed privilege and are terrified of losing it (a psychologically complex situation). I concluded long ago that bigotry is a mental health issue as it prevents those who have it from seeing the world as it is in all its extraordinary complexity and, yes, beauty. This video should be presented in schools…which won’t happen, alas.
I really like idea of conceptualizing bigotry as a mental health problem.
@@spameranne Thank you. It’s been generally accepted in the psych community for some time. When I proposed it 40 years ago, there was a significant absence of acceptance in academia and other circles. I suspect it hit some nerves. It’s hard to admit one has prejudices even though that’s part of being human. To be able to recognize one’s prejudices is a hard road to travel in any culture/society but so worth it in the end. When initially studying all the horrors of human prejudice, I walked around in a state of grief and I certainly have many, many images which are very painful to this day. As I continued, I realized that pain was necessary both to honor those who suffered and suffer, and to my becoming a decent human being.
Although I understand your idea, I am also not in favor of it
Bigotry is a mindset
It is a choice, it can be controlled, and you can stop being a bigot, it may seem like a disorder others because of how uncontrollable it looks on the outside
It's also letting people off the hook in a way you didn't mean to, the phrase "sorry it's my ADHD" may now be equal to "sorry my bigotry" if you choose to continue believing in your idea
I wish I could cite people more but please talk and listen to more neurodivergent and disabled people
I could only cite Imani_Barbarin as an example of disagreeing that bigotry is an illness because of the harm it would cause
@@sharonkaczorowski8690 "generally accepted in the psych community" is not only unreferenced, it's no evidence of anything. What medication do you prescribe for bigotry? And in my lived experience, accusing others of being mentally ill is frequently a projection.
I remember an old comedy from the 90s called You Rang M’Lord, set in a pre-WWI town house. It was a loose exploration of the upstairs/downstairs divide, and I mention it because one of the characters was the daughter of the lord of the house. She always wore “men’s” clothes and had her hair slicked down at Kaz described. She wasn’t the butt of the joke, but more the confusion of the older (male) family members who were confused by her.
It’s only hitting me now how accurate that may have been.
Fantastic video, and I love the deep investigation here. Beautifully done
Omg, Cissy Meldrum! *iconic*
@@meredith5879 that’s the one! I could not remember their name! 🤣
Yep this video brought to mind that character for me too.
and if Cissy wasn't on socialist rallies, she was always somewhere with her "chum" Penelope
@@BadCatInHat I remember that the show ends with her turning the family fortune into a workers' cooperative or something.
Your comment about the disappearing Lesbian bars made me realize that here in Montreal we used to have several such places. Sad to think about their passing.
There are only 31 or so in the US. For all 50 states. Very unfortunate and I wish we had more 😞
cuz of all the transy
I'm an older lesbian ... PhD proff of Philosophy and Medical Ethics. I've just found this amazing woman and her presentations are refreshingly intelligent, honest and I'm learning lots ! ❤ !
hi i believe kaz goes by they/ them pronouns :3 just wanted to let you know!!!
@@nicolegiovine243 hey thanks for letting me know.... I'm not caught up on how to use the pronouns so your guidance is really appreciated... I've been working in Alaskan Bush villages for about 20 years so keep me up on the appropriate language and thank you ... 😎
Just a head's up that Halberstam now goes by Jack! They've had a journey since Female Masculinities:)
Ohh thank you for the heads up! I’ll edit the description list
EXCELLENT video. I have a degree in sexuality studies, and I sometimes find videos that discuss late 19th century/early 20th century sexuality that leave out a lot of key information, or which spread misinformation. I was so happy to see this wasn't one of those videos! You actually mentioned inverts, and the way that sexuality must be understood through the lens of contemporary expectations of gender and sexuality as do-ing rather than be-ing! I see a lot of stuff has had to be left out, but I think you did a really good job of focusing on specific things to make sure the video is too long (if I try, I end up talking way too long about the role of eugenics and early psychology, lol). Great video ❤
Gorgeous video! I love how the tweet screeching about Barbie starts going off on Ryan Reynolds when Ryan Gosling is the *dude* playing Ken…but of course reality is never a barrier…
Those people appear to be losing their grip on reality.
