Honolulu Star-Bulletin from The Glade

Indigenous Hawaiian culture has long celebrated fluid gender identities and queer love, using the term māhū to describe those who transcend the male-female binary. These people were thought of as healers and creatives, though later persecuted by colonizers. The Glade Show Lounge served as a refuge for māhū while they challenged colonial attempts to erase them. Knowledge of this provides hope for contemporary transgender individuals facing discrimination.  

The Star-Bulletin advertises the impersonations, which is to say drag, show “Boys Will Be Girls”, showcasing a gathering within a community facing risks of arrest simply for just being themselves and expressing their true selves in ways they see fit. While this persecution is anything but new, the further industrialization of printing has made creating accessible prints and ads for queer spaces and events easier and more efficient. Following an increase in demand, the usage of print here shifts more from protest to safe-space advertisement and community-facilitated expression of queerness. 

With the eventual development of technology, LGBTQ+ youth and others in the community have found a source of connection unlike any other before. Involvement in the community can now start younger and with more widespread accessibility.