Thursday, June 20, 2024

Celebrating Pride Month: Les Mouches Fantastiques, first LGBT magazine in North America

 

Les Mouches fantastiques (The Fantastic Flies) was the first LGBT publication in North American history, being published between 1918-1920. It was an underground magazine based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It started from a writing circle established by Elsa Gidlow (poet) and Roswell George Mills as its primary contributors. It included poetry and non-fiction about gay and lesbian issues, such as identity, politics, and editorials.

Only five issues of Les Mouches fantastiques were ever published, but it had a wide distribution, receiving correspondence as far away as Havana, Cuba. It was discontinued when Gidlow and Mills moved to New York City in 1920.

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