Africa has a long, mostly unknown history of queer people in their various countries and tribes. In Burkina Faso, people assigned male at birth took on roles and appearances that were traditionally given to women; in what is now Benin, women could take wives and become soldiers; and in today's Angola, one of their leaders, who was assigned female at birth, dressed as a man and had a harem of men who dressed as women (they were referred to as the leader's wives).

We only know of these people because of documentation is done by the Europeans, who soon suppressed almost all of the queer identities and histories.

In Asia, intersex gods were worshiped in Hinduism as early as the first century. A prime example is Ardhanarishvara, who is split down the middle - half male, half female. Bisexuality and polyamory were the norms during the Han Dynasty in China. 10 emperors in a row had wives AND "official male companions."

In South Asia, hijra are people who, in modern terms, identify as non-binary. The existence of non-binary and transgender people have dated back over two thousand years in South Asia, and in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, hijra used to be legally recognized as the third sex. However, once the British invaded India, this identity was banned.

In North America, many Native Americans recognized and honored "two-spirit" people, who have both male and female spirits inside of them. Two-spirit people could be leaders of tribes, healers, or just common people, but they were honored for having the wisdom of both sexes and were highly valued.

The acceptance of two-spirit people was wiped out when, you guessed it, the white colonizers came in a murdered everyone.

(Note: two-spirit is not the same as non-binary or genderfluid. Identifying as two-spirit is only okay if you are part of a Native nation, as two-spirit people are an important part of ceremonial traditions. It's like a random white boy wearing a sacred head-dress: offensive and cruel).

Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to know just how rich and long the history of queer people around the world is, because most of that history was documented by white colonizers. However, we are lucky enough to know a few specific queer icons from hundreds of years ago.

One of the first accounts we have of a powerful queer figure in history is Elagabalus (203 - 222. History books will refer to her with male pronouns, but she made it clear that she identified as female (she referred to herself as a lady, only wore "female" clothing, and referred to herself as her husbands' wife).

Elagabalus became emperor of Rome at age fourteen, when she suddenly claimed the throne, even though she was an illegitimate offspring of the previous emperor.

Although she did not do anything related to politics while she was in power, she did start the tradition of emperors building grand statues and having elaborate portraits of themselves displayed in their palace. So, you could say Elagabalus was one of the first queer people to be "a little extra." And we love her for that.

Another woman we love is Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651 - 1695). She was born into poverty and had very limited opportunities, but she was wicked smart. She taught herself just about everything you could learn, and her name became known around the country.

She became so famous that extremely educated men were sent to test her intelligence, in the hopes that they could put her in her place (they couldn't). Eventually, Sor Juana moved to a convent and became a nun, so that she could keep studying without having to marry and take care of a husband.

During her time at the convent, it became clear that she had the hots for a rich woman named Marci Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzaga. We know this because of the many, many poems Sor Juana wrote for her. Sor Juana also wrote about why women should be able to study, and why men shouldn't be considered "more capable of learning" just because they have a penis. We hear ya, Sor Juana.

Who is the best president in U.S. history? If you didn't say Abraham Lincoln, I'm giving you a new reason to: Abe Lincoln had a boyfriend. At age 31, Abraham Lincoln wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living".

Why? Because his beloved Joshua had left him to get married to a woman. He met Joshua when he was shopping for a bed for his new home (Joshua was the one trying to sell him the bed). It turns out, Abraham, being a broke and hopeful lawyer, did not have enough money to buy one.

So, Joshua did what any nice man would do - he offered to let Abraham sleep in his bed with him! And, not just for a few months until Abe got enough money to live in his own place; no, they lived together for four years. According to Joshua, "no two men were ever more intimate". That's right everyone, we've already had a queer president.

Sources:

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager

A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski