Season 3: Episode 3: Ellen DeGeneres

FromMaking Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

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Season 3: Episode 3: Ellen DeGeneres

FromMaking Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

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Length:

26 minutes

Released:

Nov 2, 2017

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Everybody loves Ellen. But that wasn’t always so. When she came out on screen and in real life the backlash was fierce and her future cast in doubt. In this 2001 interview hear a beloved icon at a crossroads.

Released:

Nov 2, 2017

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Intimate, personal portraits of both known and long-forgotten champions, heroes, and witnesses to history brought to you from rare archival interviews.

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Frank Kameny: Frank Kameny fought for what was right. And he never gave up. Lessons for us all. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
20 min listen
Hal Call: Hal Call never minced words. The midwestern newspaperman and WWII vet wrested control of the Mattachine Society from its founders and went on to fight police oppression and champion sexual freedom. He also made more than a few enemies along the way. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
22 min listen
Edythe Eyde's Gay Gal's Mixtape: Already a visionary with her pioneering lesbian 'zine Vice Versa in the 1940s, "Gay Gal" Edythe Eyde broke the mold again when she started singing positive ballads and gay-friendly parodies in LA's gay clubs in the 1950s. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
13 min listen
Herb Selwyn: Herb Selwyn never hesitated to stick his neck out for others. That included gay people at a time when other straight attorneys cashed in on the persecution of homosexuals and gay attorneys were too frightened to represent a despised minority. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
22 min listen
Gittings and Lahusen: When the Stonewall uprising upended the 1960s homophile movement, Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen refused to be put out to pasture. They brought all their passion, humor, and determination to the gay lib ‘70s and showed the youngsters how it was done. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
20 min listen
Bonus Episode - Love is Love: The right to love and be loved for who we are has always been a driving force in the fight for LGBT civil rights. Eric shares four special love stories featuring activists who helped change the course of history. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
12 min listen
Chuck Rowland: A WWII veteran who turned theory into action, co-founding one of the first LGBT rights groups, the Mattachine Society, in 1950—a time when gay people were considered sick, sinful, criminal, and a threat to national security. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
19 min listen
Season 1: Preview: Vintage voices from queer history. Hear the personal stories of people who changed the world. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
4 min listen
Edythe Eyde a.k.a. Lisa Ben: In 1947, Hollywood secretary Edythe Eyde, a.k.a. Lisa Ben, had the audacity to publish “Vice Versa,” the first ever “magazine” for lesbians. Even more audacious, she imagined a future gay utopia that has all come to pass. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
16 min listen
Season Two - Preview: Season Two - Preview by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
4 min listen
Jeanne and Morty Manford: When Jeanne Manford's gay son Morty was badly beaten at a protest in 1972, she took action and founded an organization for parents of gays known today as PFLAG by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
18 min listen
Sylvia Rivera Part 2: Welcome back to Sylvia’s kitchen, for the second part of a never-before-heard interview from 1989. Pull up a chair for a conversation with the Stonewall veteran and trans rights pioneer who reflects on a life of activism while she cooks a pot of chili. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
19 min listen
Sylvia Rivera: A never before heard conversation with trans icon, self-described “drag queen,” and Stonewall uprising veteran Sylvia Rivera. Sylvia relives that June 1969 night in vivid detail and describes her struggle for recognition in the movement. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
13 min listen
Dear Abby: A generation ago, tens of millions of people turned to "Dear Abby" in her daily newspaper column for advice. Long before others did, and at considerable risk, she used her platform and celebrity in support of gay people and their equal rights. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
15 min listen
