Although the subject entries in the Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries, 1911-1971, employ terms that appear today to be abstruse or arcane, the very presence of these works, some quite rare, attests to the Library's interest in acquiring in this field. Of course, this very secrecy has made research strategies into the area of gay studies problematic, with scholars either attempting to intuit meanings not overtly expressed in historical records or employing materials (such as court or police reports) to identify behavior not discussed in more conventional sources.ĭespite these problems The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library have managed, since their beginnings in 1911, to collect materials relating to this large, but submerged, population. Yet this nascent attempt at identifying and collecting materials relating to the homosexual experience was itself inhibited and circumscribed by the need of many lesbians and gay men to lead hidden lives, fearful that self-disclosure would result in a loss of employment or legal difficulties. By the late twentieth century "gay" and "lesbian" had become the recognized terms in scholarly and popular use.Īlthough these pioneers of the gay rights movement are lauded by civil libertarians and activists for their contribution to the political and social liberation of homosexuals, they are also significant for their concern in recognizing the importance of collecting and preserving materials relating to homosexuals and their vehicles of self-expression and identification. The term "uranian" was considered, but it failed to find favor and was replaced by words such as "homosexual" and "homophile," arbitrary constructions which, though workable, have been deemed too clinical in some quarters.
These difficulties notwithstanding, certain individuals in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Western societies, such as Karl Ulrichs and Magnus Hirschfeld in Germany and Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds in Britain, began to conceive of themselves as belonging to a discrete group possessing a distinct identity that this insight was revolutionary is underscored by the fact that no name existed for this body of people who shared similar sexual longings and desires. This guide offers multiple trajectories into this richly varied field.ĭespite the presence of large numbers of homosexuals in New York City and other urban centers in the United States and throughout the world, their history has often been neglected or marginalized, a testimony to the inhibiting factors of legal restrictions on certain forms of sexual conduct, the lack of organization among gay men and lesbians, and the unwillingness of the larger society to recognize the value and merit of different forms of erotic and affectional expression. Resources in this subject area may be found in nearly every division of the Research Libraries.
He died in 1967.Gay and Lesbian Studies is by nature cross-disciplinary, covering a wide range of intellectual bases: literature, history, religion, psychology, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, medicine, law, fine arts, and others.
He became a high profile gay personality and in 1942, spoke out against the unfair treatment of gay men. The play reflected his homosexuality as did his other books and poems. Joseph was profoundly affected by his First World War service and his experience in POW camps inspired his play Prisoners of War (1925). His brother, Peter, had been killed in France, August 1918 and Joseph was haunted by 'survivor’s guilt', feeling that the wrong brother had returned from the war. Joseph finally returned to England in December 1918. He was eventually collected by a German stretcher-bearer and after hospital treatment was sent to prisoner of war camps. In May 1917 Joseph was injured again, and once more found himself trapped in no man's land alongside the dead and wounded. He was injured and lay in a shell-hole for six hours before eventually being taken to the safety of a first-aid post. Joseph took part in the first day of the Battle of the Somme. During training he met his best friend of the war, Bobby Soames. At the outbreak of war, he was commissioned as an officer in 8 (Service) Battalion East Surrey Regiment. Joseph Randall Ackerley was born in 1896 in Kent.