The goal of the series is to tell queer history in a queer way, centering the joyful, playful spirit that has always united our community in every aspect of the project, less dissertation and more drag performance. This project merges elements of documentary film and video essay with campy queer cinema, valuing entertainment and spectacle equally with education and academic rigor. 

Through film, I hope to revive queer icons of the past by placing them in the careful hands of the queer people of the today. The history covers events from across the world keeping New Orleans as its spiritual center, celebrating the artistry of carnival costuming and the unique artistic style that makes the city’s culture so addicting.

The films will include both short films designed to be released on Instagram and Tiktok as educational snippets, as well as longer videos designed to be shown as films, released for free online explaining more complex topics. 

The films cover queer history in three ways:

1. A celebration of moments in New Orleans Queer History, with filmed scenes, recorded interviews, and on location videos, creating a map of historical queer New Orleans accessible through film

2. A History of queer activism told through dynamic short videos to awaken the modern queer imagination, with a not so subtle call to action to bring the old styles of activism back in full force in the face of another wave of backlash

3. An ambitious deeper history of anti-queer ideology told through a history of Carnival celebrations, working to build a more accurate view of how our community fit into the history of Western Civilization and the rise of Christianity, telling a story in a way that defangs the arguments so regularly used to justify legally controlling us.

While I plan to maintain my role as a primary storyteller and researcher, the project is designed to grow and invite in new talent, creating a space of queer collaboration in a way only film truly can, hopefully creating space for a constellation of stars building something truly magical. 

While the series will not shy away from queer pain and politics, it is primarily a love letter to queer culture and joy throughout the ages. It is a recognition of our agency in the face of a world that always pushed us to the edges. 

As outlined in detail on the  Commitments page, the series is committed to being produced by New Orleans for New Orleans in a way that centers sustainability and equity. 

(1-3 minute coverage of key topics in Queer History)

These topics are not meant to be an exhaustive list of the exact films chosen for the next year in any production order. They are designed to be a slightly more ambitious version of the short videos, I currently release. Good examples can be found here and here 

Some may be expanded into longer stories or collapsed into smaller ones. It is more designed to serve as a  teaser for what is to come and serve as a guidepost for the videos for the coming year. These videos will be released weekly starting in January of 2025.

• Carl Shlegel, the first gay activist in the US

• Early drag heroes in turn of the century theatre) (1870s)

• Fanny Sweet the Crossdressing Lesbian Madame in Pre-Civil War New Orleans

• The Powderpuff Room (1930s Drag)

• The Club My Oh My (1950s Drag) 

• Miss Big Nelly's and The Frenchman's (Storyville Era Queer Stories)

• Lesbian Sex Worker Drag Kings in 1850's New Orleans 

• Clay Shaw, accused assassin, known homosexual

• The Gay Liberation Front in New Orleans 

• Enrique Alfarez and the war over the statue penis

• The Origin of the Baby Dolls

• Queer Jazz Culture at the Turn of the Century

• Lesbian Bar Brawls, and Charlene's 

• Miss Josephine Icebox: The most frigid tart in all New Orleans 

• Emma Johnson's Sex Circuses

• Evangeline the Oyster Queen

• The Ballad of Bridget Fury

• The Upstairs Lounge (4 parts) 

• Charlotte McLeod, New Orleans based early transgender pioneer

• Storme DeLavierie: Stonewall Hero, New Orleans Born

• Delisa Newton: First Black trans woman to recieve surgery 

• Perry Desmond and Joanna Cluse: Ex Trans Ministries

• Lyle Saxon

• 1977 Gay Serial Killer

• History of Anti-Queer Legislation (1977)

• Neil Cargile: Crossdressing Stunt pilot 

• Peter Olier: A legal attempt at challenging anti-trans discrimination

• Physique Pictorials

• Queer Women's Suffrage

• The Gay Coor's Boycott (pt 1)

• Queer Boycotts Part 2

• The Women's Self Defense Movement

• The Homophiles

• Queer Cowboys

• Queer Pirates 

• The Lesbian Bookstore Movement 

• The Lavender Scare

With a hopeful release Date of June 30th, with teaser clips released throughout the year. 

The Cult of Good Times 

Based on a quote from a 15th century theologian, this series traces the history of queer people and the Catholic holiday of Carnival from Ancient Greece to New Orleans throughout the ages. The eventual series serves as an alternative history of the rise of Christianity in Europe, expanding and updated the work initial broken by John Boswell’s Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century updated with a new body of research and told as it never has been before. 

The first episode in the series will be a roughly 30 minute film that starts following the early stories of cross gender activity in New Orleans, following the story of Mary Jones, a transgender sex worker in New York who allegedly strapped a vulva carved out of roast beef to her girdle and pickpocketed men in 1836, through the early mentions of drag in New Orleans Carnival before sliding back into the past, telling the stories of the Cult of Dionysus in Ancient Greece.

From there the narrative traces the shift in Hellenistic ideas towards the violent homophobia of Rome, with special features on the Cult of Cybele and the mass murder of the Cult of Bacchus. 

The video makes the argument that much of what we can see as modern homophobia and transphobia already existed in the Ancient World before the introduction of Christianity, but, at the same time, so did powerful stories of queer resistance to these ideas. 

