Intersex Pioneer

Today we celebrate a birthday and celebrate a pioneer of intersex awareness. The birthday we celebrate is that of Herculine (Abel) Barbin, who was born on this day 1838 in the village of St. Jean d’Angély, a couple of miles off the French Pacific coast near La Rochelle. In 2004 the date of Herculine’s birthday was chosen as the Intersex Day of Remembrance, also known as Intersex Solidarity Day. With Intersex Awareness Day on October 26th, a period of intersex awareness covering the days in between is becoming more popular internationally.

Herculine Barbin was assigned female at birth and was raised as a girl. Later in life she wrote her autobiography in which she uses female pronouns for herself until she wrote about the time when he chose to self-identify as male. In respect to her memory that is what I will do.

Thanks to the generosity of local citizen’s Herculine’s widowed mother was allowed to place her in the local orphanage at the age of 7. She was treated well and was later placed in a convent school for a wider education.

Herculine was an excellent learner, except in things like needlework and embroidery. Books were here forte. After she had taken her first communion Herculine returned to her mother in La Rochelle. A noble family had befriended her mother and accepted her into their family home. Herculine also became like family. She became a kind of personal assistant to the ailing head of the family and often read newspapers, letters and books to him as he lay in bed. One of these books had a lasting effect on Herculine. It was Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”.

This classic of Roman literature has provided me with several articles over the past few years. “Metamorphoses”, as its name implies, is a collection of legends and myths that have change, often physical, as their theme. These include the stories of Hyacinth, Tiresias, Narcissus and Cypress.

At the age of 17 Herculine was persuaded to become a trainee teacher at a girl’s school. Unlike previously in the convent school Herculine was placed in a dormitory with other female trainees. This made her uneasy because she was now beginning to show signs of male puberty. Hair was growing on her upper lip. Although very self-conscious about this Herculine did her best to ignore glances.

Despite her fears over her appearance Herculine found a close companion called Thécla. They were inseparable and kissed often. Herculine fell in love. Several times the nuns running the school admonished them for showing too much affection, and heartache followed when Thécla told Herculine that their affair must end.

On gaining her teaching certificate Herculine was appointed to a girl’s school. She soon found a new love in Sara, the daughter of the hear mistress. They soon developed a passionate affair. Herculine, however, felt guilty that she should have such emotions for a woman. She confessed her guilt to her confessor, a priest who was generally unpleasant with everyone. Needless to say he wasn’t supportive of Herculine’s plight.

During the summer break Herculine had the chance to see another confessor. He was more compassionate, in his way. Bearing in mind the lack of knowledge, experience and awareness of intersex issues in the 1850s the confessor’s words are surprising. In her autobiography Herculine recorded his response: “… you are here and now entitled to call yourself a man in society. Certainly you are, but how will you obtain the legal right to do so? At the price of the greatest scandal, perhaps.” The scandal refers to Herculine still working a male teacher in a girl’s school. The confessor continued, “And so, the advice I am giving you is this: withdraw from the world and become a nun; but be very careful not to repeat the confession you have made to me, for a convent of women would not admit you”. This advice was not unexpected, coming from a priest, but it was much better than the treatment she got from the science world.

During the second year at the school Herculine began experiencing severe pains in her abdomen. A doctor was sent for and he examined her. He was astonished at Herculine’s intersex physicality and produced only more pain for her during the examination. His prescription was for her to leave the school at once.

A third confession of her physical and emotional pains before the local bishop led to him making her see another doctor. This doctor was worse than the previous one. A more thorough and invasive examination was conducted, all in the name of science, her doctor insisted. At the end of his examination he advised Herculine to self-identify as a man.

It was a heart-breaking decision for Herculine. She left the girl’s school and her beloved Sara. Now Herculine had adopted the male forename on Abel.

In 1860 Abel received an official document from the local magistrate confirming in law that he was a man. Needless to say the local people noticed the change in his outward appearance and demeanour. The press treated this with sensationalism, much to the distress of Abel and his mother.

