No Way, They Were Gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves

Ages 11 to 18, Grades 6 to 12

A fascinating new look at the hidden lives and secret loves of twelve well-known historical figures, using primary source documents such as letters, poems, artwork, and more to uncover their surprising LGBTQ history.

"History" sounds really official. Like it's all fact. Like it's definitely what happened.

But that's not necessarily true. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. And sometimes, those historians were biased against, didn't see, or couldn't even imagine anyone different from themselves.

That means that history has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people: men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Historians have even censored the lives and loves of some of the world's most famous people, from William Shakespeare and Pharaoh Hatshepsut to Cary Grant and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Join author Lee Wind for this fascinating journey through primary sources—poetry, memoir, news clippings, and images of ancient artwork—to explore the hidden (and often surprising) Queer lives and loves of two dozen historical figures.

About the Author

Lee Wind is the founding blogger and publisher of I'm Here. I'm Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?, an award-winning website about books, culture, and empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning and Queer youth, and their Allies. He is the author of No Way, They Were Gay: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Lee also works for IBPA and SCBWI. Visit him online at www.leewind.org to see and share how #QueerHistoryIsEverywhere.