LibGuides: L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Resources: Research

Research

Using the Library Search
To begin a search, check out this guide.

Triton College Library uses the Library of Congress classification for digital and physical materials. Library materials are organized according to Library of Congress Subject Headings and use the keywords associated with Library of Congress controlled vocabularies.

Note on Subject Headings: “Terminology changes, and like all classification systems, the Library of Congress Subject Headings contain some outdated and possibly offensive terms and may not contain the newest terminology.” (University of Maryland Libraries DEI Research Guide)

For more on Subject Headings, check out Coming Out of the Controlled Closet by Jessica L. Colbert, which details how some outdated terminology often “remains in use long after the community deems it harmful or incorrect” (Colbert, Coming Out of the Controlled Closet: A Comparison of Patron Keywords for Queer Topics to Library of Congress Subject Headings, 1).

Keywords: Homosexuality, Transgender, Gender nonconformity, Gay politicians, Sexual minorities, Transgender people, Queer theory

Subject Headings: (Library of Congress LGBTQIA+ Studies Research Guide)

Sexual orientation
Asexuality (Sexual orientation)
Bisexuality
Gays
Lesbians
Gender identity
Gender nonconformity
Intersex people
Transgender people
Queer theory
Gender nonconformity
Gay rights
Non-monogamous relationships
Sexual behavior
Sexology—History
Sexual orientation—fiction
Sexual minority community

Tips and Tricks for Searching the Databases: Triton Resources

Recommended Journals

Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History
This encyclopedia is held as an e-resource by the Triton College Library.
The Empty Closet
"The Empty Closet is one of the oldest continuously published LGBT papers in the United States."

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (scholar's edition)
118 document projects and archives with 4,800 documents and more than 162,000 pages of additional full-text documents, written by 2,500 primary authors.

Archives

The Center: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center
"The LGBT Community Center National History Archive is a community-based archive that collects, preserves, and makes available to the public the documentation of LGBTQ lives and organizations centered in and around New York."
The Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America
"The mission of GLAMA is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the materials that reflect the histories of the LGBT communities of the Kansas City region."
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives: Midwest LGBTQ History and Culture
"Open to all, Gerber/Hart serves [marginalized] communities by collecting, preserving, and making accessible collection items of individuals, organizations, and businesses, as well as publicly distributed items."
GLBT History Society
"The GLBT Historical Society collects, preserves, exhibits and makes accessible to the public materials and knowledge to support and promote understanding of LGBTQ history, culture and arts in all their diversity."
GLBTQ Archive
"The glbtq project was founded in 2000 by Publisher Wik Wikholm to create the world's largest encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture and history and to deliver it online."
ONE Archives | National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries
"ONE Archives at the USC Libraries is the largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world."
OutHistory: It's About Time
"OutHistory.org was founded in October 2008 by Jonathan Ned Katz, author of Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (1976) and other books on the history of sexuality and gender."
People with a History: An Online Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History
"People with a History presents the history of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people [LGBT]. It includes hundreds of original texts, discussions, and [soon] images, and addresses LGBT history in all periods, and in all regions of the world."

Terms & Definitions

Interviews

LGBTQ Digital History Collaboratory Oral History Hub
Includes interviews and stories of LGBTQIA+ activists and individuals who share their experiences as LGBTQIA+ people.
Ted Talk's "Love is Love" Playlist
"These moving, personal talks share stories of love and commitment in the LGBTQ community."
Gay Liberation's "LGBTQ In Hollywood" Interviews
"Since 1997, the Television Academy Foundation’s The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly the Archive of American Television) has been conducting in-depth, videotaped oral history interviews with television professionals, including actors, writers, editors, and journalists. These interviews explore the lives and careers of the interviewees, and often touch on important historical moments and movements. Gathered here are stories from LGBTQ interviewees about coming out, being out, and combating homophobia."

Guides & Handbooks

The Trevor Project's "Coming Out Handbook for LGBTQ Young People"
"Exploring your sexual orientation and/or gender identity can bring up a lot of feelings and questions. Inside this handbook, we will work together to explore your identity, what it might be like to share your identity with others, and provide you with tools and guiding questions to help you think about what coming out means to you."
The Trevor Project's "Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth"
"An introductory educational resource that covers topics and best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary youth."
The Trevor Project's "Guide to Understanding Gender Identities"
"It's important to understand that gender roles aren't set in stone."
Buffer's "50+ Resources for LGBTQIA Allies"
"Learning about the experiences and history of LGBTQ+ people shouldn't stop after June, which is why we wanted to share an updated list of resources to help us all learn how to be the best allies we can be!"

Triton College Library Media

Request Media Through Kanopy

If you find a film held by Kanopy that the library does not have access to, you can send a request form that links directly to the film. Just look through the films you can request, fill out that request form, and library staff will get back to you with information about your request.

