Expo Queer Utrecht Stories, City Hall, Oct. 2024

Queer Utrecht Stories

Our exposition in the Utrecht City Hall in October 2024.

Utrechtenaar

The history of homosexual men is so closely linked to the city of Utrecht that they were called ‘Utrechtenaren’ for centuries. Yet Utrecht’s queer history is not very well known. How did people live who did not fit within the sexuality and gender norms? How did they fight against legal and social discrimination? When visiting the Queer Utrecht Stories exhibition, you walked through four centuries of Utrecht queer history.

Four centuries

Every era has its own norms for gender and sexuality and there are always people who do not fit within these norms. In the 17th century, courts prosecuted witches and in the 18th century sodomites. These sodomy trials made ‘Utrechtenaar’ not only a term to refer to a resident of the city, but also a swear word for homosexual men. And although homosexuality disappeared from criminal law in the 19th century, the persecutions continued. In the previous century, homosexuality was criminalized again. This led to resistance. In the second half of the previous century, the first self-organizations saw the light of day and in the last three decades they openly fought against discrimination. In this century, we celebrate the diversity of LGBTIQA+, but in recent years, support has actually declined again. During the corona pandemic, youth ambassadors Thirty030 started a campaign to make ‘Utrechtenaar’ a nickname again: ‘

Fuck off with that distinction, because we are all ‘Utrechtenaren’ anyway.

Fragments  and portraits

In the exhibition in the city hall you could see fragments from Utrecht’s queer history, such as 18th-century molly houses. You could also find 20th-century queer self-organizations such as the interest group COC, youth organization PANN and feminist bookstore The Witch. These fragments were alternated with portraits of ‘Utrechtenaren’: writer Petronella Moens, preacher Hubert Schouten, WW II resistance hero Marie Anne Tellegen, artist Dirkje Kuik, comedian Wim Sonneveld and top athlete Jeffrey Wammes.

You can scroll through the exhibition panels below. Click on the picture to enlarge.