Barbara Gittings and Kay "Tobin" Lahusen: Barbara Gittings and Kay “Tobin” Lahusen described themselves as gay rights fanatics, and they helped supercharge the nascent movement in the 1960s and brought their creativity, passion, determination, and good humor to the Gay Liberation 1970s. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
21 min listen
Dr Evelyn Hooker: A friendship that led to overturning the psychiatric orthodoxy and changing millions of lives. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
18 min listen
Joyce Hunter: Joyce’s childhood and adolescence were stolen from her. Determined to keep that from happening to other LGBTQ youth, she survived years in an orphanage, suicide attempts, and a brutal anti-gay attack to change the lives of countless of young people. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
23 min listen
Ellen DeGeneres: Everybody loves Ellen. But that wasn’t always so. When she came out on screen and in real life the backlash was fierce and her future cast in doubt. In this 2001 interview hear a beloved icon at a crossroads. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
26 min listen
Season Four - Magnus Hirschfeld: More than a century ago, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld chose to take a stand for LGBTQ rights, founding a movement, providing a safe space, and seeking justice through science. The Nazis crushed his vision, but not his legacy. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
28 min listen
Morris Foote: On November 2, 1955, when 30-year-old Morris read on the front page of the newspaper that Boise police were rounding up and arresting gay men, he did the only thing he could think of. He ran. He didn't feel safe to go back to Boise for the next 20 years. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
17 min listen
Vito Russo: Vito Russo loved movies, but he hated the way Hollywood portrayed LGBTQ people and pedaled homophobia. He decided that that had to change. He wrote a book, was one of the founders of GLAAD, and when his life was on the line, co-founded ACT UP. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
22 min listen
Jean O'Leary - Part 1: Jean O’Leary was passionate - about women, nuns, feminism, and equality. She left an indelible mark on the women’s movement and the LGBTQ civil rights movement, but not without causing controversy. After all, she was a troublemaker. And proud of it. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
18 min listen
Wendell Sayers: Wendell Sayers is not in the history books, but you'll never forget his story. Born in 1904 in Kansas, Wendell was the first black lawyer to work for Colorado's Attorney General. He risked everything to join a gay discussion group. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
16 min listen
Perry Watkins: Sergeant Perry Watkins played by the rules. The U.S military did not. Drafted in 1968, he was thrown out fifteen years later despite his honesty and stellar record of service. He fought back and won. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
22 min listen
Season Four -Ernestine Eckstein: Ernestine Eckstein is an iconic figure from the 1960s homophile movement—from photos showing her as the only African American woman at the earliest protests, to her trailblazing cover story in The Ladder. Now we can put a voice to those images with a never-before-heard 1965 interview. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
34 min listen
Morty Manford: One of thousands of young people who joined the fight for gay liberation in the early '70s, Gay Activists Alliance member Morty Manford challenged NYC's mayor face to face and called on him to halt police harassment of the gay community. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
25 min listen
Deborah Johnson & Zandra Rolón Amato: In 1983, Deborah Johnson and Zandra Rolón Amato went to a Los Angeles restaurant for what was supposed to be a romantic dinner. Instead they wound up in court. They fought back against discrimination and won. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
19 min listen
Jean O'Leary - Part 2: Jean O’Leary had a vision for the national LGBTQ civil rights movement. On March 26, 1977 she led the first delegation of lesbian and gay activists to the White House. And in 1988 she co-founded National Coming Out Day. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
15 min listen
Pride Bonus: Kay Lahusen’s Gay Table: Join us as Making Gay History pulls up a chair at Kay Tobin Lahusen’s monthly gay dinner table. Spend some time this gang of elders and hear how love, friendship, and activism live on for these trailblazers—even in their retirement community. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
15 min listen
Love is Love: The right to love and be loved for who we are has always been a driving force in the fight for LGBT civil rights. Eric shares four special love stories from his archive featuring activists who helped change the course of history. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
12 min listen

