The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939

Alice Austen, The Darned Club, 1891, original glass plate negative, 4×5 in Collection of Historic Richmond Town.

The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939
runs through July 26, 2025
at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago, USA

The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 explores a sea change in how society regarded homosexuality in the wake of the coining of the term “homosexual” in 1869. Before this watershed moment, same-sex desire marked something you did, not necessarily something you were. The First Homosexuals examines how, for the first time, homosexuals were cleaved from the rest of the population and given an identity which turned on their sexuality.

The exhibition is unprecedented, with more than 300 works by more than 125 artists from 40 countries, on loan from over 100 museums and private collections across the world. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Johnny Willis.

Related Link

‘The First Homosexuals’ showcases 300 queer artworks amid ‘rise of homophobic politics’ by Courtney Kueppers