Thayer Academy Celebrates LGBT History Month: 10 Minutes with Tony Yin ‘25
October marks LGBTQ History Month, a time dedicated to celebrating the history, achievements, and contributions of the LGBT community. Established in 1994 by a high school teacher, the month-long observance aims to promote awareness and understanding of LGBT history, as well as recognize the ongoing struggles for equality and acceptance. Thayer Academy recently kicked off its own LGBT History Month celebration with a “10 Minutes with…,” segment featuring Upper School History Faculty Brandon Springer and Tony Yin ’25, a leader of the school’s LGBT affinity group, QUEST.
Tony Yin '25 and Brandon Springer
Springer provided a brief historical overview, touching on the acceptance of gender non-conforming individuals in pre-colonial Indigenous cultures (“two-spirit”), the 1969 Stonewall Uprising that galvanized the LGBT rights movement, and pivotal milestones like the 2004 legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and the 2020 Supreme Court ruling protecting trans rights under the Civil Rights Act.
Senior Tony Yin spoke passionately about the importance of the month as a time to reflect on and reframe historical narratives. “I want to fill in the gaps for people and make them realize that a lot of the topics and ideas we address today have always been present in history,” said Yin, citing classical texts as examples of how love and attraction have been discussed throughout time, often without modern preconceptions about gender or sexuality.
Referencing Plato’s Phaedrus, Yin explained, “Socrates argues that the human experience of love and attraction is entirely attributed to each individual and the product of a divine origin belonging to our souls or our conscience. His argument is completely removed from the discussion of gender or sex.”
Springer echoed Tony’s sentiments, adding that LGBT History Month is an opportunity for all people to explore the complexity of gender and relationships. “There’s no us and them here,” he noted. “There’s just us. Gender and sexual orientation are complicated...but LGBT History Month is for all people.”
As the conversation came to a close, Mr. Springer encouraged students to reflect on the fact that each person’s journey with identity is unique. He ended the session by quoting acclaimed writer and activist James Baldwin: “But, but all I know about human life is that if I love you, I love you. And if I love you and duck it, I die.