LGBTQ+ Archives: Hidden Histories of Identity, Resistance, and Desire

When we talk about LGBTQ+ archives, collections of documents, photos, oral histories, and artifacts that preserve the lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heteronormative people. Also known as queer archives, they’re not just storage—they’re acts of survival. Without them, entire communities risk being written out of history. These archives hold the proof that LGBTQ+ people have always existed—not as outliers, but as central figures in culture, politics, and intimacy.

Take bisexual erasure, the persistent denial or invisibility of bisexuality in both straight and gay spaces. Also known as biphobia, it’s not just ignorance—it’s systemic. Even within LGBTQ+ movements, bi people are told they’re confused, going through a phase, or not queer enough. The archives fight this by preserving letters, diaries, and activism that prove bisexuality has always been part of the fabric of queer life. Then there’s gay liberation, the movement that exploded after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, demanding visibility, dignity, and an end to police violence. Also known as LGBTQ+ rights movement, it didn’t start with parades—it started with fists. The archives keep the flyers from those early protests, the names of those arrested, and the voices of people who said, "We’re not asking for permission to exist." And at the heart of it all is the Stonewall Uprising, the night when transgender women, drag queens, and street youth fought back against a police raid, sparking a revolution. Also known as Stonewall riots, it’s the moment when silence broke into song.

These archives don’t just collect facts—they reveal how power works. Who gets to be remembered? Who gets labeled as deviant? Why was a poem about a dildo banned in 1592? Why were vibrators sold to treat "female hysteria" but never to help men? The answers are buried in old medical records, court transcripts, and secret letters. The LGBTQ+ archives show that sexuality has never been simple. It’s been shaped by law, religion, medicine, and money—and people have always fought to reclaim it.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t theory. It’s real history. The stories of women who masturbated in secret to escape shame. The men who met in gay bars only to be raided by police. The trans people who wrote poetry in hospitals while fighting for recognition. The bi activists who refused to choose between two worlds. These aren’t footnotes. They’re the backbone of who we are—and who we’re still becoming.