The Gay Rub

01/23/2026

New Interview on The Gay Rub

01/23/2026

New Feature on The Gay Rub

The saucily named Gay Rub project brings together small, sometimes humble pieces of LGBTQ2S+ history from around the world

01/19/2025

Octavia Butler’s prescience is being applauded due to her 1993 novel “Parable of the Sower.” It’s set in the years 2024 and 2025, depicts mass fires in California, and an “ultra-conservative president who promises to ‘make America great again.’” Butler’s grave marker quotes from this novel:
“All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.
The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.”
In an interview, Butler reflected on her work, stating, “I didn’t make up the problems. All I did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters.”
We are proud to include this rubbing in The Gay Rub collection.
Octavia E. Butler,1947-2006
Marker location: Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, USA

05/01/2024

Very sad news about last night’s theft of the plaque honoring the 32 LGBTQ people killed in the Upstairs Lounge fire. The memorial plaque was initially rubbed in 2012 and then again ten years later in 2022 with historian Robert Fieseler, who had this to say  “It took 30 years of community groundswell, plus eight years of direct action on the part of the Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans, for that beautiful plaque to appear—bearing the names of the 32 souls lost so unjustly to an act of criminal arson. It took only a few minutes for someone to efface and delete those efforts towards public visibility. I call on the offending person, no doubt acting out of ignorance, to return this vital symbol for LGBT+ Americans—and then, please, open your heart and mind by searching the words ‘Up Stairs Lounge gay bar.’”  We encourage everyone to read Fieseler’s book Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire & The Rise of Gay Liberation.
The Gay Rub is pleased to have two rubbings of this important q***r marker that might not be in public again.

03/10/2024

Howard Cooper plaque honors his donation to the Boston Public Central Library of $1,000,000 to expand LGBTQ+ resources, collections, and programming.  The gift provided immediate-use funding for the Library to expand its current LGBTQ+ circulating collection, hire a researcher to review the Library’s historic collections for LGBTQ+ materials, and hire an intern to work specifically on LGBTQ+ community history as part of the Boston Community History Project.    Howard Cooper grew up utilizing the library as a teen in the 1950s and spent his adult years in San Francisco.
Thank you to Matthew Bazar for doing this rubbing during his travels.

02/18/2024

Nicolai de Raylan emigrated from Russia to pursue a government job in Chicago. In 1906, de Raylan was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and he visited Arizona to receive treatment. He died shortly after. Upon death, his gender assigned at birth was revealed. On Dec. 19, 1906, his story was published on the front page of the Arizona Republic, titled “A man in life, a woman in death.” He was buried in a dress and though his will offered all of his assets to his wife, due to the restrictions on same-sex marriages in the early 1900s, his wife Anna did not receive anything. Instead, his wealth was given to his mother, whom he was estranged from. Special thanks to for raising our awareness of de Raylan’s story and finally giving him the headstone and respect he deserved.

10/25/2023

02/20/2023

Paul Monette

1928 – 1995

American Author and Poet

Monette’s fiction and nonfiction work often explored homosexual relationships and the devastating effects of the AIDS epidemic. Monette lived in Los Angeles and is best known for his autobiographies.

Notable works:
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir, Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, Carpenter at the Asylum

Marker location:
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA. Plot: Revelation, L-3275

02/20/2023

It's such an honor to see a piece of this collection come to life on different ways. Thank you for our "GAY IS GOOD" collaboration tee to support .

12/11/2022

José Sarria

1922–2013

American Political Activist

Previously a drag performer at the Black Cat Bar. In 1961, Sarria became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States, paving the way for later successful campaigns by openly gay candidates such as Harvey Milk. José later founded the Imperial Court System, a gay rights organization.

Notable Works: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

Marker location: Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library, San Francisco

Charcoalrubbing

12/02/2022

Ovo Maltine
1966 – 2005

German AIDS Activist & Cabaret Performer

Born Christoph Josten, and went by the name to Ovo, named after the powdered drink Ovaltine. Performed as a member of the ensemble group Spree. In 1998, Maltine ran as a candidate for the general election for his constituency Kreuzberg-Schöneberg, and received 534 votes. Featured in the documentary Qu**rs Do Not Lie.

Notable works: Gay Courage - 100 Years of Gay Liberation, Qu**rs Do Not Lie

Marker location: St. Matthew’s Cemetery, Großgörschenstraße 12, Berlin, Germany

***rartist