Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion

A new, definitive queer history of the Commonwealth

Queer Virginia is a long-needed record of the courageous and creative ways that LGBTQ+ people across the commonwealth have persevered and fought for their rights. The history recovered here is remarkable and illuminating, including the life of Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman who overcame severe discrimination in Loudoun County during the 1930s; the story of the Hershee Bar, a historic lesbian bar in Norfolk and longtime community focal point; efforts to gather oral histories and produce a queer digital archive in the old capital of the Confederacy, and much more. Full of poignant and telling glimpses of LGBTQ+ life through the decades, this volume reveals generations of widespread prejudice and oppressive laws and the inspiring resilience that queer Virginians brought to this struggle.

© 2025 University of Virginia Press (Ebook): 9780813953281

Release date

Ebook: June 10, 2025