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

We’ve always been here – and everywhere – and art history shows it.

Oklahomans for Equality’s History Project has recently acquired “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939,” the book that accompanied an art exhibition by the same name at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery from May 2 – Aug 2, 2025. The book provides an exhaustive look at more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and film stills from Europe, North America, South America and Asia dating back centuries. It also includes 22 essays by experts in art and LGBTQ+ history focusing on art from various geographical regions – from Japan to Australia to the Indigenous populations of South America.

You are welcome to come by the History Project in the Nancy and Joe McDonald Rainbow Library on the second floor of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center and peruse the book.