Foreword
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In the foreword, Kristyn Wong-Tam recounds her arrival in Toronto from Hong Kong and describes the diversity of the city’s queer community, which is often overshadowed by the predominantly …
Kristyn Wong-Tam
2
2017
$ 0.20
A New Way of Lovin": Queer Toronto Gets Schooled by Jackie Shane
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Social historian Steven Maynard recounts how Jackie Shane, a trans R&B musician who performed in Toronto throughout the 1960s, sparked discussion throughout Toronto. Any discussion of queer …
Steven Maynard
8
2017
$ 0.80
A Whole Other Story
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Faith Nolan recalls her experiences as a queer African Canadian woman in Toronto after moving from Nova Scotia with her mother in the 1960’s.
Faith Nolan
4
2017
$ 0.40
Agokwe
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Art Zoccole recounts his childhood in an Ojubwe community, before moving to Toronto and helping to establish the Gays and Lesbians of the First Nations in Toronto.
Art Zoccole
3
2017
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Take Me Away to Another World
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Rebecka Sheffield recalls the role that Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche played in her life and an encounter she had with Heche after moving to Toronto from Saskatoon.
Rebecka Sheffield
2
2017
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I Was Miss General Idea
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Derek McCormack describes how he adopted the identity of Miss General Idea, a character created by the Toronto art collective, and made her real.
Derek McCormack
2
2017
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Uptown/Downtown: Diary of a Hong Kong Dyke in Nineties Toronto
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Karen Chan recounts the eventful week leading up to her twenty third birthday in August, 1998.
Karen B.K. Chan
3
2017
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How Jackie Shane Helped 'Satisfy My Soul'
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Elaine Gaber-Katz recalls the electrifying experience of seeing Jackie Shane perform.
Elaine Gaber-Katz
2
2017
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Hanna and Saied's Story
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Kamal Al-Solaylee tells the story of Hanna and Saied, two Syrian refugees who discovered community and acceptance in Toronto’s LGBTQ community after arriving in the city in 2016.
Kamal Al-Solaylee
3
2017
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Kiss and Tell (2013): Church Street Mural Project
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Artist Natalie Wood describes the process that went into creating her mural "Kiss and Tell"
Natalie Wood
1
2017
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Town Squares and Spiritual Hearts
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Shawn Micallef describes how Barbara Hall Park has, at times, served as the town square for Toronto’s queer community.
Shawn Micallef
6
2017
$ 0.60
I Was in Charge of Kitty Litter
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Jane Farrow decribes the queer houses of Toronto, residences that were passed from friend to friend. More than residences, these houses served as gathering places, refuges, and communities.
Jane Farrow
3
2017
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Wood-Wellesley and the 'Mystery Block'
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Mark Obaldeston describes how the pressure of new building developments is reshaping and erasing historically queer spaces in Toronto.
Mark Osbaldeston
3
2017
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Wide and Urban Wilderness: Defining Public Space in Allan Gardens
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Tatum Taylor recounts the history of Allan Gardens as a queer space, from a visit by Oscar Wilde in 1882 to the setting of Pride festivites in the 21st century.
Tatum Taylor
4
2017
$ 0.40
Steps to Gentrification
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Allison Bergess recounts the story of The Steps, which were constructed in 1984 and became a victim of gentrification twenty years later.
Allison Burgess
3
2017
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Downtown Friends: Photos by Pam Gawn
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A collection of photos from the 1970’s
Jane Farrow
2
2017
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The Evolving Demographics of Toronto's Gay Village
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Michael Ornstein and Tim McCaskell chart the evolution of Toronto’s gay village through the lens of statistics. They consider age, ethnicity, income, and living situation to reveal how the …
Michael Ornstein ; Tim McCaskell
5
2017
$ 0.50
Queer and Cripple in the 6ix
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Andrew Gurza decribes how queer spaces are often inaccessible to those with limited mobility.
