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A Lesson in Gay History for California's New Educational Bill

Howdy folks! So, just a few short weeks after gay marriage was legalized in New York, California lawmakers voted in favor of a bill that makes gay history a compulsory part of students' education. Although the bill has yet to make it past Governor Jerry Brown--who has 12 days to sign or veto it--supporters call the bill "a first in the nation", and would place gay, bi, and transgendered individuals alongside women and minorities in the California classroom.

Pretty cool, eh? But the new bill, if it passes, would also mean substantial revisions to textbooks and curriculums...and honestly, how do you pick from the thousands upon thousands of gay, bi, transgender, or otherwise convention-defying individuals who have shaped our world since the dawn of civilization?

Well, we blogger-types at Logo have created a condensed list--let's call it some suggested reading--for California and their new gay-savvy bill.

1. Ancient Greece/Ancient Rome

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Ancient Greek "Games""][/caption]

Need we say more?

Although it's not uncommon for college students to learn about "eros"--the ancient Greek idea of an erotic love where one's sex is an afterthought--it's rare for American high schools or middle schools to mention such an important cultural trait, despite the fact that Ancient Greek and Roman history is often a cornerstone of secondary school history lessons.

2. Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest

The very gay, very glamorous 19th century writer not only made huge contributions to Western literature (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, numerous poems and refrigerator-magnet-quoteables), but was also gay. Did we mention that he was gay? Because he was gay.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="208" caption="Gay"][/caption]

Amazingly enough, this very obvious fact is often left out of literature classes until college, making analysis of the subtext in Wilde's work nearly impossible and at the very most completely useless. The fact that Wilde wrote during the repressive Victorian era and still managed to strut his stuff all the way to jail (he was sentenced to hard labor for "gross indecency") is inspirational, if not *gasp!* admirable.

3. Joan Crawford: Mildred Pierce

I put Joan Crawford on here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, she was an incredible actress who starred in a number of gender-bender films (Johnny Guitar and Mildred Pierce to name a few). Her work as an actress was complex and progressive for her time, often complicating the traditional gender binary and supplying fuel for the eventual women's rights movement in the 1960s and 70s.

Additionally, Crawford was also known for romancing a number of ladies back in the day--including Marilyn Monroe. Not surprisingly, however, Crawford is rarely considered in the classroom as one of the catalysts for social change in the 60s/70s...JFK's supposed affair with Marilyn Monroe is apparently a far worthier use of class time.

4. Harvey Milk: Milk

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the country to be elected to a public office, and was extremely involved in promoting gay rights throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Tragically, Milk was assassinated only 11 months after serving in office, allowing him to become a figurehead not only for the gay community but also for Americans willing to die for what they believe in. Gus Van Sant's subtle biopic Milk explores the many facets of Milk's historical relevance, as well as his personal life.

5. Skins, Seasons 1-4

This spicy British show--centered around the lives of young, rich, and hopeless Bristol teenagers--is more what its title implies (crazy drug-fuled orgies) than specifically pro-gay television.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="British TV: not all Doctors and hoity-toity accents. "][/caption]

However, there are a number of gay couples throughout the series, and they are, for the most part, treated exactly like their heterosexual counterparts. Which is to say, "they're young, they're hot, so why not?" Skins is progressive precisely because it doesn't try to be...it's a great cultural snapshot of the up-and-coming generation, and in ten years will be a good little historical nugget of designer drugs and obsolete fashion.

6. All of the stupid, attention-whoring sam-sex kisses on live TV

We saw Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock's kiss at the 2010 Oscars. And then Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner at the MTV Movie Awards. What the hell is this shit? Seriously guys?

In actuality, however, these kinds of kisses show a general trend towards mainstream acceptance of homosexuality and everything in between. Yes, it's obnoxious. Yes, it's a ploy for attention. Yes, it's rehearsed. But somewhere deep down, it's nice to know that a lot of us are on the same side. The number of straight allies to the GBLTQ community has increased tremendously in the past few years, and these kisses are just Hollywood's way of saying "Yes, we support you guys."

Also, who doesn't want to see an R-Pattz/T-Lauts kiss? Let's just reflect on that for a moment.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="...or we can just reflect for the next 10 years or so."][/caption]

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