No Way, They Were Gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves

Lee Wind

Apr 2021 · Zest Books TM

About this ebook

"History" sounds really official. Like it's all fact. Like it's definitely what happened.

But that's not necessarily true. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. And sometimes, those historians were biased against, didn't see, or couldn't even imagine anyone different from themselves.

That means that history has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people: men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Historians have even censored the lives and loves of some of the world's most famous people, from William Shakespeare and Pharaoh Hatshepsut to Cary Grant and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Join author Lee Wind for this fascinating journey through primary sources—poetry, memoir, news clippings, and images of ancient artwork—to explore the hidden (and often surprising) Queer lives and loves of two dozen historical figures.

Ratings and reviews

No Way They Were Gay? By Lee Wind Are they, or aren’t they? This book suggests possibilities regarding the historical figures collected in this book but it leaves the final decision to the reader. There are historical anecdotes, letters, and other information that has been collected and carefully presented so that the reader can make an informed decision while also learning information that may not have been considered before. What I liked: * Learning something new to me – I had NO idea that Michelangelo’s David has heart shaped pupils. I learned more about the statue and Michelangelo, too. * Learning new information about famous historical persons and also learning about people in history that I had not heard of before. * Reading the first person and second person historical documents chosen about each individual. * Being reminded that history is a record and only reflects what the author of that record has chosen to share. My truth is MINE but it might not be YOURS…same of history. * The way the book presented information on the way to reference people who are not cis * The tidbits of information that I had not heard before: the colors on the rainbow flag, LGBTQIA2+ and QUILTBAG, the idea that it is important to refer to people using their preferred pronoun. * The way the book was divided into: men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who loved outside gender boundaries * The illustrations and photographs * That the reader was given information and then asked to decide for themselves what they would believe * The sources credited * Photo acknowledgements * Believing that this book would be good to add to school libraries and that it would be of interest to many What I didn’t like: * Being reminded of the historical intolerance and cruel laws related to people who identified as and lived outside the binary. Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I recommend it to others? Definitely Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group – Zest Books for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars

About the author

Lee Wind is the founding blogger and publisher of I'm Here. I'm Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?, an award-winning website about books, culture, and empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning and Queer youth, and their Allies. He is the author of No Way, They Were Gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves, which won the ILA Children's and Young Adult's Book Award and was named a 2021 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book. Lee also works for IBPA and SCBWI. Visit him online at www.leewind.org to see and share how #QueerHistoryIsEverywhere.