When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan

This was a fascinating read. Being from Brooklyn I was extra interested in this not just as a Pride month read.

It is the history of Brooklyn and its rise as a city and then part of NYC, how the Brooklyn Bridge and the subway lines being being built and the activity at the Navy Yard played major roles in the development of the borough and the growth of the Queer community in Brooklyn. It is also ties in the history of the growth of the arts (theater, museums, drag shows, artist communes) in the area.

It is one of not many books documenting the growth and tearing down and driving into the shadows of the Queer community in the decades of the lead up to the Stonewall Riot. The reason that there are not as many books documenting this history and the stories of the people of the time is that there wasn't much preservation of information in the early years because people didn't think to save or document things and also because of the way the Queer community was treated and dismissed. Often times the stories are lost in the mix, for example at one point being Queer was considered criminal and the tracking of the arrests weren't always properly coded and so the statistics of how many people were arrested for crimes that weren't crimes but discrimination isn't fully known.

There is mention of literary greats/legends Walt Whitman, Truman Capote and other artists and performers too, and how their ties to both Brooklyn and being Queer played a part in the history of research and life in Brooklyn in its heyday and as things changed and crumbled.


It really was an interesting read. I learned so much about my hometown, those who helped build it, the awful way members of the Queer community were treated (and sadly still are), and the huge part both celebrity and average, everyday people were treated for being who they were born to be. Yes a lot of the history is ugly and sad but it is so important to know.
I learned about February House, the role Coney Island played in the life and development of Queer life, the creation of MoMA, how Brooklyn was born, the Navy Yard and sailors in the area during WWII, the differences in how gay men and women were treated or looked upon and judged (hint-almost always unfairly), the part the mafia played in the clubs and restaurants that catered to the Queer community and just so much. I highly suggest you read this.

(Finished June 19, 2019)