He/Him/His Stories
Video + Heroes + Pioneers
While some are doing their best to hate and erase LGBTQ folks from human history, I’m doing my best to celebrate and spotlight our collective contributions, pioneers, and stories.
The montage above and list below include a few of my favorites.
Thanks for watching!
Clint
WE’RE QUEER. WE’RE HERE.
WE‘VE BEEN MAKING HISTORY, DEAR.
HEROES + PIONEERS
Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) English illustrator and author, known for his decadent art and illustrations in Salome.
Claude Phillips (1846–1924) British art historian and museum curator.
Daniel Defert (1937–2022) French sociologist and AIDS activist, founder of AIDES.
David Bowie (1947–2016) British singer, songwriter, and actor, known for his alter ego Ziggy Stardust.
David Grainger Whitney (1939–2005) American curator, editor, and partner of architect Philip Johnson.
Frederic Leighton (1830–1896) British painter and sculptor, associated with the Victorian era.
Glenn Ligon (1960–) American conceptual artist, known for his works addressing race and sexuality.
Glenway Wescott (1901–1987) American novelist and essayist.
Glyn Philpot (1884–1937) British painter and sculptor, known for his portraits and religious works, many featuring LGBTQ themes.
Hadrian (76–138) Roman Emperor, known for building Hadrian's Wall and his relationship with Antinous.
Halston (1932–1990) American fashion designer, renowned in the 1970s for his minimalist designs.
Henry "Chips" Channon (1897–1958) British-American politician and diarist, known for his controversial diaries.
Henry Gerber (1892–1972) German-American LGBT rights activist, founder of the Society for Human Rights in the U.S.
Henry Scott Tuke (1858–1929) British painter and photographer, known for his depictions of male nudes and maritime themes.
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916) British field marshal, known for his role in the British Empire’s military campaigns.
Ian McKellen (1939– ) British actor, known for roles in Lord of the Rings and LGBTQ activism.
Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) Indian film producer, best known for his partnership with James Ivory and their films like A Room with a View.
J. C. Leyendecker (1874–1951) American illustrator, known for his iconic Arrow Collar Man and depictions of masculinity.
J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish author and playwright, creator of Peter Pan.
J. R. Ackerley (1896–1967) British writer and editor, known for his memoirs and involvement in LGBT literature.
Jack Halberstam (1961–) American academic and author, known for work on gender studies, queer theory, and visual culture.
James Baldwin (1924–1987) American writer, known for his essays, novels, and activism on race, sexuality, and social issues.
James Beard (1903–1985) American chef and food writer, considered one of the pioneers of modern American cuisine.
James Buchanan (1791–1868) 15th President of the United States, often regarded as one of the worst due to his failure to avert Civil War.
James Dean (1931–1955) American actor, cultural icon of teenage disillusionment, starred in Rebel Without a Cause.
James VI and I (1566–1625) King of Scotland as James VI and King of England and Ireland as James I, known for commissioning the King James Bible.
James Whale (1889–1957) English film director, known for his work on Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
Jim Fall (1962–) American film director, known for Trick and The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
Jimmie Daniels (1908–1984) American cabaret singer and gay cultural icon during the Harlem Renaissance.
Jody Dobrowski (1981–2005) British man who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in London, sparking increased hate crime legislation.
Joe Orton (1933–1967) English playwright and author, known for his dark comedies and satirical plays.
Joel Schumacher (1939–2020) American filmmaker, known for directing The Lost Boys and Batman Forever.
John August (1970–) American screenwriter, known for writing Go, Big Fish, and Charlie’s Angels.
John Beresford Fowler (1906–1977) English interior designer, famous for his refined taste and work with Colefax & Fowler.
John Cage (1912–1992) American composer and music theorist, known for his avant-garde and experimental compositions.
John Cameron Mitchell (1963– ) American actor and filmmaker, known for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
John Church (1780–1835) British preacher, claimed by some as the first openly ‘gay’ ordained Christian minister in England.
John Gielgud (1904–2000) English actor and director, one of the trinity of great 20th-century Shakespearean actors.
John Henry Newman (1801–1890) English theologian and cardinal, canonized in 2019.