Abel got an invitation to join the Paris railway company. He worked there for a while until a change of management forced his redundancy. With only enough money to cover a month of unemployment Abel began to sink into depression as the month-end approached and with no other employment in sight. Fortunately he found employment as a waiter’s assistant on a ship bound for America. This is where Abel’s autobiography ends.

In February 1868 Abel Barbin’s body was found in his 6th floor room on the Rue de l’Ecole de Médicine in Paris. He had apparently died of carbon dioxide poisoning from a charcoal stove. The verdict of suicide was given. And so ended the life of the first intersex person to chronicle his or her life.

The life of Herculine/Abel Barbin still resonates with many young intersex people today who was struggling to find acceptance and awareness of the issues that face them.

Around the World in Another 80 Gays: Part 31) Going for a World Title

Previously on “Another 80 Gays” : The favourite opera of 63) Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930) was “Tannhäuser”, the tale of a medieval minstrel whose songs were included in a collection with those of “Der Püller”, the ancestor of 64) Richard Püller von Hohenburg (d.1482), whose execution was manipulated by the Mayor of Zurich, whose current office holder is 65) Corine Mauch (b.1960).

65) Corine Mauch has been Mayor of Zurich since March 2009. She had a perfect political female role model in her mother, Ursula, who was leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Swiss parliament from 1969-1995. Corine was first elected to the Zurich city council in 1999. From there, she has stated, it was the right step for her to eventually campaign for mayoral office.

That chance came in the 2009 election. The Mayor of Zurich at the time did not seek re-election. Corine won 58% of the public vote, thus becoming the first female Mayor of Zurich. She won re-election for another term of office in March this year. Also in March she was placed on the long list of nominations for the biennial award of World Mayor.

Despite the inference, the title of World Mayor is not a contest to determine who is Mayor of the World. It is an award where the public vote for the mayor they think has done the most for his or her community. It’s like the Oscar for the Best Mayor. The award is given by the City Mayor Foundation, an independent charitable organisation formed in 2003. It’s a kind of international think-tank with committee members from all over the world. It produces statistics on a range of issues such as environmental, economic and demographic state of major cities. Not all mayors are eligible for the World Mayor award. As the Foundation’s name suggests only cities and major urban authorities are included. Smaller towns and villages are not eligible.

Corine Mauch has appeared on the long list of nominations once before. She was nominated in 2014 on a list which also included Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston, Texas, the only other lgbt mayor on that year’s list. Since 2006 the list has always included at least one lgbt mayor.

This year the City Mayor Foundation chose to select female mayors only. To quote their website, “Women fought prejudice and struggled for equal rights and opportunities for hundreds of years. They did it with courage and resolve. In the 20th and early 21st centuries women have achieved success in many spheres previously reserved to or monopolised by men, but their contributions are still often undervalued and their potential not recognised enough. Only an estimated 20% of the world’s mayors are women.”

The long list of 63 nominations for World Mayor 2018 was released in March and included three openly lesbian mayors. As well as Corine Mauch there was Ana Colau Ballano, Mayor of Barcelona (who was also on the long list in 2016), and Jackie Biskupski, Mayor of Salt Lake City. In the summer the long list was whittled down to a short list of 27, on which Corine Mauch and Ana Colau Ballano appear. Voting continues throughout November, after which the votes will be counted and testimonials judged to produce a combined result. Fingers crossed for the New Year when either Corine of Anna could become World Mayor 2018.

The World Mayor lists in the past have also included four gay or bisexual men. Germany has produced two of them. Klaus Wowerwit (b.1953), Mayor of Berlin, made it onto the short list of the inaugural World Mayor award in 2004. Most recently the First Mayor of Hamburg, 66) Ole von Beust (b.1955) has reached the short list.

Like Corine Mauch, Ole von Beust has a political family background. He is descended from Friedrich von Beust (1809-1888), the Minister-President of the Austrian parliament, the Head of Government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ole was first elected to the Hamburg parliament in 1978. His first term of office as First Mayor was in 2001. This first term was not without controversy. A scandal erupted involving him and Ronald Schill, the Vice Mayor, over one of Schill’s officials that Ole had fired over allegations of misconduct. Schill went on the offensive and accused Mayor Ole of abusing his power by having an affair with a man and appointing him a minister of justice. After several public exchanges, denials and counter-accusations Schill admitted that his allegations were unfounded. The affair only brought Mayor Ole’s sexuality into the public eye.

