LGBT Bibliography
The following is a listing of periodicals, books, and other print publications concerning the LGBT+ community of Louisiana. Annotation follows many entries, along with notes indicating where some of the more rare publications can be found. As a rule, the dissertations and theses are easiest to access through the institutions where they were produced, or through ProQuest, a database available in most major libraries.
This listing is under construction – check back regularly for updates.
Please report any typos or omissions to info@lgbtarchivesla.org.
Periodicals
Alternative. Published by Rip and Marsha Naquin for about five years, beginning in 1981. Available at the Center for Louisiana Studies and the Historic New Orleans Collection.
Ambush Magazine. Available online and at the Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University.
Big Easy Times. Began publication in 1988; Historic New Orleans Collection and Louisiana State University have copies.
Disstaff. Feminist/lesbian themed. Back issues available at Newcomb College Archives
Headlines. “New Orleans’ foremost entertainment and information guide” – presumably an LGBT publication, Tulane University has a few issues.
Impact: New Orleans Gay News. The New Orleans Public Library (main branch) has back copies.
Louisiana Gay Blade. This statewide newsletter was published in the 1970s in Alexandria by activist Skip Ward.
New Orleans Gay and Lesbian Yellow Pages. Began publication in 1999; University of Louisville (KY) and Central Connecticut State University have copies
Sunflower. Newsletter of the short-lived Gay Liberation Front of New Orleans. Available at the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library.
The Pink Pages of Greater New Orleans, “the gay and lesbian business and entertainment directory”, began publication in 1995. New Orleans Public Library has copies.
The Rooster
This Week Guide. New Orleans Entertainment in the Gay and Lesbian Community
Times of Louisiana Communities. Began publication in 1981; only library with copies appears to be in New York
The Whiz Magazine
The Zipper. A Baton Rouge-based paper published by Rip and Marsha Naquin for one year, beginning in 1977. Available at The Louisiana Research Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and the Louisiana State Museum.
Book Chapters
Brass, Perry and Frank Perez. “On New Orleans and Its LGBTQ Community: A Microcosm.” in Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations on Archives and Practice Volume Two. Smith-Cruz, Shawn(ta) and Sara A. Howard, eds. Sacramento: Library Juice Press, 2024.
Coyle, Katy, and Nadiene Van Dyke. “Sex, Smashing, and Storyville in Turn-of-the-Century New Orleans: Reexamining the Continuum of Lesbian Sexuality.” In Carryin’ on in the Lesbian and Gay South, ed. John Howard, 54-72. New York: New York University Press, 1997.
Delery, Clayton. “New Orleans and the Drive Against the Deviates.” In Queering Public Health and Public Policy in the Deep South, ed. Kamden Strunk and Raina Feiszli. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2020.
Fellows, Will. “Cherishing Old New Orleans and Louisiana.” In A Passion to Preserve. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004.
Perez, Frank. “Gay Interest Walking Tour” in Treasures of the Vieux Carre: Ten Self-Guided Walking Tours of the French Quarter. Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2014.
Perez, Frank. “The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana as a Community Organizing Success Story.” In Queering Education in the Deep South, ed. Kamden Strunk. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2018.
Sears. James T. “Fire and Decadence.” In Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2001.
White, Edmund. “New Orleans.” In States of Desire: Travels in Gay America. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980.
Dissertations
Bartlett, Thomasine Marion. “Vintage Drag Female Impersonators Performing Resistance in Cold War New Orleans.” Ph.D. dissertation, Tulane University, 2004.
Clark, Richard. “City of Desire: A History of Same-sex Desire in New Orleans, 1917-1977.” Ph.D. dissertation, Tulane University, 2009.
David, B.M. “The Only Safe Closet is the Voting Booth: The Gay Rights Movement in Louisiana”. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA. 2016
David, Thomas B., Jr. “Perceptions and Experiences of Growing Up Gay in Rural Louisiana: A Reflexive Ethnography of Six Gay Men.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Louisiana at Monroe, 2003.
Hodges, Lillian W. “An Unequal Epidemic: Prejudice, Distrust and the HIV/AIDS Crisis in the Black Community in New Orleans.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Davis, 2020.
Knopp, Lawrence M. “Gentrification and Gay Community Development in a New Orleans Neighborhood.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1989.
Kulkin, Heidi S. “A Qualitative Retrospective Study of Lesbian Youth: The Journey toward the Resilient Self.” Ph.D. dissertation, Tulane University, 2001.
Lawler, Rebecca. “A History of Drag and the AIDS Crisis in Louisiana.” LSU, 2019.
