The Castro’s Queer History (and a small rant about gate-keeping in academia)
Before going on this trip, I had heard through the grapevine that the Castro District is a very important location in queer history. As a queer youth, I was excited for the opportunity to learn and explore a monumental landmark in the history of my community. However, after living in the Castro District for just over a week, I find the district’s efforts at “political education” to be a bit lacking. No memorials, no statues, no tours, the only thing educating people about queer history in the Castro District are plaques along the sidewalk. However, I believe these plaques are related to icons of general queer history and are not specifically related to the Castro District.
Seeing as how the Castro District itself wasn’t going to educate me on its history, I decided to do some independent research and share my findings with all of yall! However, many of the websites and articles I was using were either not very thorough or did not include the aspects of queer history that I was hoping to write about. So, to the chagrin of educators everywhere, I have used Wikipedia as a source for this article. Wikipedia is free and is, by definition, a peer reviewed source, so I don’t want to hear any belly-aching about how I shouldn’t use it as a source. This blog post was never meant to be the be-all-end-all history of the Castro District, so I very much encourage you to do your own research if this blog post peaks your interest.
As listed by the historical marker database, the area currently known as San Francisco was recognized as land indigenous to the Yelamu nation. Additionally, according to Native Land Digital, the area is also home to the Ramaytush, Muwekma, and Ohlone nations. Then white people did what we always do: rob the land of its natural resources and kill everyone who disagrees. It is important to recognize the genocide of the Yelamu, Ramaytush, Muwekma, and Ohlone nations, as well as the white population’s complacency in this genocide, but as stated previously this blog post was never intended to educate you on the full history of the Castro District. I have included additional resources at the end of this blog that provide a more in-depth analysis of the area’s history.
As for the Castro District’s specific connection to queer history, this begins in a time period important to the histories and revolutions of several communities: the 1960’s. Like many large cities, San Francisco was a very diverse city with cheap real estate and gave people access to a wide variety of jobs. The city was, and still is, seen as a safe haven for several communities, namely members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and hippies. LGBTQIA2S+ people and hippies shared many of the same interests, more specifically androgynous gender expression and promoting values of love, acceptance, and freedom. Hippie’s also believed in community living and were heavily associated with the use of recreational drugs. Although not officially stated in my sources, I believe that shared living spaces, heavy use and sharing of drugs, and flexible attitudes toward sexuality may have assisted in the widespread of the HIV epidemic.
It goes without saying that the HIV epidemic of the 1980’s had long lasting effects on the LGBTQIA2S+ community, especially in major metropolitan areas such as San Francisco. In addition to dealing with a deadly disease, queer people, namely gay men, also had to deal with ostracization, misinformation, and a government that was more than happy to watch them die. In 1984, the Castro District began closing bathhouses, which at the time were primarily used as hook up spots for gay men. In 1982, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an activist group of queer and trans nuns, organized a charity dog show in order to raise funds for HIV research and treatment. According to the historic marker database, this was one of the first HIV related fundraisers. While there is much that can be said about The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, I want to take this opportunity to talk about another queer icon from the Castro District: Harvey Milk.
Originally from New York, Harvey Milk moved to the Castro District in 1972 and became the first openly gay man to be elected for public office in 1977. He campaigned for causes like work place unionization, improvements to public health and education, and banning discrimination on the basis of sexuality. He was very popular amongst the residents of San Francisco, placing 10th out of 32 candidates in a 1973 election primarily through word of mouth. Milk was very charismatic and had a strong sense for the media, but unfortunately did not have the same sense for finance, as much of his campaign financing came directly from the cash register of his camera store. Sadly, Milk was assassinated on November 27, 1978, by a political rival who doesn’t deserve to be remembered.
These blogs are only supposed to be like two pages, and I’m nearly double that, so I’m going to cap it here! San Francisco has a very rich queer history, and I strongly encourage all of you to read about it if you get the chance. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve put some additional resources at the bottom of this article. Or, if you prefer a more hands on approach, you could always visit California for yourself!
Additional Resources:
Yelamu: the Native Peoples of San Francisco (arcgis.com)
Homeland of the Yelamu Historical Marker (hmdb.org)
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Sources:
Castro Street Historical Timeline Historical Marker (hmdb.org)
