Once upon a time, the words we use to refer to our sexual orientations and gender identities were also used to mean other things. For example, “gay” means “happy,” whatever that is. This means many archival documents are unintentionally loaded with brilliant subtext their creators were hardly aware of at the time. Luckily, I’m here, now, armed with a newspapers.com membership and a keen eye for rampant early 20th century queerbaiting.
1. The Roseburg Review, Oregon – May 13, 1916
2. The Pittsburgh Press, Pennsylvania — July 30, 1912
3. The Wilson Advance, North Carolina — March 16, 1893
4. The Observer, London, UK – August 25, 1929
5. The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania — May 10, 1903
6. The Minneapolis Star, Minnesota — May 5, 1922
7. The Lincoln Evening Journal, Nebraska  – June 23, 1932
8. The Arizona Daily Star, Arizona – February 11, 1912
9. The Harrisburg Telegraph, Pennsylvania — April 5, 1947
10. The Wilkes-Barre Record, Pennsylvania – August 13, 1901
11. The Pickens Sentinel, South Carolina – December 14, 1904
12. The Decatur Herald, Illinois – August 2, 1927
13. The Frederick News, Maryland – May 29, 1899
14. The Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pennsylvania – February 4, 1914
15. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri – February 8, 1922
16. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, New York — August 5, 1909
17. The Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico — April 12, 1904
18. The Benton Harbor News-Palladium, Michigan — July 7, 1915
19. The Brownsville Herald, Texas — November 28, 1948
20. The Seattle Star, Washington – Sep 14, 1912
21. The Pittsburgh Press, Pennsylvania – March 20, 1888