In 2009 Mayor Ole was nominated for the 2010 World Mayor award. He made it onto the short list. However, before the short list was published he resigned from office. The rules of the award stipulated that only mayors who were in office on 22nd September were eligible for the 2010 award. Ole resigned on 25th August. However, because he had made it onto the short list his name was published with the other nominations but could not receive votes.

Despite not becoming World Mayor Ole von Beust had established an international reputation and respect. This was not only based on his civic position and political achievements but also on his nationality.

People of German heritage can be found all over the world. In this multicultural world in which we live communities have sought to keep their individual heritage alive. The USA is one of the most multicultural nations in the world and many communities celebrate their heritage with special occasions. In 2006 Ole von Beust was invited to a celebration of German heritage in New York City. It was as Guest of Honour at the annual Von Steuben Day parade. This special day takes place all over the USA where there is a high percentage of people with German heritage or a love of all things German. The day is named after the Prussian general who joined the American Revolution and laid the foundations of the US army, 67) Baron Friedrich von Steuben (1730-1794).

Next time : We get the Prussian Blues with some failed relationships and unfulfilled dreams.

The End is Nigh - Or Is It?

Several times this year I’ve mentioned that I intend to stop this blog at the end of this year. Perhaps I should have been saying that I intend to stop working on my blog full-time. I have spent several hours each day since August 2011 researching and writing my blog and I would like to slow down so that I can concentrate more on other related projects. It’s not that I can’t find anything to write about. Far from it. I’ve a whole shelf full of files of research on topics I haven’t brought to you.

There are also many articles which I would like to rewrite or amend. By not producing regular new material I can do this. Notice that I said “regular new material”. There may be occasions when a new article will appear, particularly if it celebrates a significant anniversary or event. For example, updates of my lgbt Olympians list will appear a couple of times before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, or several articles during both the UK and US LGBT History months (February and October, respectively). I will, no doubt, produce an article to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

There are many projects which I have begun but haven’t been able to complete because of the amount of work I have been putting into this blog. I’ve written enough of specific themes to put all the related articles together in book form. These will include new material and updates. My intention is to produce a whole series of smaller books rather than one large one. These will be for sale.

In addition to books I hope to produce a range of products for sale – greetings cards, calendars, quiz books, and something more substantial with my Olympic research.

An idea I’ve long had has been to set up a Facebook page. No matter what anyone says about Facebook being on its way out there are still over 2 billion Facebook users, and it’s increasing. It also provides more space for the things I want to say.

So that’s it. At the moment I have no plans to write anything for January 2019, but will try to produce something for UK LGBT History Month in February.

I hope you stay with me.

Queer Anglo-German Achievement

[Achievement – the name given in heraldry to the full pictorial representation of a coat of arms.]

For the last heraldic achievement this year I’ve chosen a woman who could have been entitled to an English and a German coat of arms. Her name is Sybille Bedford (1911-2006).

Her full maiden name was Baroness Sybille Aleid Elsa von Schoenebeck. In 1935 Sybille became a British citizen, and above is the armorial achievement she may have been entitled to use in her lifetime. There’s no indication that she petitioned the College of Arms for an official grant. It is my personal interpretation of her heraldic heritage.

First, the shield. Ignoring the little blue shield in the centre this design was used by the von Schoenebeck family since the mid-1600s, probably after the marriage of Gerhard von Schoenebeck to Sybilla von der Lippe. The von Lippe and von der Lippe families have been using a rose as their emblem since the 11th century. With this marriage came estates belonging to the von der Lippes and Gerhard may have adopted the rose to honour his wife’s family. This borrowing of emblems was common in medieval heraldry. Sybille Bedford was directly descended from Gerhard and Sybilla.