I told my children the best thing to do was not to worry about labels but just love who they love.
I love this. ❤
You’re a diva.
My son recently said to me "I know I'm straight. I'm pretty sure. But...there are some men who are just beautiful." I thought that was pretty good.
One of my favorites is "I may or may not be attracted to you, I just have functioning eyes."
Like, man, some people are just freaking beautiful.
as long as you dont drug and mutilate them
I'm so glad that you still finish off your videos encouraging people to wear a mask. As a high risk disabled person this gesture means a lot to me.
so your mask doesnt work but others do?
What I wouldn't give if i could go back in time and have a night out at La Monocle! Amazing research and accompanying photos as always, Kaz!
Here in Dallas, Texas, we have one of the last remaining Lesbian bars in the country! Sue Ellen’s
We've got some in DC too! A League of Her Own is expressly lesbian, and As You Are is highly sapphic as well.
The setting, the music, THE FREAKING CINEMATOGRAPHY omg 👏🏽
Also (again, lol) it always makes me laugh during your sponsor segment about shady info brokers finding out who my relatives are. I always think "Lol, jokes on them, my family disowned me years ago." I just imagine my mother getting one of those messages where they spoof your voice, and my mom just hangs up, not because she knows it's fake, but because she thinks it's real! I imagine their surprise as she shouts "Good!" before hanging up. But I guess my sense of humor is a bit messed up, lol.
Oh my god the way I snorted at "huge Good Luck babe moment." Love that that's entering the lexicon.
Im a simple man. I see kaz Rowe I up thumb and bell ding.
A year ago i wrote a paper on Natalie Barney and all her (messy) relationships, and though my professor told me i ventured too off topic (apparently i was supposed to talk about her poetry only and nothing else) i still stand by it and i fucking loved the process of writing and publishing it!
First time commenter but long time subscriber. Listening to your video while furiously hand-dyeing embroidery floss in variations of Pride flags and the Palestinian flag colours for a craft pop-up this weekend (my first one!) with portions of proceeds going to queer and mutual aid communities, and the Municipality of Gaza respectively. I hope I do good. And I hope you are having a great day!
WE LOOK SO GOOD
It's crazy to read such a modern seeming term as "ultra-tomboyish" in an article from 1927!
I love that when America basically ran out Eartha Kitt, she ended up working at Carroll's! "Her name was Fred - one of the most beautiful women you ever want to see in your life, always dressed as a man." Eartha went on to meet Orson Welles there, and work closely with him, as well! I love Eartha Kitt so much, but so few know much about her beyond 'Santa Baby' or her time acting in the 60s Batman show. As an outcast, and an outspoken woman, I love that she accepted anyone else society saw as an outcast - I love that lesbians in France gave her a safe place to not just exist, but thrive!
I just wanted to say thanks for these videos. I'm in my 40s now and I'm always learning new things about our community thanks to video essays like yours. When I was young, I took what I could get, browsing the "Womens' Studies" sections of used bookstores and libraries (in a red state, so no LGBT+ content there), or my city's one queer bookstore, so I'm very grateful for the abundance of info about our history that is freely available now. ❤
the vibes the production the costumes the everything 👨🏼🍳🤌🏼🌈
Holy shit! It was really cool to see my local sapphic bar in the intro to this video!!! Love your videos, thanks as always for putting them out :D
What’s the name? I would love to check it out!
My beautiful queer community in Oklahoma City actually has the most Lesbian Bars in the US❤️ let’s go prairie queers!!🌾🌻🏳️🌈
This might be my new favorite video essay from you. Besides just covering the fascinating parts of this time period, you also did a great job of analysing the ways the queer experience transcends time. I especially resonated with the moment you described how modern labels aren’t inheritly the only way to describe queerness, proving how our queer experiences shouldn’t be confined to specific labels.