John Koch (1909–1978) American painter known for his depictions of fashionable social settings and the New York art world.
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) British economist, revolutionized economic theory with his ideas on government intervention in economies.
John Schlesinger (1926–2003) British filmmaker, known for Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday.
Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019) German fashion designer, artist, and photographer known for his work with Chanel and Fendi.
Keith Vaughan (1912–1977) British painter, associated with neo-romanticism, known for his male figure paintings.
Kenneth Anger (1927–2023) American underground filmmaker, known for Scorpio Rising and Hollywood Babylon.
Kenneth Ray Stubbs (1947– ) American author and tantra expert, known for his work on sexuality.
Kevyn Aucoin (1962–2002) American makeup artist, known for his work with celebrities and supermodels.
Konstantinos Kavafis (1863–1933) Greek poet, known for his modernist and homoerotic themes.
Larry Kramer (1935–2020) American playwright and LGBTQ activist, known for founding ACT UP.
Larry Rivers (1923–2002) American artist, known for blending abstract expressionism with pop art.
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) American conductor, composer, and pianist, known for West Side Story.
Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988) U.S. Air Force Sergeant, known for challenging the military's ban on LGBTQ service.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian polymath, known for masterpieces like Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
Lord Ivar Mountbatten (1963– ) British aristocrat, the first openly gay member of the British royal family.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian philosopher, key figure in analytic philosophy.
Marsden Hartley (1877–1943) American modernist painter, known for his bold use of color and form.
Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997) German artist, known for his provocative and satirical works.
Matthew Shepard (1976–1998) American student whose murder became a pivotal moment in LGBTQ hate crime legislation.
Merce Cunningham (1919–2009) American choreographer, known for his experimental approach to modern dance.
Michael Dillon (1915–1962) British physician and author, the first trans man to undergo phalloplasty.
Michael Llewelyn Davies (1900–1921) One of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Michael Musto (1955–) American journalist and author, known for his gossip column in The Village Voice.
Michael Patrick King (1954–) American writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on Sex and the City.
Michael Sam (1990–) American football player, first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL.
Michael Stipe (1960–) American singer, songwriter, and frontman of the band R.E.M., known for his distinctive voice and activism.
Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French Renaissance philosopher and writer, known for popularizing the essay as a literary form.
Michelangelo (1475–1564) Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, and architect, known for masterpieces like the Sistine Chapel and David.
Mike White (1970–) American writer, actor, and director, known for School of Rock and The White Lotus.
Minor White (1908–1976) American photographer and critic, noted for his black-and-white images and work in spiritual expression.
Montgomery Clift (1920–1966) American actor, known for his roles in A Place in the Sun and From Here to Eternity.
Murray Bartlett (1971– ) Australian actor, known for his roles in Looking, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us.
Mwanga II of Buganda (1868–1903) King of Buganda (Uganda), known for his controversial persecution of Christian converts.
Neil Patrick Harris (1973– ) American actor, known for his roles in How I Met Your Mother and LGBTQ advocacy.
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish poet and playwright, known for The Picture of Dorian Gray and Salome.
Paul Cadmus (1904–1999) American artist, known for his satirical depictions of the male nude.
Paul Monette (1945–1995) American poet, novelist, and activist, known for his works on AIDS and LGBTQ themes.
Paul Morrissey (1938– ) American filmmaker, best known for his collaborations with Andy Warhol.
Pedro Almodóvar (1949– ) Spanish filmmaker, known for his colorful, melodramatic style.
Pete Townshend (1945– ) British guitarist and songwriter, a founding member of The Who.
Peter Allen (1944–1992) Australian singer-songwriter and entertainer, known for songs like I Go to Rio.
Peter Berlin (1942– ) German-born American artist and gay adult star.
Peter Hujar (1934–1987) American photographer known for his black-and-white portraits of the NYC art scene.
Peter Tatchell (1952–) British human rights campaigner, known for LGBTQ activism.
Philip Ahn (1905–1978) Korean-American actor, known for portraying Master Kan on Kung Fu.
Philip Johnson (1906–2005) American architect, known for his modernist and postmodernist work.
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640–1701) Brother of Louis XIV, known for his flamboyant personality and military prowess.
