By Hailey Brady
The Mark A. Anderson photograph collection showcases historical examples of possible same-sex affection and gender nonconformity from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Of this collection, I have chosen two postcards that I believe best exhibit the possible ways in which individuals identified themselves in a time period where such identities were met with hostility.
Homophobia and anti-gay sentiment in the twentieth century forced many LGBT families into hiding. By the mid-century, discrimination was so extreme that people suspected of being gay, lesbian, or transgender were subject to arrest, imprisonment, or state-mandated conversion therapy. Many LGBT couples with children from previous marriages feared being separated from their children. Historian Daniel Winunwe Rivers writes, “Many heterosexual people […] believed that lesbians and gay men were psychologically disturbed and prone to molesting children,” and some ex-spouses attempted to use their partner’s sexuality against them to win custody of their children in divorce proceedings. Due to the prejudice of the time, it is incredible to see even subtle cues of possible same-sex affection in these photographs. Furthermore, we encounter issues when applying modern labels to the identities of individuals in the past due to the fact that these categories did not exist then. We cannot apply categories curated by current circumstances to people of a time period with completely different standards.
This first postcard depicts two men in uniform closely embracing each other. While the identity of the subjects and photographer – and thus, the exact context for this photograph – remains unknown, what we can gather from the closeness of the individuals is mutual affection, whether that be romantic or platonic.
The second postcard, which exhibits two cross-dressing women seated together on a porch, reveals more subtle affection. While their closeness and their expressions reveal affection, more is revealed through the letter written on the back of this postcard, which writes: “Dear Mrs. Brown, guess who this is we are all well and hope you are all too School is thus warm enough for you hope to here from you soon from Miss Long”. While no assumptions can be made without knowing further information about the writer’s identity, this letter leads to further questions regarding the possible relationship between these two women.
Citations
Mark A. Andreson Same-Sex Affection and Gender Studies collection (uncatalogued), William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Daniel Winunwe Rivers, “Families in Hiding,” in Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013), 11-31.