On a side note I’m trying to write a comic about queer historical cowpoke (partially inspired by your previous cowpoke video essays) and I’ve been in a bit of rut with the story. But this video really helped remind me the inspiration for my story. I love how you phrased it that queerness is always in flux and thus so is the language. But at the heart of these experiences, there are the same feelings that queer people have shared across time.
That just proves how queer joy can persist anytime and anywhere ❤
I swear you always manage to bring a tear to my eyes when it’s comes to our history. That photo you used of Magnus Hirschfeld is actually the same one I used in my one person show. It was on trans identity as a Floridian over the events of last summer. Just seeming that picture makes me emotional, how connected we are, we’ve never truly been alone ♥️
I don’t leave enough comments, and I really felt like I needed to let you know how wonderful it is to watch your content. You make me so comfortable to be me. I love sharing these facts with my other friends… Our arms are forever wrapped around you here in Kennewick Washington, Washington state on the mighty Columbia river keep up the good fight.
Thank u for existing and all the work that must go into your content. Litteraly my favourite youtuber, everything from the way you talk and the aesthetics of your videos, to the topics you explore and how much nuance you manage to include. We're all lucky to have you. It's wonderful to have easy access to amazing queer history. I seriously dont have the words for how much I appreciate you and what you do.
YES HOLY SHIT YES THANK YOU FOR THIS I NEEDED THIS
I THINK ABOUT THIS TOPIC NONSTOP HELP
This topic being lesbians? Same
@@emmoesen3988 Lmaooooo i suppose. I’m just all over queer history in general. It scratches an itch
Love learning the queer unspoken side of history.
the way I recognized Dorothy’s immediately from the iconic wallpaper.. soo cool that you were able to film in there
So happy to open this video and immediately recognize the Dorothy! Wonderful video and thanks for shouting out such a wonderful local staple
The beginning segment with the costumes and set dressing?--AAAAGGHHH I loved it ❤ Perfect, interesting topic as usual, especially for June, and seeing Mila paw at your face was so sweet!!
Mila is the MVP of this channel and I was so happy to see her majesty again. 😻
Great video, Kaz. Excellent research.
I’ve had a great Pride Month. Saturday, we had the FIRST EVER Pride in my tiny hometown, complete with a drag show! King and Queens! Also went to the huge celebration in New Orleans earlier this month with my friends. I got to paint a man for drag for the first time!
This was absolutely outstanding! I wish it was available when I was teaching Ph.D.-level seminars in communication theory and research methods. It splendidly demonstrates complex issues related to the material world, culture and identity. It also illuminates problematics associated with presentism as it clouds historical analysis -- so I could have used it in my historical methods seminar too. And, as always, the costumes really bring this all to life. Marvelous!
My new elderly room mates love all this content!
i love that you talked about that era’s terms! so important to remember that progress isn’t linear in history, and that there have always been different queer cultures and their own contextual terms and identities. even now, perhaps all the terms we use aren’t going to be the ones we use forever!
i cant believe this was an hour long , such an entertaining and informative content
god this video is a piece of art. the beginning was so beautiful it moved me, and i love how in depth the subject went. kaz really outdid themselves 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Here within 20 minutes of release?? Hell yeah!
Literally so cool oh my lord and the decor and the quality of this video 😢😊❤
so excited.. it's my day off, food is on the way and my edible is kicking in so this is perfect timing!!
Thank you for making these videos, it makes me feel a little less alone knowing about those who came and struggled before us
I bought your novel a while back and it is so beautiful and transcendent! Thank you for the passion you've shared with the world through your videos and written works 💜💜💜
Love the cinematography of the intro scene! Also MILLA SWEEP!!
It’s always a good day when there’s a new Kaz video
As an elder Milennial, I find my gaydar to be inadequate for reliably detecting queerness in anyone under about 25. Maybe we're in this moment again, or maybe I'm just old 😂
Thanks for another fabulous look into the Sapphic and queer past, Kaz!