Pierre Cardin (1922–2020) Italian-French fashion designer, known for his futuristic designs and space-age fashion.
Poliziano (1454–1494) Italian Renaissance scholar and poet, a leading figure in humanist circles.
Prince Azim Of Brunei (1982–2020) Bruneian royal, known for his philanthropy.
Prince Egon von Fürstenberg (1946–2004) Swiss fashion designer, socialite, and member of European nobility.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Russian composer, known for works like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.
Quentin Crisp (1908–1999) English writer, actor, and raconteur, famous for his memoir The Naked Civil Servant.
R. W. Ketton-Cremer (1906–1969) British biographer and historian, known for his works on 19th-century England.
R.G. Harper Pennington (1854–1920) American painter known for his portraits and connection to prominent figures in the Gilded Age.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945–1982) German filmmaker, playwright, and actor, known for his prolific and influential work in New German Cinema.
Ralph Chubb (1892–1960) English poet, printer, and artist, known for his esoteric and homoerotic works.
Randal Kleiser (1946–) American film director, best known for directing Grease.
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher (1852–1930) British Liberal politician and royal advisor.
Rob Epstein (1955–) American director best known for The Times of Harvey Milk.
Robert Bernays (1902–1945) British Liberal politician, known for his opposition to Nazism.
Robert De Niro Sr. (1922–1993) American abstract expressionist painter and father of actor Robert De Niro.
Robert Graves (1895–1985) British poet and novelist, known for I, Claudius.
Robert Indiana (1928–2018) American artist, famous for the LOVE sculpture.
Robert Opel (1939–1979) American activist and photographer, best known as the streaker who disrupted the 1974 Oscars.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) American painter and graphic artist known for Combines.
Rock Hudson (1925–1985) American actor, heartthrob, and one of the first major celebrities to die of AIDS.
Roger Casement (1864–1916) Irish nationalist and British diplomat, known for his work against human rights abuses.
Ronald Wright (Sir Gay) (1929-2020) British artist and model.
Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955–1989) Nigerian-born British photographer, known for exploring race and sexuality.
Rudi Gernreich (1922–1985) Fashion designer, known for avant-garde designs like the monokini.
Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993) Russian ballet dancer, considered one of the greatest of the 20th century.
Russell Tovey (1981–) British actor, known for roles in Being Human and Looking.
Sadao Hasegawa (1945–1999) Japanese artist, known for his homoerotic art inspired by Eastern and Western traditions.
Salvador Dali (1904–1989) Spanish surrealist artist, known for his eccentric works such as The Persistence of Memory.
Steve Endean (1948–1993) American LGBTQ rights activist and founder of the Human Rights Campaign.
Sunil Gupta (1953– ) British-Indian photographer, known for documenting LGBTQ identity and HIV activism.
Tab Hunter (1931–2018) American actor and singer, a 1950s heartthrob who came out later in life.
Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German novelist, best known for Death in Venice.
Tim Cook (1960– ) CEO of Apple, one of the most influential figures in tech.
Tim Gunn (1953– ) American fashion consultant, known for Project Runway.
Todd Haynes (1961– ) American filmmaker known for films like Carol and Velvet Goldmine.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch Post-Impressionist painter, known for works like Starry Night and Sunflowers.
Vito Russo (1946–1990) American LGBTQ activist, author of The Celluloid Closet.
Vivian Forbes (1891–1937) British painter and poet, closely associated with the artist Glyn Philpot.
W. H. Auden (1907–1973) British-American poet, known for his stylistic and technical achievement in poetry.
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) American poet, essayist, and journalist, famous for Leaves of Grass and his contributions to free verse.
Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856–1931) German photographer, famous for his classical nude photography of young men in Italy.
MUSIC
Howard Harper-Barnes / It's Becoming Clear
Howard Harper-Barnes / Meet Me in the Hills
Howard Harper-Barnes / Subtle Differences
Howard Harper-Barnes / Once in a Life
Howard Harper-Barnes / Brave New World
Howard Harper-Barnes / A New Day Is Here
Howard Harper-Barnes / Moving Emotions
Howard Harper-Barnes / Barksdale Lane
Howard Harper-Barnes / La Danse Timide
Courtesy Of Epidemic Sound