LGBTQ culture in Chicago
The LGBTQ community in Chicago is one of the United States' most prominent, especially within the Midwest, alongside those of San Francisco and New York City, and holds a significant role in the progression of gay rights in the country.
With a population of around 3 million, Chicago is the third biggest city in the US, and around 150,000 of those people identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, or other.
Increasing rents during the middle of the 20th century forced gay-friendly establishments steadily northwards, moving through Old Town and Lincoln Park along Clark Street and on to Boystown.
[2] In recent years, the area has been criticized for focusing on "affluent white gay men," rather than the broader LGBTQ community.
[5][6] During the 1920s and 1930s, Chicago, like other major urban centers, experienced what was called the Pansy Craze, when LBGTQ visibility greatly opened up.
[11] Along with this rise in LGBT population came increasingly frequent police raids which led to arrests for actions such as cross dressing.
In April 1983, Harold Washington was elected the mayor of Chicago,[16] and greatly supported LGBT rights, addressing gay rallies and pushing forward pro-LGBT legislation.
In 2010, the Safe School Improvement Act was passed, prohibiting bullying or violence on the basis of discrimination, including for sexual and gender identity.
[26] Effective LGBT political involvement began in the 1960s alongside the civil rights movement, with organizations such as the Chicago Gay Liberation Network, Mattachine Midwest, and ACT UP/Chicago.
In 1965, Mattachine Midwest was founded as a gay rights organization following the Fun Lounge police raid the previous year.
The Mattachine Midwest contributed both politically and socially to help the discrimination against LGBT groups, raising awareness about bar raids and police entrapment.
[28] Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Chuck Renslow was one of the main pioneers for Chicago's LGBT community through his advocacy for inclusion, and fought alongside the Democratic party to push for non-discrimination protections.
[30] In 1983, mayoral candidate Jane Byrne promised to support the LGBT community, and garnered the endorsement of the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Democrats.
Harold Washington prevailed over Byrne in the Democratic Party primary, and subsequently received the support of LGBT voters, helping him to win the general election and become the first African American mayor of Chicago.
[31][32] Harold Washington's support for gay rights earned him a spot in the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.
E Lightfoot was elected the 56th mayor of Chicago, becoming the first Black woman and openly gay person to serve in the position.
Notable drag performers from Chicago include: Jane Addams was an LGBT activist prominent in the early 1900s.
Addams spent her time after her father's death in 1881 tending to this settlement, which supported the community, offering jobs and college-level courses.
She would later successfully advance tenement housing regulations, an eight-hour factory work day, and better workplace inspections and oversight, and became a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
While she and her life partner Mary Rozet Smith spent 35 years romantically together, according to the Hull House Museum, Addams was better described under the broad term "queer", rather than "gay" or "lesbian".
[45] Orejudos's fantasy art has been displayed on posters and magazines for decades due to his unique approach to translating sexuality onto paper.
He graduated from the American Academy of Art with a major in graphic design as he dove into his passion for cartooning, but his life stopped short as he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, redirecting Sotomayor's journey as an artist.
[48] Sotomayor was widely known for his public confrontations with Mayor Richard M. Dailey of Chicago while he made headlines in 1990 for his banner stating "We demand equal healthcare now", and "Daily tell the truth about AIDS".
Marie J. Kuda was a historian, archivist, writer, lecturer, and promoter of LGBTQ+ history, who worked to spread and preserve a positive image of the LGBTQ+ community.
She gained notability through her commitment to racial and social justice issues, such as police brutality, and was involved in grassroots activism advocating for the rights of people in marginalized communities.
[50] The AD HOC Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays organization was formed in 1993 with the purpose of participating in the Bud Billiken parade.