Yeah, half the young'uns these days look queer to me too. Kids these days? 😂
Love your video. Just two days ago I was randomly talking with a female bisexual friend about music and Marlene Dietrich came to mind and we talked about her meeting the fashion stereotype of lesbisn artists of the time and here you are giving me the clarity I needed apparently.
I as a pansexual man with late diagnosed autism absolutely loved using Edwardian and early 20th century fashion to play around with fashion elements that today would seem more effeminate (for obviousely dumb reasons) and kinda learned after the fact, that walking around in those clothes even in the lab where I worked as an analyst, was a way for me to explore masking and self expression in completely new and more extreme ways.
No matter how much I'll change throughout my life, I'll never let my inner dandy die and always use the self esteem I built back when I started expressing myself in that manner to be my authentic self and never start constantly masking ever again.
This period and group of people are my pet research topic right now. Thanks so much!!
18:10 this is a bit under half the reason why i intentionally mix & mash my style as a straight white guy
i've got green colored hair, an 8 inch beard and viking braids.
It's weirdly a lot of fun watching assholes figure out if they need to / want to risk harassing me
i've genuinely had to point out to strangers that "i am not gay or lgbtq-whatever bro." and then watch them claim "that was not the problem" before suddenly no longer being agressive towards me
it's my subtle way of fucking with bigots lol
This is what allyship looks like
As an LGBTQ woman who dresses fairly straight, I would kill to go out for an evening with you. I might actually die laughing.
I feel you! I’m a trans guy and recently started transitioning and I love to dress very ‘boyish’ and then put on super pretty makeup. My goal is to look like an androgynous anime man and wear cute femme outfits but for now my body still looks very feminine and so wearing masculine clothing to cover my body and putting on pretty makeup is the best I can do to make people as confused as possible.
@@fugitive_i love seeing people like you
I am always a bit distracted by all the cool antiques in the background and all the awesome costumes Kaz has every video. What a great channel. Everything is always so interesting.
i would do anything to be a fly on the wall in some of these gathering places. this video was so great i almost cried! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I would love to hear you talk about the life and legacy of Tamara de Lempicka one day. Love your videos!
Can we all just agree that Kaz just looks amazing, as they do in every video?
Excellent video!
Sweet little queer anecdote: I was out at some live music in a very proud outfit (skirt with several pride flags in the print, shirt with a rainbow pattern, my they/them pronoun button with a rainbow dragon), and a kiddo (maybe 9-ish) came up to me to say they liked my outfit, also use they/them, and that I’m not alone ❤
I binge your videos while I crochet and a few days ago I watched the last one I hadn't seen and I was so sad because I love how you talk about history and the different topics you pick. The topics you pick are some that interest me and some that I haven't heard of, and I love learning about history through your videos. Thank you
I'm always interested in your history topics but I definitely also come to see your outfits. You're always killing it in the wardrobe department.
Thank you Kaz, I really appreciate this. I’ve been watching your videos since before I even accepted that I was in fact, queer myself and your work has gone a long way to help me heal my internal homophobia and given me so many cool glimpses into a past I never knew even existed. Thank you!
As a Floridian who is pale with wide shoulders and who is naturally strong, I've never been much for sartorial involvement. I travel in very LGBT friendly circles and someone recently thought that despite being in a committed relationship with my boyfriend for 9 years he thought that I was bi because I wear t-shirts and tank tops and khaki style but colorful but not golf course style shorts. I have a lot of leg edema so I can't wear short shorts because of chub rub. I've always felt more masculine than most women because I refused to hide my strength. I even used to do taekwondo with grown men because the women said I hit too hard. Also I didn't get diagnosed with autism till I was in menopause. I've never really fit in with any group I guess. Too straight for lesbians and not lady like enough for most men until I met my boyfriend who isn't worried about that sort of thing. I'm glad things are changing, maybe my niece will have a better time in life with it, she looks like she's going to follow in my footsteps pretty closely.
