April is Arab American Heritage Month, yet we do not often see LGBTQ+ people represented in the US in the heritage of this region. This lecture will explore gender and sexuality in the history of Islamic cultures or North Africa and South West Asia from the 7th to 19th centuries. We will look at examples of women loving women during the Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt in the 10th Century, gender non-conforming people in 7th century Mecca and Medina, the courts of Baghdad and dynasties of Muslim Caliphs and Sultans during the 12th century, and the decline and erasure of homoerotic traditions during the 19th and early 20th centuries. We conclude with a look at contemporary LGBTQ+ identities in this region and within Muslim cultures in Colorado today.
Attendees will receive a bibliography, slides, and other materials based upon the lecture.
Dates: Saturday, April 19
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM
Location: The Center on Colfax - 1301 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80218
About the Event Series
Join the Colorado LGBTQ+ History Project for Education Saturdays. Each month, we will offer a free public lecture on LGBTQ+ history in Colorado, or on a broader subject following our heritage month calendar. The lecture will be followed by an educator workshop. The workshop offers a gathering place for LGBTQ+ educations provides lesson plans and other resources for teachers. Resources provided and discussed in this meeting are relevant to the general public as well as teachers. They include bibliographies, lecture slides, books, notes, and primary sources when available.
The lecture will run 12:00 - 1:00 PM and the education workshop will run 1:00 - 2:00 PM. Meetings will be held in-person at The Center on Colfax unless otherwise stated.
2025 Meeting Topics
- February 15: Black LGBTQ+ history in Colorado and the U.S.
- March 15: History of women loving women (WLW) in Colorado
- April 19: LGBTQ+ history in Muslim cultures
- May 17: LGBTQ+ history in East and South Asian cultures and Jewish LGBTQ+ history in the Western Hemisphere
- June 21: LGBTQ+ history in Colorado from 1500 to 1880
- July 19: Colorado LGBTQ+ disability history, with an emphasis on the stories of Laura Hershey and Gregg Vigil
- August 16: Transgender History in Colorado
- September 20: LGBTQ+ history in pre-Columbian cultures and in Latin America
- October 18: LGBTQ+ History in Colorado from 1900 - 1990
- November 15: LGBTQ+ history from Indigenous North American Heritage from 1500 - 2000
- December 20: LGBTQ+ Health History - Trans Youth, HIV, and Psychology