German heraldry has several different rules to English heraldry. The German states that were part of the Holy Roman Empire had no central heraldic authority like the English College of Arms. German families were free to adopt any design they wished. As a consequence there were an estimated 3 million German families who were using coats of arms by the time the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806. There were a handful of unofficial authorities who registered coats of arms for a fee. Only around 4,000 of the 3 million German arms had been registered by 1806. I assume the von Schoenebeck arms were one of them as they appear in several German heraldry books in the 1820s. Since 1916 German arms and achievements have been registered with a number of specific authorities being licensed for the purpose.

Another difference between German and English heraldry is that German coats of arms can be used by all members of the family without alteration, whereas in England a coat of arms, specifically one displayed on a shield, must be individual and not like those of any other person (except when it appears in what is called a “quarter”, as in the arms of multiple heiresses). In England unmarried women display their coat of arms on a lozenge. In Germany Sybille Bedford she could have used the von Schoenebeck coat of arms on a shield like her father. She could also use the full achievement with helmet and crest, which she couldn’t in England. German coats of arms are also always shown with the crest. This is because there are so many coats of arms and some may be identical. A distinctive crest helps to distinguish one from the other. Before she became a British citizen her achievement would have been the one illustrated below.

In the 1920s Sybille Bedford moved to England to get away from the emerging fascist regimes in Germany and Italy. When the Nazi’s discovered her family’s Jewish ancestry all her bank accounts were frozen and she was refused a passport. Living penniless in England and unable to travel she had to find a way of obtaining a legal passport. It was suggested that she entered a marriage of convenience with a gay Englishman.

In 1936 Sybille married Walter Bedford. The marriage didn’t last long, obviously, and not a lot is known about her husband. However, there’s no record of him having a coat of arms which, at the time, would also mean that Sybille didn’t either – women were not entitled to use their father’s arms after they got married, unless they were an heiress. Fortunately, Sybille Bedford lived to see a change in English heraldry. If we assume that she applied to the College of Arms to have her German arms officially approved then her heraldic achievement would be the one at the top of this article.

In 1997 the College of Arms ruled that married women could still display their father’s coat of arms even if their husband hasn’t got one by placing them on a shield with the addition of a smaller shield. This smaller shield could be in any colour and in any position as long at it followed establish heraldic rules and can be seen clearly. That’s why I’ve chosen to put a blue shield in the centre. It would look wrong to put a yellow shield on one of the roses.

The blue bow and garland around the shield are customary for a woman, regardless of marital status (peeresses and dames can replace them with various other insignia). As far as I can tell Sybille Bedford did not divorce her husband and was still married to him when she died. This would make a difference, because on becoming a widow Sybille would have to take the shield away and show her arms on a lozenge. Until we know for sure, let’s assume her husband was still alive.

Sybille was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 1981. The gold badge of the order is shown below her shield with the ribbon tied into a bow, as it is worn by women.

Finally, I will just say that even though I finish my blog officially (full-time) at the end of the year I intend to produce another heraldic alphabet article for International Heraldry Day on 10th June 2019. By then I may also have produced a small book for sale with all the heraldry articles expanded and amended. It is one of several products I plan to produce to help finance displays and exhibitions for LGBT History Month, Pride, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, etc.

Around the World in Another 80 Gays : Part 30) Songs and Deadly Fires

Previously on “Another 80 Gays” : The royal pretender 60) Dmitri I (d.1606) gained his throne in one of the Russian succession conflicts that had previously seen the assassination of 61) St. Boris (590-1015) and 62) George the Hungarian (d.1015), with Boris having dragon legends built up around him, a popular Medieval folk motif which influenced an opera by Richard Wagner whose hero he named his son after – 63) Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930).

Following his father’s death 63) Siegfried Wagner became guardian of the Wagnerian legacy. The main foundation of this was the Bayreuth Festival. Siegfried, already an established composer and opera writer, was always living under his father’s shadow even though his compositions were also popular.

Even though he was named after one of the most famous heroes in German folklore Siegfried’s favourite opera of his father’s was “Tannhäuser”. Richard Wagner completed it in 1845 but was always tinkering with it because he wasn’t satisfied with the result. Siegfried was keen to produce “Tannhäuser” at the Bayreuth Festival for years but couldn’t afford to finance the extravagant production he envisaged. He finally got the chance in 1930, the year of his death.

