LGBTQ+ Historical Icons Tag

“I know too much of mud.”

First line in Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Avevedo

I was tagged by Riddhi @Whispering Stories to do the LGBTQ+ Historical Icons Tag and I’m finally getting around to it. There are some really cool prompts in this tag and I just love the creativity. Let’s get to it!

Rules

• Link back to the original creator (The Corner of Laura) and link back to this page (otherwise, the original creator won’t get a notification).
• Thank whoever tagged you and link back to their post
• (Optional) Use the graphics and don’t forget to credit the original creator (Text prompts are at the end of the tag if you’d prefer to use those)
• (Optional) Tag 5 or more other people.

Sappho – Greek poet known for her lyric poetry which is believed to describe homoerotic feelings: A book of poetry (or written in verse)

This is easy because I don’t read poetry and have read exactly one book written in verse: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. I thought it was fine but I think it’s best if I avoid books written in verse in the future.

Alan Turing – Mathematician known for cracking the Enigma code but who was persecuted for his homosexuality: A character who deserved better

Can I pick more than one? I don’t care. I have three characters who deserved better and therefore do not deserve to be left out of this. My first and most obvious choice is Wintrow from The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb. No details, but I’ve never been so indignant about how a character was handled.
Then there’s Hero from Hell’s Library by A. J. Hackwith, a character surrounded by other characters who think they can get away with treating him poorly and they can’t! And then the author writes Hero as if he’s the one doing something wrong! Just no.
And lastly, Nathan from Half Bad by Sally Green. He spends his life being judged for his father’s crimes and the books really show how that kind of stigma can damage a person. He also deserves better for other reasons I can’t go into detail with because he definitely does not have an easy life.

Gilbert Baker – Creator of the rainbow Pride Flag: The most colourful book you own

I took one look at the cover of my copy of Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell and knew I didn’t need to look any further.

Anne Lister – Landowner, industrialist and considered to be the first modern lesbian: A book written as a diary (or includes diary entries)

Like with the first prompt, my options are limited here because I generally don’t enjoy books written like a diary. One of the exceptions though is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Technically, what Charlie writes are letters but the content is like diary entries. He’s very socially inept so I think these letters are a really interesting way of getting his thoughts on his struggles with high school.

Marsha P. Johnson – Prominent figure in the Stonewall Uprising and founder of several LGBTQ rights organisations: A character you’d would want fighting at your side

Oh there are so many options since almost every character would be an improvement of my own fighting skills, no matter what the fighting consists of. But since I’ve recently reread The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I’m choosing Peeta since his wit and way with words are proven to be extremely powerful skills in a fight. And I mean, if I find myself in a fight, it’d most likely be one involving words and not swords.

Alfred Kinsey – Creator of the Kinsey scale: A book set in academia

I think it’s time I mention one of my favorite books: The Betrayals by Bridget Collins which is set at a fictional but elite academy where students are trying to master the mysterious grand jeu. It has all the important elements of dark academia such as intellectual conversations and a lot of characters that can only be described as bad people.

Lucy Hicks Anderson – First trans woman to defend her identity in court: A book where a major scene takes place in court

As a fantasy reader, I feel extremely challenged by this. The prompt doesn’t explicitly say which kind of court, though, so a faerie court? Like the one in Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan where fae meddle in the real-world politics of the London they live below. I’m not cheating!

Open Prompt – Your choice: A book that inspires you

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which, I know, is probably not the most obvious book for this prompt. Everyone knows it for being extremely sad, but my favorite thing about it is its focus on friendship. What I find inspiring is how it questions whether a friendship isn’t worth more than a romantic relationship because that idea kind of circumvents the expectations of society and I think about it a lot.

Thank you so much to Riddhi for tagging me and remember to check out her version of this tag as well! If you feel inspired to do this, please consider yourself tagged. I’d also love to know your answers to the last prompt so what book do you feel inspired by?