Calgary Gay History

Mapping History Exhibition Launch

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The launch of Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project at Lougheed House is more than a conventional exhibition opening; it is a layered reimagining of how cities remember themselves. Running from April 2 to May 17, 2026, the exhibit transforms historical maps into immersive artworks, inviting visitors to explore Calgary through stories that are often overlooked or erased.

*The Lougheed House Exhibition runs April 2 – May 17 at 707 13 Ave SW.*

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) founded the Calgary Atlas Project ten years ago. The idea was to create maps that recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate, in surprising ways, the character and diversity of the city. Overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people. This is cartography as a cultural practice, an evolving atlas of human experience.

We were delighted to be involved with the Calgary Atlas Project at its inception. A Queer Map: A Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary was notably the first map produced in the series. The queer map documents community spaces, activism, and everyday life, tracing a history that has often been underrepresented in official records. By mapping sites of resistance and belonging—from nightlife venues to organizing hubs—the project demonstrates how queer communities have shaped the city in both visible and hidden ways.

*The Queer Map Launch on November 21, 2019, with the CIH’s Jim Ellis, artist Mark Clintberg and historian Kevin Allen // Photo by Hesam Rezaei, The Gauntlet.*

The Lougheed House itself has queer history, as the site of the Fruit Loop. With that in mind, Mapping History has programmed special events such as August Klintberg’s Queer History Artist Workshop, which invites participants to engage directly with 2SLGBTQIA+ histories through creative practice, drawing on archival research and artistic interpretation.

Guided walks, like the Beltline Gay History Walk, take participants into the urban landscape itself, connecting archival knowledge to physical space. These experiences underscore a key idea: that history is not confined to museums but embedded in streets, buildings, and everyday environments.

For anyone interested in art, history, or community storytelling, this is an exhibition worth experiencing firsthand. Mapping History offers not just something to look at, but an opportunity to see Calgary differently and to understand how its stories have been shaped. Whether you attend a workshop, join a guided walk, or simply spend time with the maps themselves, the exhibition invites you to become part of the conversation.

{KA}

Freedom to Read: Why Calgary Libraries Are Standing Up for 2SLGBTQ+ Voices!

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

In an era where book bans are returning to North America, the Calgary Public Library’s “Freedom to Read” initiative stands as a powerful reminder that access to ideas matters. Rooted in the principle of intellectual freedom, the initiative highlights not only the importance of freedom of expression but also the growing challenges faced by 2SLGBTQ+ literature.

Each year, the library participates in Canada’s national Freedom to Read Week, a campaign that pushes back against censorship. Through curated displays, events, and outreach, the library encourages readers to engage with ideas that may challenge or expand their worldview. As CEO, Sarah Meilleur noted in a press release, libraries exist to provide access and not to filter viewpoints, because meaningful dialogue depends on exposure to difference.

One of the most compelling initiatives is the Central Library’s “Book Sanctuary,” which showcases titles that have been challenged or banned. The display is meant not only to inform, but to spark reflection. As the Library’s Leanne Hooper explains, “The Book Sanctuary is designed to raise awareness around the freedom to read and to share more about your right to access books that have been challenged or banned.” That mission feels especially urgent as censorship debates increasingly target books by and about 2SLGBTQ+ people.

A display at the Central Library’s Book Sanctuary. Photo: Calgary Public Library

In that vein, the Alberta Government has specifically targeted graphic novels such as Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and Flamer by Mike Curato, which explore identity, belonging, and coming-of-age experiences. Ironically, it is these same qualities that make them targets of social conservatives, with critics labelling them inappropriate and pornographic despite their literary and social value.

Efforts to remove “sexually explicit” material from the Alberta school libraries have disproportionately affected books with 2SLGBTQ+ themes, raising concerns among educators and limiting the diversity of stories available to young readers. And of course, when one reads the graphic novels listed above, the claim that they are pornographic is laughable {they were not on our radar before the ban, but we read them and found them incredibly tame—and excellent}.

Against this backdrop, Calgary Public Library’s stance is clear: banning books does not protect communities—it limits them. Intellectual freedom means ensuring access to a wide range of ideas, even those that may be controversial or challenging. These stories foster empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of one another.

Ultimately, the “Freedom to Read” initiative is about more than books. It is about protecting the right to explore identity, to question norms, and to hear voices that historically have been marginalized. By championing banned 2SLGBTQ+ literature, Calgary’s libraries are not just preserving stories—they are defending the idea that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and read.

{KA}

p.s. Here is a recent CBC video featuring Elamin Abdelmahmoud interviewing author Ira Wells, explaining why book banning initiative is ‘an affront to democracy.’

