Queer History and Culture 2.0 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Martina Navratilova

Born in Prague in 1956, Navratalova was one of the most dominant athletes of any era. She holds open-era records for singles titles (167), doubles titles (177), grand slam singles titles (18), grand slam doubles titles (31), grand slam mixed doubles titles (10), and the longest match win streak in women's tennis history (74).

She defected to the United States in 1975 after losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to Chris Evert.

Answer: 6

A hallmark of Kinsey's thought on sexuality was that sexual preference was not an absolute, and that most people were on a continuum between heterosexuality and homosexuality. As Kinsey put it: "The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. It is a fundamental of taxonomy that nature rarely deals with discrete categories." His scale placed "absolute" heterosexuality at 0, and "absolute" homosexuality at 6. Kinsey's scale is still widely used today, though it has been supplanted with more nuanced models by more recent gender theorists like Judith Butler.

Answer: October 11

National Coming Out Day dates to 1988, and commemorates the previous year's Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It is celebrated by wearing pride symbols (including pink triangles, rainbow flags, and lambda signs) and generally presenting a positive LGBT presence. Perhaps the best known symbol of the day is a portrait done by Keith Haring.

Answer: Leonard Bernstein

Bernstein was understood by most of his friends to have been a gay man who married Chilean actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn to enhance his chances for prime conductor positions by appearing "straight". However, Bernstein did have three children with Felicia, and the couple was outwardly happy.

Much later, after years of living the life of an "out" gay man, Bernstein returned to Felicia to care for her during her ultimately fatal bout with lung cancer.

Answer: Amsterdam

The Homomonument was unveiled in 1987. Though a memorial to those who have suffered homophobic attacks of all sorts, the Homomonument is especially dedicated to victims of the Nazi Holocaust, as symbolized by the monument's prominent use of the pink triangle and the orientation of the monument itself, which points directly at the historic Anne Frank house.

Answer: Mary Edwards Walker

Walker graduated from Syracuse Medical College in 1855, married fellow student William Miller, and set up practice in Rome, New York. An abolitionist by inclination, Walker began service as an Army nurse on the Union side, then worked as an unpaid field surgeon at the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chickamauga.

In 1863, she was given the title of "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" She was recommended for the Medal of Honor for her service by Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas (in lieu of a brevet rank, to which she was not entitled), and was awarded the USA's highest decoration after the War.

She continued to dress as a man for the remainder of her life, and enjoyed a modest career as a lecturer on progressive causes.

Answer: Mary Read

Though she dressed as a man for most of her life, Read did live as a woman while running a Flemish Inn with her husband after earning her naval commission. She resumed male dress and habits when she returned to the seas as a pirate, though she eventually became the lover of a ship's carpenter aboard Rackham's vessel. An intriguing story holds that her lover was challenged to a duel by an experienced fencer; to save the man's life, Read herself picked a fight with the superior combatant.

At a strategic point in their engagement, Read ripped open her shirt. Taking advantage of the man's momentary shock, Read ran him through.

Answer: Katharine Lee Bates

The lyrics to "America the Beautiful" first appeared in a Congregationalist journal in 1895 following the New England-born Bates' 1893 trip to Colorado. The tune was written by Samuel A. Ward.

A sample from "Yellow Clover":

"If You Could Come"

"My love, my love, if you could come once more
From your high place,
I would not question you for heavenly lore,
But, silent, take the comfort of your face.

"I would not ask you if those golden spheres
In love rejoice,
If only our stained star hath sin and tears,
But fill my famished hearing with your voice.

"One touch of you were worth a thousand creeds.
My wound is numb
Through toil-pressed, but all night long it bleeds
In aching dreams, and still you cannot come."

Answer: Both his top aide and his secretary said that their names would be at the top of the list

Eisenhower, who would later sign Executive Order 10450 authorizing termination of federal employees for homosexuality, was prepared to delegate the task of identifying WACs to be discharged to Sgt. Johnnie Phelps. According to historian Randy Shilts in his book "Conduct Unbecoming", Phelps told Ike that she would compile the list of known lesbians.

She then pointed out that her battalion had the fewest absences, VD cases, and pregnancies of any WAC battalion in the army. Finally, out of respect for Eisenhower's ability as a commander, she informed him that her own name would be at the top of the list.

At this, Eisenhower's secretary interjected that Phelps' name would be second on the list, since the secretary herself would be the one typing it. Faced with the revelation that some of his most capable aides were lesbian (according to Phelps' later reflection, over 90% of the HQ WAC battalion was homosexual), Eisenhower told Phelps to forget it.

Answer: James Buchanan and William King

Buchanan and King were roommates for sixteen years while both men served in the US Congress. One surviving letter from a congressman of the period refers to King as Buchanan's "wife" and "better half". President Andrew Jackson referred to King as "Miss Nancy", and one Philadelphia constituent wrote his congressman to complain about the weak "Betsy Buchanan".

Historian Paul Boller doubts that this relationship escalated to physical intimacy, but it is probably safe to say that this remains an area about which intelligent people may disagree.