Andrew Gurza
2
2017
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In the Spirit of Beth: Queering Indigenous Space
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Nicole Naku Tanguay recalls the experience of planning a memorial service for a friend and queer Indigenous writer Beth Brant
Nicole Tanguay
3
2017
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Cardio-Highs: Winning and Running Away All at Once
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Rahim Thawer reflects on body image from the treadmill.
Rahim Thawer
2
2017
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This Space Is Taken
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Stephanie Nolan describes how a casual football game among friends in the park and how it shaped her identiy.
Stephanie Nolen
2
2017
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The World's Largest Lesbian Hockey League
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Margaret Webb describes how the Women’s Hockey Club of Toronto gave lesbians from disparate backgrounds a space of their own to connect and compete.
Margaret Webb
4
2017
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Sex, Scandal, and Punishment in Early Toronto
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Looking back to pre-confederation Ontario, this section provides accounts of the scandals and political machinations that ensued when prominent gentlemen were found to be consorting with other men.
Ed Jackson ; Jarett Henderson
5
2017
$ 0.50
Alexander Wood: The Invention of a Legend
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Ed Jackson explores the truth behind the legend of Alexander Wood, a merchant and prominent Torontonian who was embroiled in a sex scandal in the early 1800’s
Ed Jackson
2
2017
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Six Nights in the Albert Lane, 1917
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The transcription of police testimony given in court after a series of arrests were made in the Albert Lane in the spring of 1917
Steven Maynard
3
2017
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Oscar Wilde's Type (in Toronto)
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An excerpt from Of Toronto the Good: a Social Study: The Queen City of Canada as It Is , 1898.
C.S Clark
1
2017
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A Place Like The Continental
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Elise Chenier tells the story of the Conitental, Toronto’s longest running lesbian bar.
Elise Chenier
4
2017
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Halloween Balls: From Letros to the St. Charles
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Christine Sismondo tells the story of Toronto’s Halloween drag balls.
Christine Sismondo
3
2017
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Notes on the Gay Bar
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An account of a visit to a Toronto gay bar by a straight researcher, done as part of an observation study of Toronto bars conducted in the 1950’s.
Robert Popham
3
2017
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Tabloid Journalism and the Rise of a Gay Press in Toronto
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Donald McLeod describes how the first queer representation in the city’s press occurred in the tabloids.
Donald W. McLeod
3
2017
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Headline Homophobia Tops Tabloid Treatments!
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A selection of headlines that appeared in Toronto’s tabloids.
Christine Sismondo
3
2017
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Is Your Daughter Safe?: Reactionary Reflections on the Suicide of a Pansy
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An excerpt from a tabloid covering the suicide of a man facing charges for indecent behaviour in 1930.
Newspaper Excerpt
1
2017
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Piss in a Bag
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Gerald Hannon describes a homophobic prank he witnessed as a closeted young man in Toronto in the 1960s
Gerald Hannon
1
2017
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Queenie and Ted
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Kate Ziemen attempts to piece together the story of Queenie and Ted, a lesbian couple whose relationship lasted nearly half a century.
Kate Zieman
2
2017
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Dyke Fight at the Blue Jay
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Cathi Bond recalls a couple of eventful nights in Toronto in the 1970’s
Cathi Bond
3
2017
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See: Sex Perverts
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An investigation into the case of Everett George Klippert leads Globe and Mail Researcher Stephanie Chambers on a journey through the paper’s coverage of homosexuality through the decades.
Stephanie Chambers
3
2017
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And the Stars Look Very Different Today
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Jennifer Coffey describes her experience with the drag scene in Toronto in the 1970’s
Jennifer Coffey
3
2017
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Sara Ellen Dunlop and the Music Room: A Memory
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John Forbes remembers the Music Room on Yonge Street, an unliscened club that operated between 1962 and 1966.
John Forbes
2
2017
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Hanlan's Point
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Ed Jackson recounds the evolution of Hanlan’s point on Toronto Island from queer gathering place to the city’s first oficially designated clothing optional beach.
Ed Jackson
1
2017
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The Brunswick Four: An Oral History
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Pat Murphy recalls being harassed and arrested along with three friends on a night out.
Pat Murphy
3
2017
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Closing the Spy Holes at the Parkside Tavern
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Gerald Hannon describes how Toronto’s Morality Beaureau used peepholes at the Parkside Tavern to arrest dozens of gay men, and how the author and several other activists met with the …
Gerald Hannon
2
2017
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Jim Egan, Gay Warrior
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Donald McLeod tells the story of Jim Egan, Toronto’s first publicly gay activist.
Donald W. McLeod
4
2017
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The Homosexual Next Door (1964)
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An excerpt from the Macleans article The Homosexual Next Door
Sidney Katz
2
2017
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A Bastion of Straight Male Privilege: OCA in the 1970's
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Richard Fung describes the experience of being a gay student at the Ontario College of Arts in the 1970s.
Richard Fung
3
2017
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Get Mad - Play Rock 'n' Roll
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Susan Cole recalls her experience forming a band in the 1970’s and the power of music to inspire a community.
Susan G. Cole
4
2017
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I want Her So Much I Feel Sick: An Interview with Rough Trade's Carole Pope
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Jane Farrow interview’s musician Carol Pope. They discuss the impact that Pope’s music had on Toronto’s queer community.
Jane Farrow ; John Lorinc
4
2017
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Worlds in Collision
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Rupert Raj gives an overview of trans-friendly spaces in Toronto.
Rupert Raj
4
2017
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A Literary Breakthrough: Glad Day's Origins
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Jerald Moldenhauer recalls his involvement in the gay rights movement in Toronto in the 1970’s
Jearld Moldenhauer
4
2017
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George Hislop: The Unofficial Gay Mayor
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Gerald Hannon provides a brief biography of George Hislop a gay rights advocate and politician.
Gerald Hannon
3
2017
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Co-operative Living Happens in the Kitchen!
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Dennis Findlay recalls his experiences living in a house in Toronto in the 1970’s, centered around the kitchen.
Dennis Findlay
2
2017
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The Fallout of a Murder
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Ed Jackson recounts the fallout of the murder of 12 year old Emanuel Jaques in 1977 and the crackdown on the gay community that ensued.
Ed Jackson
4
2017
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The Raid on The Body Politic
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Ed Jackson recalls a raid on the Body Politic newspaper by the police’s anti-pornography unit, and the fight for the freedom of the press that ensued.
Ed Jackson
5
2017
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The Collective House on Dewson Street
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Debbie Douglas tells how a house on Dawson Street became the epicentre for groups of queer black women for decades.
Debbie Douglas
2
2017
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From St. Helens Avenue to Dewson Street
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Makeda Silvera recalls how she found community and acceptance on Dewson Street
Makeda Silvera
3
2017
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Out of the Cold the Thousands Came
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A letter written by retired Philip McLeod to his friends describing the massive protests that occurred in Toronto following the police raids on bathhouses in the city.
Philip McLeod
4
2017
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An Unsurpassed Rabble-Rouser: Chris Bearchell
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Gillian Rodgerson recounds how Chris Bearchell became the outspoken face of Canadian lesbians in the 1970’s and ’80s
Gillian Rodgerson
3
2017
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'Friend of the Court': Legal Resistance at Old City Hall
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Tom Hooper recounts how the Right to Privacy Committee provided legal representation and advocacy for hundreds of men charged in the aftermath of the 1981 bathouse raids.
Tom Hooper
3
2017
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An Experiment in Alternative Living: Washington Avenue
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Diana Meridith recalls the experience of livng in a lesbian collective house in downtown Toronto in the 1980s.
Diana Meredith
3
2017
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Speaking Up for the Gay Community, 1979
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Former Toronto Mayor John Sewell recalls his experience advocating for the gay community.
John Sewell
3
2017
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Turning the Page
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Kyle Rae recalls advocacy in the face of homophobia in the 1990’s.
Kyle Rae
3
2017
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Toronto City Council in Motion: Three Tentative Steps Toward Recognition
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Three key motions made by the Toronto City council to pave the way towards and end to discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Kyle Rae
1
2017
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Seized by the Cause: Glad Day and the Canada Customs Battle
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Elle Flanders recalls her experiences with censorship while working in a gay bookstore.
Elle Flanders
4
2017
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Theatre as Settlement: Buddies in Bad Times
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Sky Gillbert recalls his search for a space for his theatre company.
Sky Gilbert
3
2017
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Black Friday…With and Without the Question Mark
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Alec Butler discusses the significance of her play Black Friday and the role queer representation plays in theatre.
Alec Butler
4
2017
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Disengagement Is No Longer an Option: David Rayside
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Rebecka Sheffield recounts the work of David Rysdale in advocating for queer rights in Canada.
Rebecka Sheffield
3
2017
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No-Cop Zone? Reflections on the Pussy Palace Raid
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Chanelle Gallant recounts the events surrounding a police raid on the Pussy Palace in 2000.
Chanelle Gallant
4
2017
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Marvellous Grounds: QTBIPOC Counter-Archiving against Imperfect Erasures
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This essay explores how many queer archives are predominantly white and errase the experiences of queer people of colour.
Alvis Choi ; Ghaida Moussa ; Jin Haritaworn ; Syrus Marcus Ware
5
2017
$ 0.50
The Invisible Visibles and CelebrAsian
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Vince Ha and Mezrt Daulet discuss the struggle faced by those who are queer and Asian to gain visibility and spaces to call their own.
Mezart Daulet ; Vince Ha
2
2017
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Mississauga Meetup: Queer Organizing in the 905
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Anu Radha Verma discusses Queer organizing in Mississauga
Anu Radha Verma
3
2017
$ 0.30
Life with Dad and 'the Aunties'
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Stefan Lynch recalls the connections he made and relationships he formed during the AIDS crisis.
Stefan Lynch
3
2017
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'Avoir le cul entre deux chaises'
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Yvvette Perrault recalls her experiences working with the AIDS Committee of Toronto.
Yvette Perreault
3
2017
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AIDS ACTION NOW! And the Aerosolized Pentamidine Trial
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Tim McCaskell recounts his work to get antiparasitic medication approved for treating AIDS sufferers in Toronto.
Tim McCaskell
4
2017
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Cry
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A poem from Michael Lynch’s collection These Waves of Dying Friends
Michael Lynch
1
2017
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Our People: Janis Cole and Holly Dale in the 1970's
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Jon Davies discusses the work of Toronto Filmmakers Janis Cole and Holly Dale in the 1970’s.
Jon Davies
3
2017
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KillJoy's Kastle Allyson Mitchell's Vision
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Jane Farrow discusses the KillJoy Kastle, a performance driven art installation in Toronto in the fall of 2013.
Jane Farrow
2
2017
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Vazaleen's Tawny Le Sabre
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Alexander McClelland recalls the transgression and celebration of the Toronto Drag scene in the 2000’s.
Alexander McClelland
4
2017
$ 0.40
Ball Culture
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Stories and photos from Toronto’s ballroom subculture, which traces its roots to Harlem in the 1980’s.
Kurt Mungal
3
2017
$ 0.30
Yellow Boots on Queer West
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With a pair of yellow rubber boots and a GPS watch, John Greyscon recounts the drawing of an unconventional portrait.
John Greyson
7
2017
$ 0.70
Desh Pardesh: A Cultural Festival with Attitude
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Sharon Fernandez recalls the Rise and Fall of Desh Paresh, a popular cultural festival for Toronto’s LGBTQ community.
