Marc Zinaman is a writer and queer historian based in New York City.
Queer Happened Here
NYC's queer history is everywhere, but rarely is it visibly documented. I grew up not knowing that James Baldwin once lived down my block or that the building I walked by each day once housed the gay bathhouse where Bette Midler got her start. This project is meant to map out and document the oft forgotten LGBTQ history of NYC in an accessible, visual format.
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Recent Writing
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Alexis Rassine
Though his name may not be widely known today, Alexis Rassine remains a vital figure in the history of British ballet, particularly during the wartime and immediate postwar years of World War II. Lithuanian by birth, South African by nationality, and European by training, Rassine became a luminous presence across continents, stages, and boundaries of identity and nation, particularly during his time with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet during the 1940s and early 1950s.
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Chrissy Witoko
Though she never intentionally sought the spotlight, Chrissy Witoko quietly became one of the most beloved and vital figures in Wellington, New Zealand’s LGBTQ+ history. As a proud Ngāti Kahungunu transgender woman, she managed to both foster and sustain several welcoming queer gathering spaces there during a time when such spaces were both rare and urgently needed. Best known as the proprietor of the Evergreen Coffee Lounge on Vivian Street, Witoko was more than just its owner and manager—she served as a caregiver, a cultural matriarch, and a pillar of Wellington’s takatāpui and rainbow communities.
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Edwin Chiloba
A rising Kenyan fashion designer, stylist, model, and LGBTQ+ activist, Edwin Chiloba was best known for his striking personal style and vibrant presence on social media. But beyond just his creativity and flair, he also stood as a bold and visible figure in a country where LGBTQ+ identities largely remain criminalized. From his rural upbringing to his growing national prominence, Chiloba used fashion not just as a form of self-expression, but also as a tool of resistance—challenging societal expectations and asserting the right for queer Kenyans to live freely and authentically.
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