 The first will also contain short adaptations of myths contained in Ovid’s Metamorphoses  of Caenus, Iphis and Ianthe, Ganymede, Tireseas,  Orpheus and Hermaphroditus. The series will also explain the concepts of Hellenization and Religious Syncretism as well as teach a nuanced view of Greek and Roman ideas about homosexuality and cross gender identity

December 2024: 

• Fundraising

• Writing and Research for short films 

• Release of a “Making of the series” series for social media to keep people up to date with where the work is.

• Release several of the short films as they are successfully produced.

Longer Film

January 2025

• Finalize the initial script of the video

• Materials needs and finalized budget 

• Full list of roles I am casting for

February 2025

• Auditions 

• Host a public reading of the script as a further fundraiser. 

March-May 2025

• Filming

June

• Post production 

June 30th

• Public release online with an in person film premiere

Full Initial Budget Crowdfunding Goal: $15,000

This budget is not designed to reflect the full budget of all films listed in this project, but to kickstart production of the videos and create the space for me to shift my energy towards film production. The remainder of what is needed will be raised through content revenue, in person fundraising events, and through investors. Film production is expensive, but as the production expands, so will our opportunities to gather funding from more sustainable sources. 

Research Costs $750

For public records requests, books, article access, and to fund time for interviews

As much of queer history is deeply hidden in the historical record, many important texts are academic textbooks that occasionally cost nearly $100 per book. While I plan to, in the first year, primarily focus on adapting knowledge I have already gathered, this budget will allow me to provide the best possible end product. 

When possible, books will be rented or obtained through interlibrary loan and access to articles will be sourced through community networks.

A portion of this budget will also be used to record and release primary source interviews, when possible and where relevant. 

Equipment Budget $2000

To be spent on a second hand computer able to handle editing the films, backup storage. My current computer cannot handle editing larger film projects and is in desperate need of an update. 

Will be filmed simply using my iphone and the microphones I already have, as they can handle the goals of this series on their own.

Long Term Infrastructure $3000

Includes the cost of legal registration fees, purchasing insurance, and hiring a lawyer to handle incorporating this business allowing me to receive investors in a company serving the dual purpose of offering queer history walking tours as well as producing film/content, budgets for all legal fees required to achieve this.

This will likely operate as two separate legal entities:

Queer Underground Tours- A for profit corporation with a small support staff and the ability to hire new guides 

Queer Underground Studios- An independent film studio allowing for longer term investors in the company , allowing the films to move beyond crowdfunded content and allow for investment in other voices producing creative, fictional videos educating about queer history.

Initial Costuming/Props Budget $1500

To be spent replacing my broken sewing machine, on fabric, thrifted clothing, paper mache materials, and labor costs. When possible, clothing will be borrowed and crowdsourced from the New Orleans performance community. In the spirit of queer history, we use drag costuming techniques whenever possible to keep costs low

Initial Venues Budget $1250

Includes cost of both sites for filming as well as venues to fundraiser events. 

When possible, we will ask for venues to donate the space or allow us to use it for free in exchange for being featured in the series. 

Cast/Crew payment Stipends $4000

To be spent paying stipends to a camera person and paying actors and musicians at $25/hour. 

 To keep costs low, the film will be run with a skeleton crew. I will be writing, acting, and editing the videos pulling in help only when absolutely needed.

Quinn Stipend $2500

In order to produce this series, I will need to be able to take off significant amounts of work, this small stipend will allow me to take the time needed to produce it. This money will be used to offset some of this cost. 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I had previously attempted to fundraise for a similar project in 2023, but failed to fundraise enough to begin production. In reality, back then I had no idea what I was doing. I have grown into the kind of person who can handle a project like this. I hope that this second attempt will more than make up for these initial investors.  The money received from that project has already been invested in better sound equipment, purchase of editing software, and on books for research.

Accountability:

I commit to releasing a “Where we’re at” video every Wednesday to keep the community updated about how far along the films are and where the 

Financial transparency

As this project was funded by the community, the community will have access to full budget reports for each film produced, accessible in companion blog posts listed in the blog on queerundergroundtour.com 

Historical Accuracy/Respect for Oral History

Films will contain a full list of citations in an accompanying blog post with more information and space for further reading in hopes of spreading better knowledge. At the same time, oral history will be respected as history in and of itself, the tall tales often told by older members of the community will be produced knowing full well they may be embellished, but airing on the side of radically trusting our queer elders. 

By New Orleans for New Orleans- 

This series is in many ways a love letter to queer New Orleans. As such the stories will center the community of New Orleans and relevant history building up to the culture of New Orleans. Whenever possible, income from these films will be invested into the community by supporting our businesses, hiring our talent, and uplifting these stories

Nothing About Us Without Us-

Stories featuring identities I cannot represent will be co-written by and portrayed by, members of that community. Co-producers and writers will be entitled to a fair portion of the revenue generated through streaming platforms. 

Sustainable and Financially Responsible

Whenever possible, we will operate through non monetary donations, rentals, and secondhand items, to stretch money as far as possible without sacrificing the art. Our queer ancestors made everything out of nothing, so this film series embraces a communal, DIY ideal.