This is a crucial moment for LGBTQ support and visibility. 

Near the end of October, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/us/politics/transgender-trump-administration-sex-definition.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> revealed that the Trump administration had plans to redefine the meaning of &ldquo;sex,&rdquo; subsequently stripping&nbsp;the civil and legal rights of transgender Americans and proving what many knew to be true&mdash;that&nbsp;this administration has zero respect for the broad LGBTQIA demographic.

But while&nbsp;the LGBTQIA community has&nbsp;been targeted by governmental figures throughout history, it&nbsp;has&nbsp;survived and flourished. So in a testament to the adaptability of this demographic, we&#39;re rounding up&nbsp;seven museums and cultural tours within the United States that preserve and celebrate America&rsquo;s rainbow history.

And yes, we&rsquo;re including ALL LGBTQIA people&mdash;not just cis white gay men.

1.<a href="https://www.oscarwildetours.com/metropolitan-museum-tours/" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde Tours</a>

Named after the infamous, gay Victorian author, this tour will take you through&nbsp;the Metropolitan Museum of Art&#39;s&nbsp;vast collections, focusing on manifestations of homoeroticism in&nbsp;all mediums. From the sculpture of Antinous to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec&rsquo;s 1895 painting The Sofa, the tour takes a more classical art approach to queer history. This is a perfect activity for&nbsp;arts and history fans alike.

2. <a href="https://www.leslielohman.org/" target="_blank">Leslie - Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art</a>

Created to &ldquo;preserve LGBTQ identity and build community,&rdquo; this institution is dedicated to preserving&nbsp;art and archives centered around LGBTQIA identity. With exhibition&nbsp;titles like&nbsp;Trans-Atlar: Sol Aramendi &amp; Lunicorns and Fierce Pussy: And So Are You, the museum isn&rsquo;t shy about it&rsquo;s more provocative perspectives. Leslie-Lohman also collects a series of community voices, allowing people of all queer experiences to voice their opinions on their website.

Located in New York&rsquo;s SoHo district, take a walk through modern queer identity here.

3. <a href="http://www.lesbianherstoryarchives.org/" target="_blank">Lesbian Herstory Archives</a>

Often times we only recognize the G in LGBTQIA and ignore the rest. But this&nbsp;museum in Brooklyn&#39;s Park Slope neighborhood&nbsp;aims to change that. With&nbsp;several traveling exhibitions and&nbsp;many permanent collections on-site, this museum celebrates the lesbian experience. Whether you want books, journals, photos, tapes, or other materials that preserve queer feminist dialogues, they&rsquo;ve got it.

4. <a href="http://www.nationalmuseum.nyc/about" target="_blank">National Museum: LGBT History &amp; Culture</a>

Founded by The Velvet Foundation, this museum was created to &ldquo;showcase the social, historical, and cultural contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community to US society.&rdquo; One of the larger archives on this list, it carries pieces from artists and activists like Frank Kamey and&nbsp;features various community outreach programs.

Definitely taking a more academic approach to LGBTQIA identity, the National Museum is a must-view for anybody doing historical research. You can visit them on 42nd Street in NYC.

5.<a href="https://leatherarchives.org/" target="_blank"> Leather Archives &amp; Museum</a>

While LGBTQIA culture has entered the mainstream conversation, it would be irresponsible to ignore the leather scene. Possibly one of the most well-known subcultures in holisitc gay culture, you&rsquo;ll find all the references in this Chicago institute, including a library, photos, clothing, and various fetish gear, this museum is definitely for those 18 and older. Visit them on Greenview Ave, in Chicago.

6. <a href="http://www.glbthistory.org/" target="_blank">GLBT Historical Society Museum &amp; Archives</a>

Founded in 1985, the GLBT Historical Society is located where American LGBTQIA culture all started: San Francisco. Plus, this museum offers both online and in-person exhibitions, one of which is&nbsp;Briggs Initiative: A Scary Proposition, marking the 40th anniversary of the defeated ballot measure that tried to ban gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools. Visit them between Castro &amp; Collingwood in San Francisco.

7. <a href="https://www.onearchives.org/" target="_blank">One Archives Foundation</a>

The community partner that supports ONE National Gay &amp; Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California (USC) Libraries, this is the oldest active LGBTQ organization in America.

If you&rsquo;re interested in academic approaches, you can visit the USC campus,&nbsp;however, if you&rsquo;re looking for an exhibition, you can visit their&nbsp;West Hollywood out post. Current shows include Distortions by Michael Childers and A Grammar Built With Rocks. Go to Robertson BLVD in West Hollywood to see the shows.

Seven Tours and Exhibitions That Reflect on LGBTQ History

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