Fashion has always played a pivotal role in American culture as a marker of sexual identities. From Christian Dior to Marc Jacobs, gay men and lesbians have written much of the international vocabulary of fashion. Aside from famous trend-setters, everyday people have used fashion to make statements about sexual identity, from bloomers to back pocket handkerchiefs. 

Listen in as Timothy Long, the Museum’s curator of costumes and textiles, explores the lives of gay men and women who have kept us in style and shaped the way we identify sexuality today.

Recorded Thursday, January 29, 2009 at Chicago History Museum.