Queer lives are constantly monitored in the public setting, and many fear that revealing their identity will lead to punishment. For the LGBTQ community, being seen means being in danger. Particularly in Connecticut:
- Treatment of LGBTQ identity as a personality disorder
- Regular arrests on LGBTQ people
- After WWII, many LGBTQ veterans discharged dishonorably because of their sexual identity
I remember Mr. Zappadia shouting, his beard trembling above me as a hairy hand grabbed my rainbow cow and crushed it in its fingers. “I said color in what you saw.” … How I sat there, among my peers – unreal.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
When rallying for LGBTQ rights, people often wore masks in fear of being identified and consequently losing their jobs. People were also afraid of being photographed for their own safety. Under surveillance, queer lives had to operate in secret.
Remember: The rules, like streets, can only take you to known places. Underneath the grid is a field – it was always there – where to be lost is never to be wrong, but simply more.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
Operating Underneath the Grid
Despite the surveillance, the LGBTQ community in Connecticut found inventive ways to explore, embrace, and celebrate their identities. For example, private communication took place in intimate letters.
“You are the first Girl that I ever love so and you are the last one Dear Rebecca.”
-Letter from Addison Brown to Rebecca Primus (both African American women), Waterbury, August 30, 1859 (Source: Connecticut Historical Society)
Nighttime was optimal for queer life; bars became a popular place of refuge for the LGBTQ community.
“In the early days, when bars were the only place gay people could congregate, it was a refuge… It was a rite of passage for young people- for many, their first introduction to the gay community.
Dan Woog, Connecticut author and journalist (Source: Connecticut Historical Society)
Further Reading:
Read more about Richard Reihl and the events surrounding his death.
Read about the reception to the first gay marriages in Connecticut.
