Category Archives: Gay history

An Evening with Tom Symington at Shelf Life Books

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

As a warm-up for Calgary Pride, on Wednesday, August 26 at 7:00 PM, join us at Shelf Life Books for a conversation with Tom Symington, author of Not So Normal: Memoirs of a Gay Boomer, hosted by the Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen.

*Tom’s excellent book will be for sale at the event, too!*

Tom grew up in post-World War II Calgary in a loving home and, as a child, didn’t think of himself as “different.” But as he got older, he found himself navigating a world where being gay came with social pressures, discrimination, and very real legal consequences.

In Not So Normal, Tom looks back on that journey with honesty and warmth. His story takes him from Alberta to Sierra Leone, France, and beyond, while tracing the enormous changes in gay life and gay rights that took place around him. It’s a deeply personal coming-of-age story, but also one that captures a remarkable period of Canadian history—and reminds us that progress can never be taken for granted.

There’s a personal connection behind this event, too. Kevin met Tom while researching the Kootenay Gay History Project. Their conversations about Tom’s life and experiences helped reveal some of the queer history of Invermere and the Columbia Valley.

Expect an engaging conversation about growing up, finding your place in the world, the changes Tom has witnessed over his lifetime, and why sharing these stories still matters.

There will also be a Q&A, so bring questions and join the conversation.

{KA}

Exploring Transgender History at CIH Pride Lecture

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Our favourite annual event during Pride Week is the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) Queer History Lecture—always free!

This year, on September 2nd at 7 PM, the CIH welcomes Dr. Howard Chiang from the University of California, Santa Barbara, for a public lecture titled “Decolonizing Transgender History: The View from the Asia Pacific.“ Presented in partnership with the Calgary Public Library, UCalgary Alumni, and the Calgary Foundation, the event explores new ways of thinking about gender, history, and identity.

Dr. Chiang asks a thought-provoking question: Does Asia have a trans history? His research challenges the idea that gender-nonconforming people are missing from the historical record, while also questioning whether the Western concept of “transgender” is the best way to understand gender diversity in Chinese-speaking societies.

Using examples from the Sinophone Pacific, Dr. Chiang explores how a decolonial approach can open new perspectives on transgender history and encourage us to rethink how history has been written.

An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Chiang is the Lai Ho & Wu Cho-liu Endowed Chair in Taiwan Studies at UC Santa Barbara and Director of the Center for Taiwan Studies. He is the author of the award-winning books After Eunuchs and Transtopia in the Sinophone Pacific, and was recently named a 2026 Dan David Prize laureate in History.

Curious to learn something new? Join us for a stimulating conversation that challenges conventions about gender and history. This free public event is open to everyone—register today to reserve your spot.

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, CIH, Dr. Howard Chiang, gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, University of California

Late in ’88 Returns for a Second Season

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Memory is a funny thing. We remember the big moments, but it is often the smaller details that tell us who we were and how we survived.

That is one of the great strengths of Season Two of Late in ’88, the podcast created by Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda. This new season jumps ahead to 1998, their senior year at a Calgary high school, and asks what had changed for queer youth in the decade since 1988—and what had not.

Elinor Svoboda and Bronwin Parks: *Late in ’88 Podcast Hosts*

The Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen was pleased to join Bronwin and Elinor again in Episode 2, “The Decade That Changed Queer Canada.” Together, we discuss the AIDS crisis, Calgary’s first Pride parade in 1990, the Delwin Vriend case, cultural backlash, queer community spaces, and the activism that helped reshape Canada in the 1990s.

The episode is a reminder that queer history is not abstract. It lives in classrooms, bars, courtrooms, bedrooms, hospital rooms, community meetings, and the memories we carry with us. The 1990s brought meaningful legal and social change, but that progress was hard-won. It came from people willing to organize, speak up, care for one another, and imagine a different future.

Podcasts like Late in ’88 matter. They do what good oral history should do: they connect personal memory to a larger historical moment. Bronwin and Elinor are generous and thoughtful guides through their own past. They understand that memory is complicated—and powerful.