Lou Sullivan diary, 1974

Content Warning: This item contains ableist language and potentially sensitive material related to sexual assault. Lou Sullivan's diary for 1974, detailing his life as a 23-year-old who was coming into his own as a gay trans man. Sulllivan moved in increasingly gay circles in this year, dating and befriending gay men and visiting bathhouses and leather bars. Although he was not yet seriously seeking out medical transition, he was living socially and being read as a young man. He found widespread acceptance in Milwaukee's gay community as well as in New York, which he visited late in the year, regardless of whether he disclosed his assigned gender. Louis Graydon Sullivan (1951-1991) was a gay trans man from Milwaukee, WI who lived much of his adult life in San Francisco. A diarist, amateur historian, and administrative assistant, Sullivan is best known for the detailed and thoughtful diary he kept from childhood until his death from AIDS at age 39.

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Item Information:

Identifier: mw22v585j
Collection: Lou Sullivan Collection
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
Creator(s): Sullivan, Lou
Date Created: 1974
Dates Covered: 1974
Genre: Diaries
Places: New York
Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > City of Milwaukee > Milwaukee
Topic(s): Diaries
Gay men
Leather people
Sadomasochism
Trans men
Resource Type: Text
Analog Format: Diary
Digital Format: PDF file, 117.5 MB
Language: English
Rights: In copyright
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