Have a thread of queer aesthetics. This will only include integrated/white queer aesthetics, bc I, a white lesbian, don't know enough about aesthetics of QPOC to address them with the full honor and respect they deserve. I'll mention the ones I know of throughout the thread.

We're going to start with the Public Universal Friend. They kinda set the tone for future gender deviation in white queer communities, wearing menswear tops and skirts with robes. Very unusual at the time, and much remarked upon.

In the late 19th century, both male and female impersonation began in earnest with famous performers like Vesta Tilley, and of course, the iconic William Dorsey Swann, who founded the very first drag balls. This was happening in both white and Black communities at the time.

Late C19: the dandies of the UK were committed to beautiful style of dress. This led to an assumption of queerness.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, gender and sexuality were considered inextricably linked. This is why we can't go back and give modern labels in good faith.

The most famous of the dandies today was one Oscar Wilde. The dandies are the roots, in many ways, of what we now consider "flamboyancy" in gay men.

We're moving into the 20th century now with the 1920s Drag Balls, an integrated scene stemming from Swann's prior community-building work. The most famous was held in the Hamilton Lodge yearly, +lasted until the late '30s, boasting attendance of 8,000+. The Savoy also held them.

(These balls are the roots upon which modern ballroom culture was built, and though white people participated in them in the 20s and 30s, that aesthetic has grown into being a major part of the communities of QPOC. Drag is a part of all queer culture. Ballroom is not.)

In the late '30s, entrapment laws and cabaret cards, as well as sensationalized sex crimes and moral panic, led to a huge rise in homophobia. I'm researching and writing on that right now, but suffice it to say that queer culture went underground as the US entered WWII.

From here, I'll focus on strictly what I know. My expertise, which is limited to begin with as I'm still a 21-year-old Master's student, is the early 20th century and I don't want to overstep my boundaries. As a result I'll be focusing on wlw, and mentioning others where I can.

In the 40s and 50s, butch/femme culture became hugely important to sapphic women. Because of the wider effects of the Lavender Scare, it was incredibly dangerous to be out. The scene moved from dance halls into bars, and signaling became more important than ever before.

This aesthetic was integrated racially, but was predominately working-class: a departure from previous aesthetics, which had relied on the protection of a stable financial situation. As such, being butch/femme was more than just fashion. It was, and is, deeply cultural.

@radiantbutch has written many good threads on this topic. I'm aware that a similar aesthetic exists in the Black community; this aesthetic is different and is why white wlw should not call themselves studs. Here is a photo from "Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold" of Black wlw.

This aesthetic got pushback from the Daughters of Bilitis, which was a predominately middle-class group trying to promote acceptance of sapphic women pre-Stonewall. They had an assimilationist bent and encouraged gender conformity.

Stonewall and the associated protests, which of course were led by trans women of color, were revolutionary in terms of the way the community thought about queer issues. Instead of trying to blend in, the focus became authenticity and complete acceptance. Many white queer people

didn't continue this fight for long, however. We've always had the privilege of being the first to be accepted. Again, the focus was on gender conformity, but in white sapphic circles it became about removing the history of gender nonconformity. The 1970s radfems, and political

lesbians, created the idea that the sapphic aesthetic didn't exist, because any woman could be gay if that's where her political values fell. It became less about signaling and more about "any woman can wear what she wants". I agree with that statement, but I vehemently disagree

that gender nonconformity is somehow patriarchal or that recognizing the long history of queer nonconformity is stereotyping.

In any case, sapphic aesthetics continued. The 1970s included the Lavender Menace and women's music, as well as the continuation of drag and butch/femme culture. This was also the decade that ballroom as we know it today began.

Politically activated aesthetics dominated sapphic visual culture for the rest of the century. Pictures below include the Lesbian Avengers, who were also active with Act Up! You may notice the prevalence of gender nonconformity here-primarily through haircut+ clothing silhouette.

In the present day, sapphic aesthetics include everything from flannels to traditional butch/femme to putting anything on an earring. One thing they all have in common is the continuation of signaling, and gender nonconformity is historically a huge part of that.

There are many other queer aesthetics; for example, Earring Magic Ken, bears, leather, etc. Many of these aesthetics are rooted in the contributions of trans women of color, like ballroom culture and modern-day drag styles. I encourage you to go and research what interests you!

And if any QPOC or mlm would like to add on to this with information about your communities and their aesthetics, I welcome it and will add it to the thread.