On This Day in Queerstory: the death of Doris Day

May 13th is a day for those who shatter the mold. We look at a woman who turned a childhood of repression into a revolutionary literary voice and a sports icon who proved that the fastest person on earth could also be the most guarded.

1944: The Birth of Armistead Maupin’s Muse—The Spirit of Anna Madrigal

While the author himself was born in April, May 13th is often toasted by fans of Tales of the City as a day to celebrate the “Madrigal Energy.” In the mid-70s, Maupin began a newspaper serial that would become the quintessential queer epic. Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane, became the “Mother” to a generation of runaways. She represented the “adult” realization that family isn’t something you inherit; it’s something you build with whoever is kind enough to grow marijuana on their roof with you.

2019: The Death of Doris Day—The Virgin and the Subtext

On May 13, 2019, the world lost Doris Day. While she was marketed as the “perpetual virgin” of 1950s cinema, Day was a massive icon for the queer community—partly because of her long-time partnership with the “coded” Rock Hudson. Their films together were a masterclass in the “battle of the sexes” that queer audiences read as a delightful, campy charade. Day was also a fierce advocate for Hudson when he became the first major celebrity to die of AIDS, proving that her loyalty was as bright as her onscreen persona.

1950: The Birth of a Legend—Danny Sullivan

Born on this day, the Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan represented the “Golden Boy” of racing. But May 13th also serves as a reminder of the “High-Speed Closet” of professional sports. For decades, the paddock was a space where “masculinity” was defined by speed and silence. On this day, we honor the queer mechanics, engineers, and racers whose names were never on the trophy because the world wasn’t ready to see a rainbow at the finish line.