Manuel, D.C. “We Are Able to Find Pride and Dignity in Being Gay”: Culture, Resistance and the Development of a Visible Gay Community in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1968-1989 (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), University of Louisiana, Lafayette, 2014.
Prechter, Ryan B. “Gay New Orleans: History.” Ph.D. dissertation, Georgia State University, 2017.
Rodriguez, Fernando, “Lewd and Lascivious: French Quarter Clean-up Campaigns by Business and Civic Organizations in 1950s New Orleans” (2021). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5622.
Magazine Articles
“After Katrina: The Future of Gay New Orleans.” The Advocate. 11 Oct. 2005.
Cooper, Alex. “50 Years Ago, the Fire at the Up Stairs Lounge Gay Bar in New Orleans Killed 32.” The Advocate. June 24, 2023.
Fieseler, Robert W. “A Bar Called Charlene’s.” 64 Parishes Spring 2023
Fieseler, Robert W. “Honoring the Legacy of New Orleans’ 1973 UpStairs Lounge Fire.” Washington Blade. June 22, 2023.
Fieseler, Robert W. “The Formation of Reggie Adams: The Story of the Lone Known Black Victim of the Up Stairs Lounge Tragedy.“ 64 Parishes. 2021.
Fieseler, Robert W. “The Up Stairs Lounge Fire Killed 32 People. Its Legacy Still Haunts Black Gay New Orleans.“ The Daily Beast. 11 May 2019.
Jennings, Christopher. “Defining Pride.” Gambit. June 17, 2014.
Moorhouse, Drusilla. “A Deadly Arson at a Gay Bar Was Never Officially Solved. A New Podcast Examines Why.” Huffington Post. June 27, 2023.
Perez, Frank. “Remembering Reggie.” Dallas Voice 3 June 2022.
Sciallo, Andrew. “50 Years Later, the UpStairs Lounge Fire is More Important than Ever.“ The Nation. 22 June 2023.
Smith, Howard. “Golden Celebration.” Mardi Gras Guide. 2011. On the 50th anniversary of Petronius.
Smith, Howard Philips. “In the Kingdom of Queens: The Royal Krewe of Yuga and the Birth of Gay Carnival.“ MyNewOrleans.com January 2, 2015.
Smith, Howard Philips. “The Krewe of Amon-Ra: Fifty Years and Counting.” Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide 2015.
Uddin, Shahamat. “The UpStairs Lounge Fire in New Orleans Was a Deadly Attack on the Local LGBTQ+ Community.” Teen Vogue. June 27, 2023.
Vargas, Antonio. “Family of Veteran Killed in 1973 New Orleans Fire Trying to Recover Remains.” The Guardian. June 2023.
Villarreal, Daniel. “‘Bury Them in Fruit Jars.’ A Gay Mass Murder and the Coverup that Followed.“ LGBTQNATION. 25 October 2023.
Newspaper Articles
“Curb Advocated on Homosexuals: Crackdown to Save Young Persons Demanded.” Times-Picayune 28 Apr. 1951.
“Exiled Patron Rams Pickup into Bar Door.” Times-Picayune 3 May 1969. About an angry customer who drove his truck into Café Lafitte in Exile.
“Gay Liberation Group Marches.” Times-Picayune 24 Jan. 1971.
“Jury Acquits 3 Students Tried in Slaying of Guide.” Times-Picayune 24 Jan. 1959. Coverage of the Fernando Rios murder trial.
“Program is Up to City Council.” Times-Picayune 26 Oct. 1958. Recounts the City Council’s creation of a “Committee on the Problem of Sex Deviates.
“Quarterites Ask Protection from Slasher.” Times-Picayune 10 April 1977. About a serial killer targeting gay men.
“Vieux Carre Unit Seeks Ordinance.” Times-Picayune 8 March 1951. This article recounts the Mayor’s Advisory Committee suggestion that homosexuals be actively discouraged from coming to New Orleans.
Anderson, Ed. “Additional Gay Youth Ring Charges Hinted.” Times-Picayune 3 Nov. 1975.
Anderson-Minshall. “Remembering the Worst Mass Killing of LGBT People in U.S. History.” Advocate.com Nov. 15, 2013
Fieseler, Robert. “Guest Commentary: ‘United We Stand’ — Why the Legacy of New Orleans’ 1973 Up Stairs Lounge Fire Still Resonates 50 Years Later.” Times-Picayune 1 June 2023.
