These marriage licenses were placed on file with the New York City Marriage Bureau.” - Luvenia Pinson, “The Black Lesbian: Times Past-Time Present,” Womanews, May 1980 p.
#Vintage gay men tumblr license#
Actual marriage licenses were obtained by either masculinizing the first name, or having a gay male surrogate obtain the license for the marrying couple. “Marriage ceremonies were held with large wedding parties which included several bridesmaids, attendants, and other wedding party members.
![vintage gay men tumblr vintage gay men tumblr](https://64.media.tumblr.com/58cc49d8d0e46eeb8ce9a22d2f15c29c/tumblr_moz4ocJqGG1qaqcoao1_1280.jpg)
However, decades prior to this bold public display of queer affection, African American female couples in New York strategized alternative ways to obtain marriage licenses in the 1920s and 30s:
![vintage gay men tumblr vintage gay men tumblr](https://64.media.tumblr.com/17f7931e3c790c92fe274aa6df1889b2/tumblr_mh9forpK7t1r0bqbdo1_400.jpg)
They reveal that long before the recent struggle for marriage equality began, African American women who love women have engaged with the institution of marriage and have fought to make it their own.Įdna Knowles, on the left, and Peaches Stevens were wed in Liz’s Mark III Lounge, a gay bar on the South Side of Chicago, “before a host of friends and well wishers.” The article ended by noting, “although the duo has a type of ‘marriage license’ in their possession, the state’s official marriage license bureau reported it had no record of their license.” This ending serves to remind Jet readers that Knowles and Stevens’ union was not legitimate in the eyes of the state, as does the use of quotes around the word “married” in the headline. This photo and headline accompanied an article from the Octoissue of Jet magazine. Queer African American Women and the History of Marriage