Texas LGBT History

startraveller

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Apologies if this isn't the best place to post this question, but I'm looking for recommendations of nonfiction (memoirs, personal accounts, history articles, even documentaries or video essays) on LGBTQ+ culture in Texas from the 1990s through the early 2000s.
 

Lakey

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Oof, that question makes me feel a little old, as someone who came out in the mid-1980s—not in Texas, unfortunately. I don’t have anything specific to offer you, but here’s a suggestion: If you can think of famous or well-known people who were part of that culture, you might comb through their interviews and find bits of them talking about the experiences of their youth. I can’t think of any off the top of my head (I heard Ellen DeGeneres’s southern accent in my head, but I looked her up and she grew up in New Orleans and Atlanta), but Texas is a big place and I am sure there are some out there.

Astonishingly Wikipedia has a list of LGBT people from Texas (!). You may know about this list already but if not it could be a rich source for you. I notice Tig Notaro makes the list—she is about the right age, and has written memoirs and done introspective comedy, so she might be a useful source.

Good luck! I research lesbian culture in the 1940s and 50s, which is long enough ago that there are a decent number of academic and popular histories of the era, as well as a some memoirs and biographies. But the women who made that culture are mostly gone now. You have the advantage that folks who came out in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s are mostly still around, and also generally much more willing to talk about it than folks who came out in the era of my research ever were. I hope you can find what you need!

ETA: One more thing: People talk about “LGBTQ+ culture” as if it’s a thing, but especially in the era you are talking about, it really wasn’t. Forgive me if this is obvious, but be prepared to find gay men and lesbians (not to mention the other letters) having vastly different cultures and vastly different experiences. The cultural forces on men and women, especially in a conservative place like Texas, make for a huuuuuge gulf. And the gay male community in the 1990s would have still been feeling the reverberations of the AIDS crisis in a way that didn’t affect anyone else.

:e2coffee:
 
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AW Admin

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ETA: One more thing: People talk about “LGBTQ+ culture” as if it’s a thing, but especially in the era you are talking about, it really wasn’t. Forgive me if this is obvious, but be prepared to find gay men and lesbians (not to mention the other letters) having vastly different cultures and vastly different experiences. The cultural forces on men and women, especially in a conservative place like Texas, make for a huuuuuge gulf. And the gay male community in the 1990s would have still been feeling the reverberations of the AIDS crisis in a way that didn’t affect anyone else.

:e2coffee:

And race also figured prominently; queers can be just as bigoted as everyone else.

ETA: I remember this.
 
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shadowsminder

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frimble3

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And, be aware of the differences between small town and big city experiences.
For good or bad.
 
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startraveller

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ETA: One more thing: People talk about “LGBTQ+ culture” as if it’s a thing, but especially in the era you are talking about, it really wasn’t. Forgive me if this is obvious, but be prepared to find gay men and lesbians (not to mention the other letters) having vastly different cultures and vastly different experiences. The cultural forces on men and women, especially in a conservative place like Texas, make for a huuuuuge gulf. And the gay male community in the 1990s would have still been feeling the reverberations of the AIDS crisis in a way that didn’t affect anyone else.

:e2coffee:

And race also figured prominently; queers can be just as bigoted as everyone else.

That's very true, and I should keep it in mind. I meant "culture" in a loose way of defining a difference between what is and isn't cisgender heterosexual, which may not be a great way of describing it at all. I'm from Texas, still live here (bound by lack of funds or transportation), and can affirm progression arrives at a snail's pace. That brand of Conservative Southern Christian Ideals tends to permeate everything it touches, even when you don't think it does.

Thank y'all for the links and input. I'd completely forgotten Tig Notaro spent some of her childhood here!
 

cool pop

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You're gonna have to break that down by regions and cities, honestly. Texas is not monolithic. There is no "Texas Culture" because every region has its own culture. Many of the cities are just too different. I'm from Houston, the most liberal city in Texas and one of the most liberal, progressive cities in the US. Houstonians BLEED blue. We have a HUGE LGBT community as well as a melting pot of any race you could think of. The experiences of LGBT here will be ten times different than in say some little, tiny rural town in Texas with a population of only 400 people for example. Austin is very liberal too as well as other places here just like some places are conservative. As someone says, it depends on where you are in Texas. You can't combine Texas into one culture. No way. Also, the"conservative" places tend to be the small, rural areas like in almost every state. The big cities in Texas are as progressive concerning LGBT, race, etc as anyone. Houston elected Anissa Parker, the first openly lesbian mayor by the way. No blue state had even done that. There are just too many differences concerning culture from one place to the next in Texas. For example Houston culture differs from Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and visa versa. Each city has its own culture or "ways" which is what makes Texas so fascinating. So, I doubt you can find anything that encompasses LGBT culture in "Texas". It would have to be broken down by regions, etc to get an accurate view. I've been to different areas in Texas outside Houston and some are so different (not in a bad way, just different) it feels like you've gone to another planet.
 
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startraveller

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Thanks cool pop. As I said up thread, I'm from Texas and do understand there's differences between the regions and cities - I'm from Dallas, have family in Houston, have friends in Austin. At the moment I lack the funds to travel (pandemic aside) and do a ton of hands-on research. And many of the people in my life aren't much more educated than I am on Texas LGBT history. That's why I've asked specifically about recs on LGBT non-fiction or digital archives of history, posed to those who may be able to point me to good resources, or just to books/stories they find are good reads. Not looking to write a thesis, just want to expand my understanding of a piece of social history I wasn't cognizant of during adolescence.

I did find the website for The Dallas Way, which is another digital history project. The site has a bunch of videos of stories and experiences told by those a part of the LGBTQ community. I hadn't heard of it before, but I'm glad I happened upon it.

http://www.thedallasway.org/stories