Grady, Bill. “The Girl Can’t Help it, So She Helps Others.” Times-Picayune 23 July 2000. Article about local transsexual Bobbi D’ean Perry.
Griffin, Thomas. “Padlocked Door Tells Story.” New Orleans States-Item 27 March 1956. This article is an obituary of Tom Caplinger, former owner of Café Lafitte in Exile.
Grissett, Sheila. “Police: Men Stabbed by Gay Bashers.” Times-Picayune 20 Nov. 1993.
Hensley, Laura. “Transgendered Evacuee Released.” The Bryan-College Station Eagle. 10 Sept. 2005
MacCash, Douglas. “Opening the Shutter.” The Times-Picayune. 22 Oct. 1999. About George Dureau.
Perez, Frank. Moments in Gay New Orleans History, column in Ambush Magazine. Click for list of articles.
Pope, John. “Mickey Gill, Captain of Two Gay Carnival Krewes, Dies at 73.” Times-Picayune 3 Mar. 2010.
Pope, John. “Lloyd Sensat, 66,Tour Guide.” Times-Picayune 23 Feb. 2011. Obituary for tour guide and historical preservationist Lloyd Sensat.
Purpura, Paul. “Jefferson Parish Prosecutors File Obscenity Charges Against the Rev. Grant Storms.” Times-Picayune. 28 March 2011.
Treadway, Joan. “Gay Community Surfaces in Tragedy of N.O. Fire.” Times-Picayune 11 Sept. 1973.
Treadway, Joan. “Independent Route Taken for Personal Objectives.” Times-Picayune 12 Sept. 1973.
Treadway, Joan. “Homosexuals Disagree on Behavior’s ‘Sickness’.” Times-Picayune 13 Sept. 1973.
Treadway, Joan. “Psychiatric and Clerical Views—a Wide Spectrum.” Times-Picayune 14 Sept. 1973.
Treadway, Joan. “It’s Not Illegal to BE Gay—Certain Acts are Criminal.” Times-Picayune 15 Sept. 1973.
Ussery, Bob. “Police Crackdown on Gays in Park is ‘Due to Calls’.” Times-Picayune 17 Aug. 1976.
Books
Allured, Janet. Remapping Second-Wave Feminism: The Long Women’s Right’s Movement in Louisiana, 1950-1997. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. 2016
Bienville, Trey. Gay Gourmet: The Queer Cuisine of New Orleans. New Orleans, LA: Writers Club Press, 2003.
Carpenter, Donald H. Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw. Self-published, 2014.
Chateauvert, Melinda. Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2014.
Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-two Dead in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2014.
Delery, Clayton. Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. Jefferson, NC: Exposit, 2017.
Ellis, Scott S. Madame Vieux Carre: The French Quarter in the Twentieth Century. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2010.
Ellis, Scott S. The Faubourg Marigny of New Orleans. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2018.
Fiesler, Robert. Tinderbox: The Horrific Fire that Exposed a Nation’s Prejudice and Fueled a Civil Rights Movement. New York: Liveright, 2018.
Long, Alecia. Cruising for Conspirators: How a New Orleans DA Prosecuted the Kennedy Assassination as a Sex Crime. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2021.
Long, Alecia. The Great Southern Babylon: Sex, Race, and Respectability in New Orleans, 1865-1920. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2004.
Perez, Frank and Jeffrey Palmquist. In Exile: The History and Lore Surrounding New Orleans Gay Culture and its Oldest Gay Bar. New Orleans: LL Publications, 2012.
Perez, Frank and Jeffrey Palmquist, Eds. My Gay New Orleans: 28 Personal Reminiscences on LGBT+ Life in New Orleans. New Orleans: LL Publications. 2016.
Perez, Frank. Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2022.
Perez, Frank. The Rainbow Fleur de Lis: Essays on Queer New Orleans History. Forthcoming from the University Press of Mississippi.
Smith, Howard Philips. A Sojourn in Paradise: Jack Robinson in 1950s New Orleans. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2020.
Smith, Howard Philips. Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2017.
Smith, Howard P. and Frank Perez. Southern Decadence in New Orleans. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2018.
Tooker, Poppy. Drag Queen Brunch. New Orleans, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2019.
Townsend, Johnny. Inferno in the French Quarter: The UpStairs Lounge Fire. 2023.
Townsend, Johnny. Let the Faggots Burn: The UpStairs Lounge Fire. Bangor, ME?: Booklocker.com Inc., 2011.
Theses
Bartlett, Thomasine Marion. “Vintage Drag: Female Impersonators Performing Resistance in Cold War New Orleans.”
