- I think I retweeted something earlier today that listed this article's headline among a set of BS NYT headlines, and I wish I hadn't. Except that meant I felt I ought to read it when I saw it again, and hey - it's actually a really thoughtful reflection on the history of the closet. My thoughts -
- Okay. Let's try this again. Here's a piece I wrote about Pee-wee Herman, the history and weaponization of the celebrity closet, and how cultural representations of closeted characters have changed over decades. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/t...
- I came out when I was (just barely) 15, in 1992, towards the tail end of the period of semi-closeted celebrities described here, and I remember being part of that shared project of mapping who was queer with my friends. (Gift link - www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/t...)May 13, 2025 01:37
- We were just talking to our kids about the time period when you could count the famous out lesbians on one hand, essentially. I'm not so interested in Paul Reuben/PeeWee Herman, but I really appreciate the reflections here about how we understand our queer identities as the political winds shift.
- And I do also appreciate @markharris.bsky.social's willingness to think about what MIGHT be appealing about closets (and a very mild implied critique of the activist insistence in the 90s that anyone closeted was uncomplicatedly a traitor) alongside a very clear recognition of the threats -
- ... and that those threats are threats to all LGBT etc folks, but mostly (for now) targeting trans folks. Mostly though I recommend it for a very evocative and (to my memory + knowledge) accurate overview of an aspect & a few key eras of queer history.
- (I've seen some ppl who did read the article critiquing some of its politics, and a lot of trans people & our allies blame the NYT for helping foment some of the anti-trans moral panic by running so many "uh-oh, trans kids!" & related pieces. But this article is not "yay closets!" as some assumed.)