More Episodes from Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

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Guest Episode: Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows: Mourning in America: Valerie Reyes-Jimenez called it “The Monster.” That’s how some people described HIV and AIDS in the 1980s. Valerie thinks as many as 75 people from her block on New York City’s Lower East Side died. They were succumbing to an illness that was not recognized as the same virus that was killing young, white, gay men just across town in the West Village. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 3: Out of the DSM & into the Present — A Conversation about LGBTQ+ Mental Health: Eric is joined in conversation by Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth and Dr. Ilan H. Meyer to delve into the past and present of mental health for LGBTQ people. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
50 min listen
Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 2: The Cure: A half-century ago, millions of homosexuals were cured with the stroke of a pen when the American Psychiatric Association decided to change its diagnostic manual and remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
48 min listen
Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 1: A Kind of Madness: In the 1950s, psychiatrists diagnosed all homosexuals with a mental illness, and the sickness label created new forms of oppression for gay people in America. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
28 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 6: Marching On: In 1978 Harvey Milk called on gay people to gather in D.C. the next year to protest the anti-gay campaigns of Anita Bryant and her ilk. Organizers were stymied by internal conflicts until Milk’s assassination galvanized them and a date for a national march was set. But would anyone show up? by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
62 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 5: Thank You, Anita: Eric gets an A on his freshman sociology paper, “Marginal Man: The Alcoholic and the Homosexual.” But his sunny predictions for the future of the gay rights movement are met with skepticism from his professor. Mere weeks later, Anita Bryant launches her anti-gay “Save Our Children” campaign. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
53 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 4: Respectable: Gay rights activists in NYC are first out of the gate to propose anti-discrimination legislation, confident it will sail through the City Council. Instead, they hit a wall of ignorance and bigotry. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Eric happens upon some revelatory literature in his dentist’s waiting room. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
51 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 3: Family Ties: When Jeanne Manford’s gay son is badly beaten at a 1972 GAA protest, the shy elementary school teacher takes a stand. She cofounds the organization now known as PFLAG and launches a movement that harnesses the strength of our fiercest allies: parents and the other people who love us. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
51 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 2: Fire Island and Other Stories: While activists are demonstrating, filing lawsuits, and pushing for anti-discrimination laws, 16-year-old Eric is on a ferry to Fire Island, a legendary gay refuge off Long Island, with his neighbor Rev. Mullen—a trip that would introduce him to a vivid slice of mid-1970s gay life, ready or not. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
50 min listen
Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 1: A Surge of Energy: The Stonewall uprising ignites an explosion of protests and organizing that transforms a small, often tentative homophile movement into a newly assertive national force that demands gay liberation and equality. In a Puerto Rico hotel pool, 12-year-old Eric experiences a transformation of his own. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Preview: The decade between Stonewall and the 1979 March on Washington lives in the shadow of the AIDS crisis and all that came after. In this six-part season, Eric Marcus explores the heady years of gay liberation and the backlash that followed against the backdrop of his own coming of age as a gay teen. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Guest Episode: Sidedoor: Lucy Hicks Anderson: Known for her smashing parties, lighter-than-air soufflés, and comedic wit, Lucy Hicks Anderson never let anyone tell her how to live her life—not even the courts. When her gender was put on trial in the 1940s, the publicity around her case made her one the first documented Black transgender figures in American history. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
28 min listen
Bonus: A Complicated Love Story: Wait, THAT Harvey? When activist Craig Rodwell told Eric in 1989 who his first serious boyfriend had been, Eric was stunned. In our special Valentine’s Day episode, hear how love unfolded—and unraveled—for two of our movement’s titans. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 11: Episode 6: Kathleen Boatwright: When Kathleen Boatwright fell in love with a woman at church, she fell hard. But this was no carefree romance. The church was staunchly anti-gay. Kathleen was married to a man and had four children. She’d never had a relationship with a woman. As she told Eric in 1989, it was “Pentecostal hysteria.” by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 11: Episode 5: Robert Bauman: In 1980, conservative congressman Robert Bauman was caught soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy. The scandal landed the married father of four on the front page of newspapers across the country. It spelled the end of his political career—and the start of a years-long journey toward self-acceptance. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 11: Episode 4: Urvashi Vaid: Indian-born activist and lawyer Urvashi Vaid was fiercely attuned to injustice from an early age. Adamant that the fight for LGBTQ equality cannot be separated from other progressive struggles, she became one of the most influential, outspoken, and inspiring movement leaders in recent history. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
30 min listen
Season 11: Episode 3: Faygele Ben-Miriam: In 1972, Faygele Ben-Miriam’s penchant for wearing dresses to the office got him fired from his government job in Seattle. The fact that he had recently brought one of the very first same-sex marriage lawsuits was another strike against him. Undeterred, he went back to court and sued his employer. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
30 min listen
Season 11: Episode 2: Rev. Carolyn Mobley-Bowie: Growing up in the segregated South, Rev. Carolyn Mobley-Bowie knew the challenge of finding an accepting place in the world—a challenge that only grew when her attraction to women came into conflict with her devotion to God. The predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Church offered refuge. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 11: Episode 1: Craig Rodwell: In 1954, Craig Rodwell was just 14 when he was arrested for having sex with a man. The experience set the young Chicagoan on the road to becoming a self-described “angry queer”— and one of the most consequential LGBTQ rights activists before and after Stonewall. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 11: Preview: We’re back with more engaging voices from Eric Marcus’s MGH archive! Meet six history makers as they share stories of faith and redemption, of family, of scandal, and of radicalization and liberation. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Guest Episode: Revisionist History: When Will Met Grace: A special guest episode from Revisionist History, which does a deep dive into the ’90s sitcom “Will and Grace,” which was quietly revolutionary in changing our collective beliefs around gay people and marriage equality. by Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
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Season 3: Episode 3: Ellen DeGeneres

Season 3: Episode 3: Ellen DeGeneres

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive