Tag Archives: Gay history

Finally, a Kid’s LGTBQ History Book!

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

With the current calls for recognizing LGTBQ diversity in Alberta schools, a timely new book aimed at educating children about LGTBQ history has just been released. Gay & Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGTB Rights focuses on the last 100 years of the struggle for human rights. With a brief section on the history pre-1900, this book focuses on personal stories and firsthand accounts of events, which makes reading easy and relatable for all. Even better, the writer Jerome Pohlen, has actively used the stories of non-whites and transgender people in the text.

Gay & Lesbian History for Kids does not shy away from the truth, beautiful and terrible all in one. The book makes sure the reader understands this with the activities: they encompass many disciplines in arts and history that could be used in the classroom. One that is very poignant is to perform a monologue from the Laramie Project, a play on the murder of a young gay man, Matthew Sheppard, in 1998.

Because of its focus and content, this book is very much for older children and teenagers. The other caveat is that it focuses primarily on the American story, with some break out sections on English and Canadian issues. While important for Canadian readers to know these early origins, any educator will have to supplement the text with our own narratives.

At least, until someone writes a Canadian book for children on LGTBQ history. Any takers?

The book is available also at the Calgary Public Library.

Gay & Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGBT Rights, with 21 Activities by Jerome Pohlen. From the For Kids series: Chicago Review Press (Oct 2015)

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, calgary public library, gay, Gay history, human-rights, Jerome Pohlen, Laramie Project, lesbian, Matthew Sheppard, queer, transgender

YYC Gay History Busting Out Everywhere

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

It seems you cannot swing a purse these days without hitting someone working with Calgary’s gay history – we think it’s fabulous…

Yesterday, we were interviewed for a queer history documentary project as part of the Fairy Tales Youth Queer Media Program. Tonight, we are at the University of Calgary as part of a public history discussion for the Bow River Graduate History Conference. Tomorrow, we are in East Village’s Loft 112 for the next chapter of It’s Getting Drafty In Here – hope to see you there!

The Calgary Gay History research collective is tossing around other programming ideas for this spring – stay tuned to this website for developments. You might be happy to note our Jane’s Walk is back in 2016. Please join us Saturday, May 7th at 10 AM for the Beltline Gay History Walk. If you have missed earlier iterations of the walk, then we hope you will be able to join us (hopefully it will not snow again on us as it did in 2014)!

May 2014 Jane’s Walk – we had an intrepid crew of 15 walkers, despite snow. Photo: Michael Wright

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Before GIRC. YYC gay support in the 70s.

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Kevin Allen | 4 comments

The Calgary Gay History project recently posted about the origins of Gay Information and Resources Calgary (GIRC). However there was an earlier, somewhat short-lived group, “A People’s Liberation Coalition” (PLC), which pre-dates GIRC.

Started in early January 1973, the PLC aimed to serve the local gay community by offering information and counselling: the peer support model which carries through to this day. Their office was located at the Old Y (now CommunityWise) in room 314, and they attempted to have office hours from 7-11 PM, seven days/week.

After its founding,the PLC announced their intention to sponsor “a mixed boogie” at a local community hall.

An Australian gay activist named Brian Lindberg who travelled through Western Canada later in 1973 described the movement in Calgary as going through a difficult period. He wrote:

The gay information centre was staffed by only a few people (one in particular) who continued to maintain the service even though little assistance could be obtained. Considering the population size of Calgary, I was surprised not to find a well organized gay liberation movement.

Some of the people involved, in PLC were activists, Windi Earthworm, My Lipton, Len Girivitz and Jeannie MacKay, who as a group were later responsible for GIRCs founding in 1975. We know that some of the PLC liberationists came from the University of Calgary. My Lipton, a lesbian feminist, was described in the student newspaper, The Gauntlet, as a “militant gay liberationist,” and was involved in the founding of a Gay Liberation Front chapter on campus in the Autumn of 1972.

Gay lib front meeting - first ad_announcement_Sept 1972

Little else is known at present about the PLC. At the Old Y they are not listed as one of the historic groups who had office space there. If you know more, contact us: here.

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