Ten Queer Women Icons Who Made History And Changed The World For LGBTQ+ Community

In LGBTQIA, 'Q' represents 'queer' and it is an umbrella term for someone who denotes or relates to a gender or sexual identity other than straight and cisgender. They do not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender especially heterosexual norms. However, in the past 'queer' was also used as a harmful slur during the 1950s to disrespect or put down LGBT people, but the term was later reclaimed by the LGBTQ community.

From being invisible to becoming incredible, we have listed 10 queer women in this article because it is impossible to contain all of them as their personalities were larger than life. From painters, spies, and astronauts to writers, painters, nurses and more, their journey will not only fill you with pride but will motivate you to become the best versions of yourselves. These women not only made history but have changed the world for the LGBTQIA+ community as well.

1. Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975)

She identified herself as bisexual and was an American-born French dancer, performer and activist. Born to a washerwoman Carrie Mc Donald and Vaudeville Drummer Eddie Carson, she is one of the prominent figures of the 20th century. She fought for matters involving race and gender. She was married four times (men and women) and her liaisons with other women are rumoured to have included a French author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and a Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. She was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement and was chosen to lead the movement after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. During World War II, she served as a spy for her adopted country and aided the French Resistance.

2. Bessie Smith (15 April 1894 - 26 September 1937)

A bisexual woman, she is nicknamed the Empress of Blues and was a prominent woman vocalist in the 1930s. When she was young she used to earn money from small singing gigs. She was involved with numerous women and men but ended up in a tumultuous marriage with Jack Gee in 1923. In that same year, she signed with Columbia Records and sold 780,000 copies of her first commercial release, ‘Downhearted Blues'. At the age of 43, she was killed in a car crash. In 2015, HBO released a biopic on her life and she is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well. The tombstone on her grave reads ‘The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing.'

3. Audre Lorde (18 February 1934 - 17 November 1992)

She was a black feminist lesbian and an American writer and poet. She published her first poem when she was 15. Her works are based on themes such as gender inequalities, racial and social injustices and black female identity. Lorde was vocal about Black female empowerment and was also a prominent civil rights activist. Born to Caribbean immigrants in New York City, she was actively involved in many liberation movements. In 1979, she participated in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights and fought for LGBTQ rights and equality for all her life. Even though passed away due to breast cancer, she immortalized herself through poetry.

4. Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820- 13 August 1910)

She identified herself as a lesbian and never married, although several men courted her. She established the basis of modern nursing and was popularly known as ‘the lady with the lamp' for her nurturing nature. Also, she published about 200 pieces of literature based on medicine. Apart from that Nightingale was a statistician who invented an infographic. One of the prominent figures in medical history, she attended to those in need during and following the Crimean War. Even though she came from a wealthy family and could have lived a comfortable life, but she chose to help those in need and became a flagbearer of women's rights. She also involved herself in social reform around sex work and the roles of women in the workplace.

5. Frida Kahlo (6 July 1907- 13 July 1954)

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a prominent feminist figure and a Mexican artist who became popular for her self-portraits. She was openly radical, and bisexual and had both male and female lovers. Her openness around female sexuality which is embedded in her works has inspired many from the LGBTQ community. She has explored other themes such as infertility and sexual pleasure. When it came to gender, she never confined herself to limitations imposed by society. She had multiple disabilities, which include dealing with polio as a child when she was 6 and spinal and pelvis damage from a car accident. It was while she was recovering, Frida started to paint.

6. Eve Sedgwick (2 May 1950-12 April 2009)

A poet, teacher, artist and literary critic, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick is known as a matriarch of queer theory. Though she identified herself as a heterosexual, Sedgwick was always intrigued by the complex nature of desire and relationships. In 1985, she wrote her first book, Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire' where she explored male bonds in 19th-century novels. One of her prominent works includes the Epistemology of the Closet. Through her work, she has explored the meaning of heterosexuality and homosexuality and how queerness exists as a different identity. She passed away after battling breast cancer for more than 13 years.

7. Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951- February 19, 2002)

An Americal Civil Rights and transgender activist, her original name was Ray Rivera. ‘Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned,' says one of her quotes. Apart from being a pioneer of transgender rights, she was also the founder of the Gay Activists Alliance and the Gay Liberation Front. She was one of the first women to throw a bottle at the 1969 Stonewall Inn Raid. At one point she was homeless and was addicted to drugs as well. She also fought against the exclusion of gender-nonconforming people, and transgenders (especially people of colour) from the mainstream gay and lesbian communities. In 1973, she gave a fiery speech at a rally in Washington Square Park (New York) as she was tired of the transgender community being sidelined and ignored in the gay rights movement.

8. Sally K. Ride (May 26, 1951 - July 23, 2012)

A Physician by profession was the first American Woman and the youngest US astronaut in space. For 27 years, she was in a relationship with a woman Tam O'Shaughnessy and it was only after her death that she revealed she was gay and in her obituary came out publicly as an LGBTQ member, which was written by her partner Tam. Today, she is the first acknowledged gay astronaut. She was also a physicist by profession and in 1983, when she was 32, Sally rode into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-7.

9. Stormé DeLarverie (24 December 1920 - 24 May 2014)

A Biracial Butch Lesbian Drag King, was not one of the key contributors to the Stonewall Riots but remained active in the Gay Liberation movement in the later years. She also worked as a bouncer in the city's gay clubs and helped battered women and children in need. During the riots, she was struck in the head with a police baton by one of the NYPD officers and was violently thrown into the back of a police wagon. Her gender-fluid dressing inspires the fashion industry even today. In her later years, she had a long struggle with dementia and passed away in her sleep when she was 93.

10. Barbara May Cameron ( 22 May 1954- 12 February 2002)

She was a native American, lesbian, and photographer, who was an LGBTQ rights activist as well. She is also the co-founder of Gay American Indians (GAI), which was a support group for lesbian and gay Native Americans. She became an advocate for the indigenous gay community and conveyed her messages better through her essays. She not only fought against racism but also demanded inclusion for all LGBTQ people. In 1988, she served as a delegate of Jesse Jackson's rainbow coalition during his presidential campaign.