Under-representation and Erasure of Queer People Throughout History

–Prateeti

“Queer” is a word that has very different connotations to different people. What started out as a derogatory term directed at the lgbtq+ community has since been reclaimed and now finds its use as a widely accepted identity or umbrella term. Unlike some terms used by the community, the word queer has no definite meaning, but instead may be used by anyone who does not identify as their assigned gender or as heterosexual.

Throughout history, queer identities have always been ostracized or marginalized. This has led to a lack of proper representation of queer people in media, artforms and history in general. All of these fields have been dominated by the heteropatriarchy and as such, in common knowledge, queer people have found little expression. But queer people have always existed. From Greek poet Sappho, 19th century authors Emily Dickinson and Oscar Wilde to artists like Elton John and Freddy Mercury in the 1900’s, famous queer personalities have been found throughout history. Despite popular media bearing very little reference to it, queer people, indeed, existed long before it was legal for them to do so. 

However, the queer community faced severe repression, leading to the work of many queer people being suppressed and unknown to general populace. People like Alan Turing, an English mathematician, now known for his groundbreaking work in modern computing and for playing a crucial role in victory over Germany during WWII or Marie Equi, a radical feminist known for advocating for birth control and abortion rights were relentlessly harassed and persecuted for their sexualities, which is believed to have caused Alan Turing’s suicide in 1954. Otherwise, if the works of the queer person is known, their identity has been erased or reduced to fit the hetero-normative society. This phenomenon of “straight-washing” or the editing of history to make it fit into a relatively narrow worldview is known as “queer erasure”. 

A common argument that precedes queer erasure is that “Though a person may appear queer when viewed through the modern lens, there is no proof that the person actually identified as queer due to lack of such terms in said time period”. While this argument is partially true, it is illogical to assume that in absence of sufficient evidence, the assumed identity should always be that of a cisgender, heterosexual person. When considering a time period where clearly defined terms did not exist or it was unsafe to be publicly queer, it is almost certainly a case of queer erasure to not consider a person queer if they appear so simply due to “lack of evidence”. Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca, has been noted to have several ‘involvements’ with different women and has reportedly has said she had a “boy’s mind and a boy’s heart”. While she denied being a lesbian, considering the conservative time period she grew up in and the general lack of proper terminology regarding queer identities in the 1900s, it’s more logical to deduce that she was queer and her identity is simply outside strictly defined terminology of recent years, rather than to assume that she was straight. 

Until recent years, queer people have been severely underrepresented if not non existent in media. Most representation of queer people mostly villified or ridiculed them. Earlier films and books also ensured that queer-presenting characters generally had unhappy final fates, thus further cementing the villification of the queer community. Even in the late 1900’s, this trend continued. Popular sitcoms like “Friends” often used queer people as comic relief or ridiculed queer characters or any expression of said queerness. Even “proper” representation of queerness is not exempt from stereotypes and queer relationships in media and same sex relationships are oftentimes unnecessarily sexualized or infantilized. 

The 21st century has seen a rise in the number of prominent queer personalities, but still it’s a community that is vastly underrepresented across all art forms. In more progressive countries access to queer music and literature is becoming easier although this is not true for the majority of the world’s population. With time, it can be hoped that the community will be better represented through various media. The current generation is considered to be more proactive than previous generations when it come to dealing with issues faced by the queer community or other minority groups. However, the vast majority of youth still remain unaware of the effect the queer community has had across history or of the community in general. Proper knowledge of the past of queer people and their struggle for existence or representation is required in order to de-stigmatize the community and in order to break preconceived negative ideas about being queer. Queerness has always existed, and the time is long overdue for it to be accepted and normalized.