Byrd, Robert D., Jr. “When the Pretending Stopped?: AIDS Coverage in New Orleans’ Mainstream, Gay, and Alternative Presses from 1981-1991.” M.A. thesis, University of South Alabama, 2011.
David, Bryan M. “‘The Only Safe Closet Is the Voting Booth’: the Gay Rights Movement in Louisiana.”
Davis, Thomas B. “Perceptions and Experiences of Growing up Gay in Rural Louisiana: a Reflexive Ethnography of Six Gay Men.”
Davis, Thomas B. “Perceptions and Experiences of Growing up Gay in Rural Louisiana: a Reflexive Ethnography of Six Gay Men.”
Franks, Lyn Diane. “Torchbearers and Frontrunners: The Daughters of Bilitis and Women’s Rights.” M.A. Thesis, Murray State University, 2011.
Griffin, Gareth F. “Flames of Hate: The New Orleans Upstairs Lounge Fire, 24 June 1973.” M.A. thesis, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2008.
Knopp, Lawrence M. “Gentrification and Gay Community Development in a New Orleans Neighborhood.”
Lawler, Rebecca. “A History of Drag and the AIDS Crisis in Louisiana.” LSU, 2019.
Manuel, Daniel C. II. “‘We Are Able to Find Pride and Dignity in Being Gay’: Culture, Resistance, and Development of a Visible Gay Community in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1968-1989.”
Olsson, Caroline. “Not All That Easy: Survival Strategies in Lesbian Bar Life in New Orleans, 1950-1970.” M.A. thesis, University of New Orleans, 1999.
O’Pry, Rachel. “Louisiana Social Workers: A Study on Attitudes toward LGBT Youth.” M.S.W. thesis, Louisiana State University, 2012.
Pauly, Emily. “New Orleans Drag and Gender Performance in the Early AIDS Epidemic” Honors Thesis, 2021.
Prechter, Ryan. “Gay New Orleans: A History.” Thesis / Dissertation ETD, 2017.
Spencer, Katelyn N. “Setting up Shop Down South: Gay Visibility and Identity Formation at a New Orleans Bookstore.” (pdf) M.A. Thesis, Louisiana State University, 2022.
Stuart, Mary Elaine. “An Examination of Tolerance in New Orleans: Voter Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gays.” M.A. thesis, University of New Orleans, 1992.
Thompson, Jelisa, and Andrew P. Haley “You Make Me Feel: A Study of the Gay Rights Movement in New Orleans.” B.A. thesis, University of Southern Mississippi, 2011.
Journal Articles
Anderson, Ellis and Andrew Simoneaux. “The Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service.” French Quarter Journal. 27 June 2020.
Delery, Clayton. “Review—Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler.” French Quarter Journal June 2023
Ezell, Jason. “Returning Forest Darlings: Gay Liberationist Sanctuary in the Southeastern Network, 1973-80.” Radical History Review 2019 (135): 71-94. (Discusses the Louisiana Sissies in Struggle.)
Fieseler, Robert W. “Firebrand.” River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. 25.2 (2024). About Charlene Schneider
Fieseler, Robert. “Throwaway Boy: The True Story of a Quarter Rat and His ‘Most Important Asset’.” Forthcoming in Southern Cultures.
Perez, Frank. “A Gay Couple’s Notable Influence on the French Quarter”. French Quarter Journal. September, 2023.
Perez, Frank. “A Treasure Trove of Vintage Gay Mardi Gras Pictures.” French Quarter Journal 3 February 2023.
Perez, Frank. “Bill Rushton: Journalist and Activist, Part One”. French Quarter Journal. August, 2023.
Perez, Frank. “Bill Rushton: Journalist and Activist, Part Two”. French Quarter Journal. September, 2023.
Perez, Frank. “Dixie’s, Yuga and Gay Carnival.” French Quarter Journal. 26 Jan. 2020.
Perez, Frank. “Ferris LeBlanc and the Up Stairs Lounge Fire 50 Years Later.” French Quarter Journal. 1 June 2023.
Perez, Frank. “Gay Letters and Desire.” French Quarter Journal. 18 Nov. 2019.
Perez, Frank. “Go Your Own Way: The Life of Barbara Scott.” French Quarter Journal. 12 Sept. 2019.
Perez, Frank. “Otis Fennell: Mayor of Frenchmen Street”. French Quarter Journal. April, 2024.
Perez, Frank. “Queer Eye for Preservation.” French Quarter Journal. 12 Aug. 2019.