I just love learning about this stuff and you do it so well in these videos. It’s like history is a coloring book and every video is a new crayon. The world is just so interesting and sparkly after learning about old timey Paris girlfriends.
This video dropping after the lastest IWTV episode is just too perfect.
I came here to find something to listen to while I clean my room. I left realising that I’m a ragging homosexual (I already knew). I loved the focus on Lesbian historical figures. Not many people take women’s sexuality into account even within the modern more accepting queer community. The part where you mentioned that women’s sexual “deviance” was not criminalised is incredibly accurate. Even in homophobic countries right now, people are more focused on hating on gay men than they are on lesbians. I have observed it in the homophobic community where I grew up too. People saw my lack of interest in men as something “all teenage girls go through” and that I would “grow out” of it. These words were limiting and freeing at the same time. Even though it was hard for me to find someone who is accepting of my sexuality, it meant that I could also “stay under the radar” and be queer safely.
Fascinating! Thanks! My wife found this today and we both enjoyed it so much.
Happy Pride Month to everyone and also... Kaz, the PRODUCTION VALUE??! This is amazing!! (And I am literally like 30s in)
kaz your videos get better and better and more amazing than the last,, eACH UPLOAD! the time and planning they must take is much appreciated. they’re beautiful, informative and explorative. i’ve been subbed for a while and watching your quality and growth has been amazing. thank you thank you for being my fav queer historian !!
I’m currently an Art History undergrad studying modernism and I just did a final paper for a class analysing elements of gender in Dada art, this video is like tailor-made perfect for me lmao!
This video came up on my recommended feed and I was like oh, how interesting! And then I lost my mind at how much queer history content has been out here this whole time. I’m starting a masters program in queer history this fall and watching all your videos has been such an incredible inspiration and reminder of why I love what I study! From one queer historian to another, thank you!!!
I'm a straight guy in my 50s. I'm also a historian, though, and I love your well-researched and interesting videos. Good job helping bring attention to such poorly understood areas of history.
the aesthetic and CINNAMONTOPOGRAPHY!!!! ❤❤❤❤ Kaz time is the best time
Thank you so much for this lovely walk through time. The music, the vintage photos and your insightful narrative gave me an hour of bliss on an oppressive afternoon ❤❤❤
aaa I remember posting a comment about Natalie Barney on one of your other videos, I'm so glad to see you talking about her here!! you really out here hitting every one of my hyperfixations 💖💖
Wash thy hands, wear thy mask. Thanks for staying with us, Kaz ❤❤❤
Your account is so under-rated!! Thank you so much for all the work you put in your videos, its a true inspiration to me as an aspiring historian or archivist. Keep up all the amazing things you do!
If you ever get to 1930, 1940 New York night clubs, I’d love for you to find out more about ‘The Howdy Club’.
My grandparents regularly clubbed there because my grandfather was a Standard Oil tanker captain and when he arrived home they would go out with other shipmates.
I grew up learning about Lesbians from my grandmother. Her brother was the traveling photographer who took photos at most of the clubs (rush back to develop the film and print the photos) it sound like such a glamorous night life.
I am SO happy that you popped up on my feed! I’ve seen about five episodes and I’m hooked. Thank you ❤️
Great Video Kaz! This was perfectly timed as I'm reading After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz which chronicles the lives of all of the people you have mentioned in the video in one place interspersed with quotes of Sappho's poetry fragments - its sumptuous. (Also Llangollen pronunciation is thlan-goth-len - sorry!)
43:28
AAAAAAAH BRASSAI!!!!! Yes yes yes!! I love his photos, my dad, (a hobbyist photographer) actually introduced me to his work when I was young, and I was THRILLED to see his work interpreted and used as direct inspiration for the most recent Maison Margiela show by Galliano. (It’s the show that had Gwendolyn Christie and all those people with the porcelain doll/glass skin makeup looks that people on tiktok were raving about.) SUCH a cool show, and SUCH wonderful work to use as inspiration!
I go to Shakespeare and Company almost every week so this video is amazing ! Walking through Paris knowing all this will get me emotional