Suzi interviews Rudy about (literally) making history

If you haven’t seen any of the Rainbow History Class TikTok videos then, my friends, you’re in for an education. And not the kind we got at school. Just as we were served up a white-washed history when it came to Australia’s original custodians and frontier wars, we were also served up a very beige-washed one when it came to the truth about our queer trailblazers. Beige being the most fitting thing I can think of in counterpoint to well, rainbow.

Mostly while I was at school, it never occurred to me that queer people existed in ye olde times. Nor did it occur to me to ponder the kinds of questions that hook you into the Rainbow History videos, produced by Rudy Jean Rigg (above) and their friend Hannah McElhinney.

Questions like:

Was Jesus gay?

Could the Mona Lisa have been a fellow?

And did pirates really used to marry… each other?

You can read more about the Rainbow History Project in frankie issue 110 which I penned a little while back, and Hannah has just gone a released a whole book too, which is available from Hardie Grant over here.