The Hub of the Gay Universe

This LGBTQ history of Boston and Provincetown begins with the coming of Europeans to Massachusetts in 1620 and ends with the victory over the referendum to overturn transgender rights in 2018. It includes the many high points of these four hundred years: the torrid romances of nineteenth century actress Charlotte Cushman, the glamorous nightlife of 1950s Boston, the wild times of 1970s Provincetown, and the great outpouring of happiness that accompanied the country’s first same-sex marriages. And it describes the tragedies: murders of trans women and gay men, the terrible waves of repression of the 1920s, and the devastation of the AIDS years. It documents how LGBTQ people have been present in the region at least since the coming of Europeans and how LGBTQ people had developed a political consciousness and were advocating for their rights well over a century before Stonewall. This is an important book for anyone who has lived in or visited this historic city and fabulous resort or anyone who cares about the history of LGBTQ people.

Introduction                                         

1. Radicals and Rebels                       

2. The New Republic                           

3. Boston Marriages                            

4. The Men of the Gilded Age              

5. The End of the Golden Age              

6. The Dark Years                                

7. Post War                                           

8. Pressure Builds                                 

9. Revolution                                         

10. Good Times, Bad Times                  

11. Desperate Times                             

12. Tears, Rage, Victories, Defeats       

13. To Marriage                                     

14. Queer New World                           

Epilogue                                               

Notes                                                   

Index