Several of Siegfried’s gay friends were brought into the production. He chose two for the two lead male roles. Kurt Söhnlein, also gay, designed the sets. The choreographer was asked to include homoerotic elements into sections of set in the subterranean grottos of the goddess Venus. With Richard Wagner’s reputation of being right-wing, and the growing popularity of his operas in the emerging extreme right-wing politics in Germany, traditionalists objected to this aspect of the 1930 production.

Despite this Siegfried’s “Tannhäuser” was a resounding success, and it even had the great Arturo Toscanini as conductor. It was also probably the first musical production that was subsequently recorded as an “original cast” album (except for a replacement for Toscanini).

The character of Tannhäuser was a legendary knight and minstrel. During the 19th century he appeared in various collections of folk tales, with embellishments. One embellishment was his participation in a minstrel song contest, which may have been the final piece of inspiration for Richard Wagner to include that contest in his opera halfway through the second act. The contest was a very specific one. It was one that featured in folklore and is sometimes called the Sängerkreig. It is also sometimes called the Wartburgkrieg because it was held at Wartburg Castle in 1207.

Even though Tannhäuser was a man of folklore some of the songs attributed to him made it into print. The earliest of these is in a collection of medieval German minstrel songs called the Codex Manesse. This book is acclaimed as the most comprehensive source of German minstrel songs and was produced just over a hundred years after the Wartburgkrieg. The Codex contains songs composed by 140 minstrels, including kings, counts and commoners, most of them illustrated with portraits of the minstrels themselves.

Tannhäuser is illustrated with his songs (below left) as was another minstrel referred to as “Der Püller” (below right). He has been identified as Konrad Püller of Hohenburg Castle in present day French Alsace (where it is known as the Château du Hohenbourg). The castle is now in ruins but is still a very popular tourist attraction and a protected national monument.

Most of the castle has been rebuilt over the centuries. One of the last members of the family to live in Konrad’s castle was his grandson 64) Richard Püller von Hohenburg (d.1482).

Being located in the border country where France and medieval German states meet Hohenburg Castle often changed ownership during border disputes. Richard had more than territorial conflicts which threatened his possession of the castle. Several times he was accused of homosexuality. The first time was in 1463 when one of his servants was detained after being seen wearing clothes that were reserved for the aristocracy (there were laws on who could wear what in those days). Under torture the servant admitted that he bought the clothes with money he had blackmailed out of Richard Püller in return for his silence on Richard’s homosexual activity.

Richard was arrested, then released without trial after his family estates in Strasbourg were confiscated. But once accusations of homosexuality are made they are easy to be make again. In 1474 Richard was arrested again. He was stripped of Hohenburg Castle and held in custody for two years, managing to escape the death penalty because of his noble rank. He was released on condition that he signed a confession of sodomy and spent the rest of his life in a monastery. He did the former but not the latter. Instead he escaped to Switzerland where he tried to get support for his campaign to regain his Strasbourg and Hohenburg estates.

In Zurich Richard found some support. Negotiations were lengthy, mainly because Strasbourg was a Swiss ally. Then, suddenly, negotiations stopped and Richard found himself arrested yet again for homosexuality. This time the outcome was different. The Swiss didn’t recognise German titles and Richard was treated as a commoner. He was found guilty and sentenced to be burnt at the stake as a heretic.

Richard went to his death denouncing the Zurich authorities for betraying him, putting most of the blame on a man called Hans Walmann. As it happens, Hans Waldmann would meet the same fate seven years later. In between he was seen as a popular political figure. He was elected Mayor of Zurich the year after Richard Püller’s execution and was regarded as a great statesman, even beyond the borders of Switzerland.

Very soon Hans Walmann was accused of sodomy by other Zurich officials who resented his popularity and they succeeded in having him burnt at the stake just like Richard Püller von Hohenburg. Being a popular politician was no guarantee of a long career.

The present Mayor of Zurich, however, has enjoyed a long and popular career. In fact she has been nominated for the title of World Mayor 2018. Her name is 65) Corine Mauch (b.1960).

Next time : World Mayors and a return to the American Revolution.

