Long before European colonization of the land now referred to as the United States, Indigenous cultures honored and integrated queer individuals into their communities. Those who did not fit into the gender binary, known as Two-Spirited peoples, were held in the highest regard for their capacity to embody both masculine and feminine spirits. There was no “normative” existence, no way of living and expressing oneself that was considered the “default”; spatial justice was an innate, natural process. Queer people existed (spatial claims), thrived (spatial power), and connected (spatial links) among their communities for thousands of years, uncontested (Bronski, 2026). When European colonizers arrived in the “New World,” not only were plants, animals, and diseases imposed upon the region and its inhabitants, but also cultural and societal ideologies profoundly different from that of Indigenous peoples. The sexual behaviors and gender norms observed by the colonizers challenged the strict patriarchal and heteronormative practices brought over, leading Europeans to regard Indigenous peoples as less than human (Bronski, 2026). This cultural ignorance led to extreme violence and was frequently weaponized as a means for colonization, justified by the authority of religious and moral consciousness. According to an article by Dr. Evelyn Blackwood (1984), queer Indigenous peoples began to suppress their sexual identities with the introduction of European ideologies, leading to the erasure of queer identity in the place they called home. Colonization severely disrupted the ontological structure of Indigenous communities by stripping them of spatial justice and enforcing foreign ideologies.
Photo by: The Legacy Project (https://legacyprojectchicago.org/milestone/two-spirit-people)
The next 500 years of post-colonial
queer spatial history in the United States reads as a series of punishments and resistance:
1649: first conviction for same sex behavior in the New World
Sarah White Norman and Mary Vincent Hammon were persecuted for “lewd behavior with each other,” making the earliest recorded case of female intimacy in the North American colonies.
1778: first U.S. military dismissal for homosexuality
Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin became the first documented service member dismissed from the U.S. military for homosexuality.
1868: Fourteenth Amendment ratified
The Fourteenth Amendment requires states to treat all people within their jurisdiction equally under law and served as the basis for protection of LGBTQ+ individuals.
1952: American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual lists homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance
Homosexuality is officially defined in the DSM-I as a “sexual deviation” that could be treated.
1969: Stonewall Riots in New York City
The Stonewall Riots were a spontaneous resistance against police harassment and systemic violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Black transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson was a key leader in the Stonewall uprising and pioneer for modern gay rights movements.
1978: the Rainbow Flag is first flown during the Gay Freedom Parade
Designed by artist, activist, and drag queen Gilbert Baker, the homemade version of the flag originally featured eight horizontal stripes and has since been altered to become the global symbol representing the LGBTQ+ community.
1982: San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) founded
Founded at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the SFAF provides services for people with HIV/AIDS, with a mission to end the AIDS epidemic in the U.S.
2003: Lawrence v. Texas
The 2003 Supreme Court ruling decriminalized private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct, effectively legalizing same-sex sexual activity nationwide.
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| Photo by: Rena Schild (https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/professor-balkin-edits-book-obergefell-v-hodges) |
Finally, in a 2015 Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide. This served as a monumental moment for spatial justice of queer people in the U.S., but despite the massive victory, there were still no legal protections against discrimination in different spaces of the built environment. The concept of public and private spaces is discussed in Social Geographies: Space and Society by Gill Valentine (2001), who discusses the restrictive nature of the built environment. Rooted in patriarchal ideals, public and private spaces are imbued with ideas about appropriate behavior based on identity. Valentine explores these identity categories within the gender binary, but the idea is applicable to identities outside of the binary as well as sexual orientation. Existing as cisgender and heterosexual is considered the “norm” in public spaces, and people who fall on the queer spectrum must frequently navigate these normative social expectations. Holding hands with a same-sex partner, expressing identity through clothing, and using the restroom in public are actions that are often met with hostility, harassment, or violence. This is especially true for queer BIPOC, who according to The Trevor Project, experience disproportionately high rates of discrimination due to the compounding forces of homophobia and racism. Additionally, private spaces such as home are often regarded as loving and safe, but for a queer person, “home” may feel and look completely different. Whitson (2017) states that for queer youth, the “normative home” can limit identity expression, resulting in estrangement, fear, and homelessness in some cases. She notes that 40% of the youths housed by homeless shelters are LGBTQ+, 70% of which fled or were forced out of their homes due to violence. For queer people, both public and private spaces within the built environment can be places of fear and shame rather than of safety and dignity. Although the legalization of same-sex marriage was a major milestone for equality, it did not halt discriminatory public practices or private alienation; the spatial vulnerability of queer people established through colonialization remained intact.
Following 2015, Donald Trump was elected president, known for his adverse, increasingly negative beliefs toward queer people. The most recent queer history goes as follows:
2018: Department of Health and Human Services
proposes a narrow definition of sex
Under Title IX, “sex” was redefined
as male or female, determined only by birth. This was a direct attack on
transgender and gender non-confirming individuals.
2019: Donald Trump publicly opposes the Equality Act
The Equality Act is a federal bill designed
to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics
under federal civil rights laws. The Trump administration argued the bill
could infringe upon religious liberties.
2022: The Respect for Marriage Act
Biden signed into law the Respect
for Marriage Act, federally protecting same-sex and interracial marriages by
ensuring federal recognition and cross-state validity.
2025: Trump’s second term (so far)
Restricted non-binary markers on U.S. passports, blocked federal funding for gender affirming care, barred trans
women/girls from sports, eliminated the LGBTQ+-specific number from the suicide hotline,
removed protections against violence toward queer people in schools, allowed
federal contractors to discriminate against LGBTQ+ employees, banned
transgender troops from the military, terminated all DEI offices and positions,
etc.
The long and growing list of direct attacks on queer people by the federal government has altered the spatial mobility of queer people in the United States, diminishing their right to exist, thrive, and connect. In an MS NOW article, it was reported that nearly half of LGBTQ+ individuals report being “less out somewhere in their lives,” including public and private spaces since Donald Trump’s return to office. Queer history has long been a push-and-pull between visibility and erasure, between spatial justice and injustice. From pre-colonial uncontested queer freedom to present-day disputed queer existence, queerness has not yet been granted its rightful place in the geography of spatial justice. Social Geography III: Committing to Social Justice by Peter Hopkins offers a solution for improving social justice in the realm of geography. He states that advancing socially requires a focus on Black geographies, indigeneity, and critical whiteness studies, all of which examine the disproportionate impacts of spatial marginalization. When applied to the advancement of the LGBTQ+ community, these frameworks embed intersectionality into queer spatial justice, carving out space for queerness to exist and thrive.
References Cited
Bailey, K., Lobenstine, L., & Nagel, K. (2012). Spatial
justice: A frame for reclaiming our rights to be, Thrive, express and connect.
Boston, MA; Design Studio for Social Intervention.
Blackwood, E. (1984). Sexuality and Gender in Certain Native
American Tribes: The Case of Cross-Gender Females. Signs, 10(1),
27–42.
Bronski, M. (2026). A Queer History of the United States.
Beacon Press.
McShane, J. (2026). New data illustrates “trump effect”
on LGBTQ Americans. MS NOW.
https://www.ms.now/news/new-data-illustrates-trump-effect-on-lgbtq-americans
Hopkins, P. (2021). Social geography III: Committing to
social justice. Progress in Human Geography, 45(2), 382-393.
The Trevor Project (2026). The Intersectionality of
Discrimination and the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color.
Valentine, G. (2001). Social Geographies: Space and
Society. Routledge.
Whitson, R. (2017). Spaces of Culture and Identity
Production: Home, Consumption, and the Media. In Feminist Spaces: Gender and
Geography in a Global Context.
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