Celebrating LGBT+ History Month: the queer icons who have inspired the lives and works of our authors
To celebrate LGBT+ History Month, we asked some of our authors to share the story of one queer person—from history to the present day—who has inspired them, and to reflect on what that individual means to them and how they’ve influenced their lives and work.
Cody Daigle-Orians, author of I Am Ace, The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide, and upcoming Love Looks Like Lola
“I am always moved by the work of queer artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres. His art transformed ordinary objects in all of our lives — lightbulbs, wall clocks, small wrapped candies — and transformed them into meditations on loss, grief, queerness, time, and love. We lost him far too soon. Thankfully, we have the brilliant work he created during his lifetime, which always reminds me that life is short and to live and love and be queer while we are able.”
Michael Duryea, Intimacy After Trauma
“I’m inspired by Bayard Ruston, a gay civil rights organizer whose work shaped the March on Washington while he remained largely invisible because of his sexuality. His life reminds me that queer people, especially queer people of color, have always been doing the quiet work of holding movements together. As a therapist, I think a lot about invisible labor, emotional safety, and repair. Bayard once said, “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.” To me, his legacy lives in every act of courage that happens without applause.”
Arthur Webber, Jacob’s Transition Goals
“It’s recent history, but a person I’d like to spotlight this LGBTQ+ History Month is Quinn – midfielder for the Canada National Women’s Soccer Team. They became the first openly trans person to win an Olympic gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 games, and the first openly trans person to play in a FIFA World Cup in 2023. If I’d been able to see Quinn playing when I was a teenager, I never would have given up football. This positive representation is a breath of fresh air in a climate of misinformation and hate.”
Katy Lees, The Trans Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Queer Minds
“There are so many LGBTQ+ icons I could talk about, but today I’d like to celebrate Sage M Stephanou (they/them). They run the Radical Therapist Network, which develops abolitionist community care infrastructure by co-producing decolonial education and healing justice resources. I was lucky enough to interview them about their work and life for my book Queer Minds.”
Lola Phoenix, The Anxious Person’s Guide to Non-Monogamy, The Non-Monogamy Journal, and Supporting Someone Polyamorous
“One of my favourite historical figures is Marsha P. Johnson. While maybe people mistakenly know her as one of the people who started the Stonewall Riots (there is audio of her saying she didn’t arrive until it had already started), I believe she would be better known as the co-founder of STAR — Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries — one of the first known attempts to organise a homeless shelter for mostly trans and gender non-conforming youth in New York City. The P in her name stands for “Pay it no mind” which was her response to ignorance from others about her gender expression and I try to remember to do the same in my life.”
Mark Cusack, Fluid
“Alan Turing is a true LGBTQ+ hero and, to me, the perfect example of why accepting LGBTQ+ people benefits everyone. He broke the Nazi Enigma code—without which Britain would almost certainly have lost World War II. Although it wasn’t recognised at the time, many experts now believe Turing was autistic too. As an LGBTQ+ autistic person myself, it genuinely means a lot to me to remember Alan Turing and to reclaim ideas of who gets to be seen as a national hero.”
Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Letting Go of Perfect, and upcoming The Queer Guide to Nutrition and Lifestyle
“The person I would like to nominate is a fellow JKP author, Dr Miguel Mateas, whose upcoming book ADHD Body and Mind explores ADHD through a deeply human, embodied lens. Beyond being an unapologetic advocate for queer rights, Miguel was the first person to truly believe in me, to see my work clearly, and to help me develop as both a practitioner and an author. He stood beside me during some of the most challenging periods of my life with steadiness, care, and generosity. That kind of mentorship changes lives, and it’s something I carry forward in my own work and writing.”
Erin Ekins, Queerly Autistic, and upcoming The Queerly Autistic Workbook
“To me, the most inspirational moment in LGBTQIA+ history is the day my mum came out to me. I’d come out to her at the age of 16 – and five years later, she came out to me at the age of 50. She supported and accepted me, first through my coming out, and secondly through realising I was autistic, and then I then got to watch her rediscover herself and find love, after so many decades of repressing who she really was. I have taken so much of what she taught me into my work. In many ways, we’ve inspired each other and shaped each other’s journeys, and I can’t think of a more perfect example of why this all matters so much.”
You can browse all of our gender and sexuality titles, including the books of the contributors to this blog post, here.