Archives of Sexuality and Gender

Archives of Sexuality and Gender is a significant collection of historical primary source publications relating to the history and study of sex, sexuality, gender research and gender studies research. Materials span the sixteenth to twentieth-first centuries. Documentation covering disciplines such as social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) communities around the world are included, as well as rare and unique books on sex and sexuality from the sciences to the humanities.

This collection can also be searched on Gale Primary Sources, an integrated platform that combines Gale’s digital archives into a single cross-searchable interface.

The modules available within Archives of Sexuality and Gender consist of:

• LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part I

Presents important aspects of LGBTQ life in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. The archive illuminates the experiences not just of the LGBTQ community as a whole, but of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations and geographical locations that constitute this community. Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals are featured, as well as publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis.

• LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part II

Fully searchable periodicals, newsletters, manuscripts, government records, organizational papers, correspondence, an international selection of posters, and other primary source materials provides coverage of underrepresented communities. This second installment in the series highlights often-excluded groups—even within the LGBTQ community—and enables users to draw new connections across the development of LGBTQ culture and activism.

• Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century

Broadens the scope from a specific focus on LGBTQ history and culture in Part I and Part II to the study of sex and sexuality and gender roles research. This third collection makes available approximately one million pages of content that has been locked away for many years, available only via restricted access. With a date range of 1600-1940, some content remains difficult to access, having been dispersed among broader collections. Now, this major collection of rare and unique material is available to support students, researchers, and faculty exploring areas such as medicine, biology, the history of gender and sexuality, anthropology, law, the classics, art, and erotic literature.

• International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture

Examines populations and areas of the world previously underrepresented in prevailing scholarship on sexuality and gender, with a particular focus on southern Africa and Australia. The module also provides significant coverage of lesbian and feminist organizations, and lesbian culture internationally.

Alongside LGBTQ history, the module explores other individual and collective struggles for rights and freedoms. Contextualizing sexuality within wider narratives of cultural and social history helps counter the erasure of LGBTQ stories and experiences from official histories.

Includes manuscripts, periodicals and other ephemera dating from the 1820s, with the bulk of the material between 1970–2016.

Provider: GALE
Coverage: 16th – 21st centuries