The Xtremely Queer Club

This afternoon the second LGBTQ Outdoor Summit comes to an end. As its name suggests this was a meeting of members of the lgbt community who have some involvement with the great outdoors. This could be anything from camping and hiking to climbing Everest or rowing across the Pacific. The summit was also a meeting of minds to discuss and develop outdoor activities and involvement for openly lgbt adventurers and environmentalists.

The keynote speaker was Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, an openly lesbian mountaineer whose record-breaking feats are mentioned below. Silvia is one of several lgbt climbers who have completed the Seven Summit challenge (as completed by Cason Crane here). On a side note, Cason's youngest brother, Oliver, who isn't gay as far as I know, currently hold the Guinness World Record as the youngest ever solo ocean rower. In 2017 he rowed solo across the Atlantic at the age of 19. What a family!

In recent years the activities of openly lgbt adventurers and extreme athletes have been more widely reported. Some of these have entered the record books. Below is a selection of Xtreme lgbt record-breakers, firsts and notable achievers who are proud members of an Xtremely queer club (in alphabetical order).

David Alviar (b.1986) – first (and, therefore, the fastest) to row across the Atlantic in a crew of 3, 2016. David and crewmates Mike Matson and Brian Krauskopf took part in the 2016 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge (see also Gavan Hennigan below). They took 49 days and 14 hours to row from Tenerife to Antigua. The first thing David did when he set foot on dry land was propose to his partner Stanley (who said “yes”).

Ann Bancroft (b.1955) – first woman to reach the North Pole on foot, 1985; first woman to reach the North and South Pole, 1993; leader of the first all-female east-to-west crossing of Greenland on foot, 1992; with Liv Arnesen the first women to ski across Antarctica, 2001. More information is here.

Mike Boisvert, Bruce Gallipeau, Rob Jagnow and Jonny Rosenfield – the first all-gay team to summit Aconcagua, the highest mountain in western hemisphere, and the first all-gay team to climb one of the Seven Summits, 2005. Bruce had climbed Aconcagua before but was not openly gay at the time.

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) – member of the first expedition to climb the world’s second highest mountain, Chogo Ri (or K2), 1902; leader of the first expedition to climb the world’s third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga, 1905. Both expeditions failed. This famous occultist was an enthusiastic mountaineer in his youth, and he developed the use of crampons. You can read more about his mountaineering here.

Keith Culver (b.1947) – the first man over 60, and first openly gay man, to complete the Seven Continents marathon challenge, 2007. The Seven Continents is the running equivalent of the Seven Summits, in which athletes run in at least one official marathon on each continent. Keith completed his last Seven Continents marathon just after his 60th birthday. He also competed in the marathon at the Gay Games in San Francisco 1986 and Sydney 2002.

Marty Filipowski (b.1963) – the 100th person to swim the Cook Strait separating the north and south islands of New Zealand, 2017. The 14-mile wide Cook Strait is one of the Oceans Seven, the long-distance swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits and Seven Continents. The swims include the English Channel which Marty swam on his 50th birthday. His most recent Oceans Seven swim was across the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland last month (in honour of his father who died the week before). Marty has also competed at the Gay Games. He has only one more Oceans Seven swim to complete before he joins the exclusive club of just 11 people to have done all seven to date.

Richard Halliburton (1900-1939?) – the first person to swim the Panama Canal through the locks, 1928. Although not the first person to swim the canal he was the first to go through all the locks taking him a total of 50 swimming hours over 10 days. Most of the time was taken up waiting for the locks to operate. Even though some have questioned whether he was gay his own great-niece has said that there’s no doubt in the family that he was. A renowned traveller and adventurer, Richard disappeared with his crew during a trans-Pacific voyage in a Chinese junk in 1939.

Greg Healey – first known openly gay man to summit Everest, 2012; 20,000 mile solo cycle around the world, 2013. When Cason Crane, the second openly gay man to summit Everest, was making his bid Greg was halfway through a 20,000 mile solo cycle ride. Greg was in Peru when Cason reached the top of Everest (exactly 51 weeks after Greg was there).

