Jan 31, 2021Archives and LGBTQ+ HistoryI’m trying to decide exactly how I feel about an ongoing debate occurring in France over the institutionalization of LGBTQ+ history through the establishment of a community archive along the lines of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. The Bay Area Register has a helpful overview in English of…Archives4 min read
Jun 4, 2020Calling the PoliceAbout a week ago, just as the protests and uprisings against police brutality began in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a woman named Amy Cooper called the police after being asked to put her dog on a leash by a Black birdwatcher named Christian Cooper (no relation)…Policing4 min read
Jun 3, 2020Josephine Butler on the PoliceI started drafting what I thought might be my first op-ed based on my current interests in Josephine Butler (1828–1906) and her campaigns against regulated prostitution in France. But as I was writing, I realized that some of what I was saying may be better kept for the article I’ve…Josephine Butler4 min read
May 14, 2019Strangers on a Plane[Warning: Discussion of sexual abuse in this post] Do not talk to me on an airplane. When I sit down, normally with headphones already on, book in hand, I am not inviting a conversation with a stranger. And yet, my most recent trip (a short hour and change flight, thankfully)…LGBTQ5 min read
Apr 16, 2018On Being Jewish in the Deep SouthI came across the following tweet this morning and couldn’t help but think of all the times this has happened to me: I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while now, so I’ll take the tweet (the whole thread, really) as an opportunity. When this has happened…3 min read
Oct 11, 2017Memorializing the Confederacy in the ConfederacyForrest County Courthouse and Confederate Monument located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. A couple days ago, in my role as a member of the advisory board of the USM Center for Human Rights and Civil Liberties, I organized and moderated a forum on Confederate memorialization. The context of such…Confederacy6 min read
Jun 12, 2017“Born that Way?”After the election, I began reading a bit more conservative media in order to get out of my so-called “bubble.” One of those publications is the American Conservative, which today published a post by Rod Dreher that surprised me. Enough that it got me to actually put something new…Conservatism4 min read
Sep 4, 2016On Safe SpacesI just listened to On the Media’s interview with Cameron Okeke, the author of a recent article at Vox regarding the recent letter sent to incoming students at the University of Chicago regarding “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces.” Okeke argues that it is only by providing safe spaces in which…Academia3 min read
May 31, 2016The Challenges of Being an LGBTQ HistorianMary Louise Roberts recently published a short article describing some of the results of the recently completed American Historical Association LGBTQ Task Force Report. The article brings our attention to a number of issues facing both LGBTQ academics and academics who research LGBTQ issues (note that these two categories do…Academia4 min read