Suggested Films

Rolling Stone's "50 Essential LGBTQ Movies"
"...consider this a primer that helps illustrate the relationship between queer culture and the silver screen."
Rotten Tomatoes' "200 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of all Time"
"To be considered for the list, a movie had to prominently feature gay, lesbian, trans, or queer characters; concern itself centrally with LGBTQ+ themes; present its LGBTQ+ characters in a fair and realistic light; and/or be seen as a touchpoint in the evolution of queer cinema."
Preview's 50 Black LGBTQ+ Films
"Digital platforms have given audiences access to LGBTQ+ films that were once hard to find. The Dekkoo streaming service is dedicated to all LGBTQ + content, including movies and original programming.
Here's a list of black LGBTQ+ films that you can queue up."
Buzzfeed 16 Amazing Queer BIPOC Films You Need To Watch ASAP
"Here are some LGBTQ+ films that you probably never heard of with everything you need about the intersectionality of sexual identity and culture."

Documentaries

Coming Out, Polish Style (2013)
"Many Polish gay men and lesbians remain in the closet for fear of being ostracized from family and friends, and in some cases losing their jobs. The film offers a rare look into the lives of "out" gay people in Poland. Despite cultural homophobia, Polish gays and lesbians are finding more and more friendly clubs to attend, and there is a determined core of activists pushing for gay rights at the national level."
Out in Suburbia: The Stories of Eleven Lesbians (1990)
"This remarkably honest and revealing documentary shatters the stereotypes held by many people unfamiliar with the gay community. Eleven women discuss with heartwarming frankness their lives in local neighborhoods, covering a wide range of issues including marriage, motherhood, discrimination, stereotypes and female roles."
Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo (2014)
"Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo chronicles a complete season of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA). Roping and riding across North America, the IGRA’s courageous cowboys and cowgirls must face many challenges both in and out of the arena on their quest to qualify for the World Finals at the end of the season. Along the way, they’ll bust every stereotype in the book."
Silent Pioneers: Gay and Lesbian Elders (1985)
"“Silent Pioneers” is a ground-breaking film about LGBTQ seniors who lived before the Stonewall Riots in 1969, the turning point in gay history that started the lesbian and gay liberation movement. Living in an era when being queer was not tolerated, these pioneers battled for self-esteem and survival in a "straight world,” meeting the usual challenges of aging - the loss of loved ones and their own terminal illnesses - with grace and heart. "
Stonewall Uprising (2010)
"In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Such raids were not unusual in the late 1960s, an era when homosexual sex was illegal in every state but Illinois. That night, however, the street erupted into violent protests and demonstrations that lasted for the next six days."

Podcasts

Making Gay History
"The next season of Making Gay History launches February 17!"
Queer As Fact
"Queer history podcast covering content from around the world and throughout time."
Unboxing Queer History
"Gerber/Hart will release Unboxing Queer History, an 8 episode podcast, starting on February 1 with an episode about Miss Tillie “The Dirty Old Lady of Chicago.”"

Recommended Reading

Sex, Needs & Queer Culture: From Liberation to the Post-Gay by Alderson, David
Call Number: HQ76.25 .A436 2016

ISBN: 9781783605132

Publication Date: 2016
What's Wrong With Homosexuality? by Corvino, John
Call Number: HQ76.25 .C673 2013

ISBN: 1-299-45690-1

Publication Date: 2013
Trans Voices: Becoming Who You Are by Henry, Declan
Call Number: HQ77.9 .H46 2017

ISBN: 9781785922404

Publication Date: 2017
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Lorde, Audrey
Call Number: PS3562.O75 S5 2007

ISBN: 9781580911863

Publication Date: 2007
Not Straight, Not White: Black Gay Men from the March on Washington to the AIDS Crisis by Mumford, Kevin J.
ISBN: 1-4696-2807-4

Publication Date: 2016
The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World by Reynolds, Andrew
Call Number: HQ76.5 .R49 2020

ISBN: 9780190088972

Publication Date: 2020
Heart, Brain and Mental Health Disparities for LGBTQ People of Color by James J. García (Editor)
ISBN: 3030700593

Publication Date: 2021
The Women's House of Detention by Hugh Ryan
ISBN: 1645036669

Publication Date: 2022
Free to Be by Jack Turban
ISBN: 1668017040

Publication Date: 2024
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by Snorton, C. Riley
Call Number: HQ77.95.U6 S66 2017

ISBN: 9781517901738

Publication Date: 2017

"Queer Theory emerged in the 1990s out of the fields of lesbian, gay, and gender studies. There are many interpretations, applications and uses of queer theory, but broadly, it can be taken as the study of gender practices/identities and sexualities that exist outside of cisgender and heterosexual “norms.” Queer theorists and thinkers are critical of essentialist views on sexuality and gender and view these concepts as constructed social and cultural phenomena." (Queer Theory and the Word Queer).