Gavan Hennigan (b.1982) – fastest solo row across the Atlantic (east to west), 2016. This was the second record broken by an lgbt rower during the 2016 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge (see David Alviar above).

Stephen Junk (b.1960) – the first Australian to complete six of the Oceans Seven swims (see Marty Filipowski above). Stephen has only to swim the North Channel from Scotland to Ireland to be the first Australian to complete the Oceans Seven. Will he beat Marty Filipowski to the title of first lgbt swimmer to join the 11-member Ocean Seven club? Steven has competed in swimming in 2 Gay Games, winning 2 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze at the 2002 Sydney games.

George Mallory (1886-1924) – member of the first expedition who intended to reach the top of Everest, 1922; the first known lgbt mountaineer on Everest, 1922; the first lgbt Olympic medallist and first lgbt gold medallist, 1924. At the closing ceremony of the first ever Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924 Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern games, awarded gold medals to all members of the 1922 Everest expedition, which included George Mallory, in recognition of their (failed) attempt. At the time of the ceremony George was heading back to Everest on the expedition that would take his life later that year. He never got to see or touch his medal.

Angela Madsen (b.1960) – (take a deep breath!) – the first woman to complete three ocean rows (Atlantic 2008 and 2011, Indian Ocean 2009); the first woman (in a mixed team of 8), the oldest woman, and first open lesbian to row across the Indian Ocean (in a record time that still stands) 2009; the first woman with a disability to row across the Atlantic Ocean, 2007; member of the fastest unsupported team (and first all-female crew) to row non-stop around the British Isles, 2010. All of these are Guinness World records. On top of all that Angela is the oldest lgbt competitor at the Paralympic Games (Rio 2016), older than any lgbt Olympian, competing in rowing (obviously) and athletics.

Diane Nyad (b.1949) – first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark protection cage, 2013; world record for the longest non-stop swim without a wet suit, 1979; world record for longest open water swim without a shark cage (102 miles), 1979. A multiple long-distance swimmer.

Sarah Outen (b.1985) – the youngest woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean (at the time also the youngest person), 2009; the first and only person to row solo across the mid-Pacific Ocean from America to Asia. Also rowing across the Indian Ocean at the same time as Sarah was Angela Madsen (above), meaning that the youngest and oldest women to row the Indian Ocean were doing so at the same time. Angela, in a team of 8, finished 5 weeks sooner in a world record time. In 2011 Sarah began her London2London challenge, which I wrote about here.

Rainbow Skydivers – largest skydiving vertical (dead-down) freefall formation, 2012. Rainbow Skydivers is probably the world’s only lgbt skydiving group. In August 2012 fifteen members of Rainbow Skydivers joined 123 others, including many of the world’s top skydivers, over Ottawa, Canada, to perform the largest vertical skydiving formation. A video of the jump is here (don’t forget, it’s head-down, so the ground is at the TOP). The record has been surpassed several times since then.

Sally Ride (1951-2012) – first American female astronaut and, retrospectively, the first lgbt person to go into space, 1983. Going into space is the ultimate adventure. Sally was openly lesbian to her family, friends and colleagues, but her sexuality was not generally known until after her death. See here for her story.

Ben Smith (b.1972) – ran 401 marathons in 401 days. Ben ran marathons all around the UK to raise awareness of bullying, something which he suffered himself while at school not far from where I was living at the time in North Nottinghamshire. The first marathon started on 1st September 2015 and the last was on 5th October 2016. He ran a marathon in North Nottinghamshire in May 2016.

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado (b.1975) – the first Peruvian woman, and the first openly lesbian woman, to reach the summit of Everest, 2016; the first Peruvian citizen, and first openly lesbian woman to complete the Seven Summits, 2017. Silvia is founder of Courageous Girls, an adventure and outdoor organisation that supports female victims of sexual abuse.

There are many, many more lgbt adventurers and endurance athletes who could have been included. All of their achievements and records are worthy of being collected together in a book, one of the dozens of projects buzzing around in my mind at the moment. I hope, at least, I’ve given you a feel of the adventurous and fearless spirit that exists in the lgbt community.