Sharon Fernandez
4
2017
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Red Spot Nights
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Michéle Pearson Clarke recalls her experiences at the Red Spot, a vibrant venue.
Miché Pearson Clarke
2
2017
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Lengua Latina: Queer Palabras en Toronto
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A poem by Karleen Pendleton Jiménez and Janet Romero-leiva on the queer Latina experience in Toronto.
Janet Romero-Leiva ; Karleen nez ; Pendleton Jimé
5
2017
$ 0.50
The Hidden Cameras and Their Gay Church Folk
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A discussion of the Toronto indie scene, centred around Torontopia, a movement that peaked in the early 2000’s.
Sarah Liss
3
2017
$ 0.30
Route of Heros
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Keith Cole recalls his experiences as a sex worker in Torontos boystown.
Keith Cole
3
2017
$ 0.30
Guess What…That Hand on Your Shoulder Could Be a Cop's: The Body Politic's Clip-and-Save Guide to Arrest and Trial
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A bullet pointed list published by the body politic advising how to deal with being arrested and charged.
The Body Politic
1
2017
$ 0.10
Desire Lines
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Jake Garrett discusses the practice of cruising for hookups in Toronto’s parks.
Jake Tobin Garrett
3
2017
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Under a Queer Blue Sky
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Sly Sarkisova discusses the possibilities for sexual exploration that are present in various corners of Toronto.
Sly Sarkisova
2
2017
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Chalking It Up to Experience
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Andrew Zeally relates his experiences in Toronto’s gay bathhouses over the years.
Andrew Zealley
4
2017
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Towel Service
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Monica Noy recalls how she met her future wife.
Monica Noy
1
2017
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The First Rule of Pussy Palace
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Fiona MacCool recalls her experiences at Toronto’s female bathhouse parties.
Fiona MacCool
3
2017
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International Ms Leather 2000 Comes to Toronto
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Hilary Cook and Karleen Pendleton Jiménez recall the agony and ecstacy of attenting an S&M party.
Hilary Cellini Cook ; Karleen nez ; Pendleton Jimé
4
2017
$ 0.40
Geographies of Gay Sex in the Digital Age
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Matthew Gagné describes the experience of hooking up in Toronto’s contemporary digital landscape.
Gagné
3
2017
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It Seemed Like a Gay Weddig To Me
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Bob Gallagher recalls his efforts to immigrate to Toronto from the United States.
Bob Gallagher
3
2017
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'Why Do You go There?' Struggle, Faith, and Love at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto
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David K. Seitz describes his connection to the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, a protestant church with a primarily LGBT cogregation
David K. Seitz
4
2017
$ 0.40
From Banns to DOMA
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An account of the events leading up to the legalization and general acceptance of gay marriage in Ontario.
John Lorinc
2
2017
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City of Love at the Castle on the Hill
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Maureen Fitzgerald recalls the events surrounding a mass gay wedding at Toronto’s Casa Loma during Rob Ford’s tenure as mayor.
Mariana Valverde ; Maureen FitzGerald
5
2017
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LGBTQ2S Parenting: Some Milestones
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A brief timeline of landmark legal decisions and milestones that allowed queer and trans people to claim their sexual identities while maintaining their right to parent.
Rachel Epstein
2
2017
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'We Are Your Children Too!': How Toronto's Children's Aid Society Learned to Support Queer Youth
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John McCullagh identifies several systemic barriers for aid societies to support LGBTQ youth and how those barriers can be overcome.
John McCullagh
3
2017
$ 0.30
Building the Unity Mosque
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El-Farouk Khaki recounts the process of establishing a mosque in Toronto.
El-Farouk Khaki
3
2017
$ 0.30
Pride: A Political History
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Tim McCaskell provides a history of Pride celebrations In Toronto.
Tim McCaskell
4
2017
$ 0.40