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged Alison Bechdel, art, bisexual, Book Sanctuary, books, calgary public library, CBC, Central Library, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Flamer, Freedom to Read, Fun Home, gay, Gender Queer, intellectual-freedom, Ira Wells, Leanne Hooper, lesbian, lgbt, Maia Kobabe, Mike Curato, queer, Sarah Meilleur, transgender

Questions from Trans Youth in the ’80s

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

{The first post from volunteer researcher Levin Ifko! Enjoy – Kevin}

Today I’m going to share some information about a column I found while looking through the online Calgary Herald archives via the Calgary Public Library. This archive has been useful in my attempt to better understand the way trans people may have been perceived by Calgarians, or perhaps more accurately, how trans people may have been presented to the Calgary Herald’s readership.

There have been quite a few findings here (many of which I’m looking forward to sharing with you shortly!). However, I wanted to begin my writing for the Calgary Gay History Project by sharing something near and dear to my heart and to my lived experience: figuring things out as a trans young person.

Described as a place where “young readers’ questions on human relations and sex are answered,” the “Youth Clinic” was a write-in advice column by Canadian psychiatrists Dr. Saul Levine and Dr. Kathleen Wilcox. Although initiated by the Toronto Star, the “Youth Clinic” grew to be syndicated nationwide. By late 1983, the Calgary Herald had picked it up, encouraging local readers to mail in their own questions to the Herald’s P.O. Box.

*A Calgary Herald Classified Ad promoting “Youth Clinic.”*

Between 1983 and when the Calgary Herald stopped syndicating the column in 1991, I found three separate queries from young people who wrote in to discuss questions relating to their gender. Although it isn’t quite clear where in the country these young readers are writing from, I believe and hope that these questions were seen by young people in Calgary who were having similar feelings.

The first question of this nature was published in 1984, with the youth writing

“Dear Dr. Levine: I am writing you this letter in hopes that I can better understand myself. You see, I am a bisexual male. No, that is not my problem. I’ve come to accept my bisexuality. Here’s where I need your help: I go by the name Sarah and have the uncontrollable desire to dress as a girl…”

The youth goes on to ask: “Why do I have this desire to be a woman?”; then inquires about accessing literature on the subject, and laments about how difficult the process may be to get the care they desire. I felt a pang of familiarity reading this question, which still feels tender when thinking about the road ahead as a young queer and trans person.

Another interesting note here is that the youth illustrates a common problem with accessing gender affirming care at the time: having to prove one’s same-sex attraction. This meant that gender affirming care would be given to trans people based on the belief that they were going to be exclusively heterosexual post-transition. As our young reader points out, “I’m bisexual. From what I understand I wouldn’t pass the program anyway.”

In 1985, another young person wrote:

“My problem is that I am a female in a male body. I have known since I was 5 years old. I am now 19. It is not an easy subject to discuss because most people have no idea how I feel. Sometimes I dress in women’s clothing and it feels so right. When I take them off, I become depressed and feel cheated and cry. I want to be a woman so badly.”

They go on to write, “I read any material available about transsexuals and sex-change operations, but such articles are usually vague or outdated.” This stuck with me, as access to information that is updated and relevant remains a common issue for trans young people to this day. Thankfully, since I came out in 2015, there has been incredible work done in this city to expand access. However, many times our best bet is still – of course – networks of support and understanding between other trans people.

This last article excited me, as it’s not every day in the archive that you stumble upon discussions from youth who may be exploring transmasculinity. In 1987, this young person wrote:

“I always dress up like a boy and my way of talking and everything is like a boy. I don’t have feelings like girls, but I am not a lesbian. Please suggest what I can do with this problem.”

*1987 Youth Clinic Column in the Calgary Herald*

As for the answers to these youths’ questions?

Of course, the psychiatrists’ responses use terminology that differs from how many people view gender today, often referring to “transsexualism” as a “psychological-medical condition.” Yet I found that Dr. Levine and Dr. Wilcox did a pretty decent job of navigating some of these queries. Usually, they would explain the concept of “transexualism,” address some of the challenges and hardships these youth brought up, and using their expertise, encourage readers to further explore these feelings with gender specialists in their area, at one point acknowledging that “the definitions do not do justice to the complexity of these labels, nor the difficulties that those who are so depicted inevitably encounter.”

One response from Dr. Levine sounds eerily as if it came from today, when he writes “I am sure that as a result of this answer, I am going to get a barrage of letters for encouraging this person to get a sex-change operation, and by so doing, leading other young people down the path of iniquity.” But Dr. Levine goes on to encourage further exploration before a “definitive recommendation and plan of action are instituted.”

Really, the most exciting finding here is the truth. Young people, in this city and across the country, have always explored and questioned their gender identity. Youth have knowledge about their own gender and sexualities, and they can know and ask for what they want. As these records from the Calgary Herald show us, queer and trans youth have always been here.

{LI}