Perez, Frank. “Replacing the Up Stairs Lounge Fire Plaque.” French Quarter Journal. July 2024.
Perez, Frank. “Southern Decadence: the Origin, Traditions–and, of Course–the Parade“. French Quarter Journal. August 2024.
Perez, Frank. “The Faerie Playhouse on Esplanade”. French Quarter Journal. May 2024.
Perez, Frank. “The Queer Quarter: A Moveable Feast.” French Quarter Journal. 28 June 2020.
Perez, Frank. “The Vibrant Life and Designs of San Nicholas”. French Quarter Journal. January, 2024.
Perez, Frank. “When the Courtroom Cheered: A Mid-Century Miscarriage of Justice”. French Quarter Journal. November, 2023.
Reneau, Kirsten. “Looking for Peace in New Orleans.” French Quarter Journal. 26 July 2019. (This article is about Kruz Sanchez.)
Reneau, Kirsten. “To Live in a Masquerade: Inside the Mask Market.” French Quarter Journal. 18 Feb. 2020. (This article references Mike Stark.)
Knopp, L. “Some Theoretical Implications of Gay Involvement in an Urban Land Market.” Political Geography Quarterly 9 (337-352). Year unknown.
Richards, Gary. “Queering Katrina: Gay Discourses of the Disaster in New Orleans.” Journal of American Studies 44, no. 3 (August 2010): 519-534.
Miscellaneous
Balogna, Mark. “Southern Decadence.“ Beyond Bourbon Street (podcast). October 6, 2021. Accessed January 7, 2022.
Bourgeois, Kevin M. “An Assessment of the Preceived [sic?] Discrimination and Victimization against Gay Men in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.” Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1994.
Fieseler, Robert. “Gay Carnival.” 64 Parishes (Encyclopedia of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities)
Fieseler, Robert. “LGBTQ Rights Movement in Louisiana.” 64 Parishes (Encyclopedia of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities)
Fieseler, Robert. “The Formation of Reggie Adams.” 64 Parishes (Encyclopedia of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities)
Fieseler, Robert W. “The UpStairs Lounge Fire Killed 32 People. Its Legacy Still Haunts Black Gay New Orleans“ last modified May 13, 2019.
Fieseler, Robert. “Up Stairs Lounge Fire.” 64 Parishes (Encyclopedia of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities)
Harris, Dion. M. (2019, October 14). “Just for the Record, Amistad Honored at Oracle Gala“ last modified October 14, 2019.
Magill, Rich, ed. Exposing Hatred: A Report on the Victimization of Lesbian and Gay People in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans: Louisiana Lesbian and Gay Political Action Caucus, 1991.
Perez, Frank. “Double Play.” Listen to New Orleans (podcast). Accessed January 7, 2022.
Perez, Frank. “Frank Perez [New Orleans].” Gay Barchives (podcast). May 23, 2021. Accessed January 7, 2022.
Perez, Frank. “Stewart Butler.” 64 Parishes (Encyclopedia of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities)
Rickey, Robert. “Murder in Pirate’s Alley,” an unpublished paper available at the New Orleans Public Library.
Severio, Arthur. “Anita Bryant’s Pie in the Eye, how New Orleans shut her down, Stuart Butler and Regina Adams after the Upstairs Lounge Fire“ Quiet Conversations (podcast). December 5, 2023.
Shreve, Brad. “The Forgotten Tragedy at the UpStairs Lounge.“ History Briefs (podcast). December 21, 2021. Accessed January 7, 2022.
United States Commission on Civil Rights, Louisiana Advisory Committee. The Administration of Justice for Homosexual Persons in New Orleans. Washington, D.C.: The Commission, 1989.
Film
ABC News. Prejudice and Pride: Revisiting the Tragic Fire that Killed 32 in a New Orleans Gay Bar. Documentary focusing on Ferris LeBlanc.
Anderson, Royd. The Upstairs Lounge Fire. 2013. A short documentary about the Upstairs Lounge fire.
Camina, Robert. Upstairs Inferno. 2015. A documentary film about the Upstairs Lounge fire.
Trudeau, Vaughn. Oral History. 2022. A short documentary about New Orleans’ last remaining gay leather bar, The Phoenix.
Wolff, Tim. The Sons of Tennessee Williams. 2010. A documentary about the history of gay Carnival.
Yumru, Zaferhan. House of Tulip. 2022. A short documentary about two Black trans activists who run for office and work to build Louisiana’s first housing refuge that provides residency for trans and gender non-conforming residents.