LGBTQ2S+ Resources

The Stonewall Riots : a documentary history by Marc Stein (Editor) On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, the most important moment in LGBTQ history--depicted by the people who influenced, recorded, and reacted to it. June 28, 1969, Greenwich Village: The New York City Police Department, fueled by bigoted liquor licensing practices and an omnipresent backdrop of homophobia and transphobia, raided the Stonewall Inn, a neighborhood gay bar, in the middle of the night. The raid was met with a series of responses that would go down in history as the most galvanizing period in this country's fight for sexual and gender liberation: a riotous reaction from the bar's patrons and surrounding community, followed by six days of protests. Across 200 documents, Marc Stein presents a unique record of the lessons and legacies of Stonewall. Drawing from sources that include mainstream, alternative, and LGBTQ media, gay-bar guide listings, state court decisions, political fliers, first-person accounts, song lyrics, and photographs, Stein paints an indelible portrait of this pivotal moment in the LGBT movement. In The Stonewall Riots, Stein does not construct a neatly quilted, streamlined narrative of Greenwich Village, its people, and its protests; instead, he allows multiple truths to find their voices and speak to one another, much like the conversations you'd expect to overhear in your neighborhood bar. Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the moment the first brick (or shot glass?) was thrown, The Stonewall Riots allows readers to take stock of how LGBTQ life has changed in the US, and how it has stayed the same. It offers campy stories of queer resistance, courageous accounts of movements and protests, powerful narratives of police repression, and lesser-known stories otherwise buried in the historical record, from an account of ball culture in the mid-sixties to a letter by Black Panther Huey P. Newton addressed to his brothers and sisters in the resistance. For anyone committed to political activism and social justice, The Stonewall Riots provides a much-needed resource for renewal and empowerment.

The path to gay rights : how activism and coming out changed public opinion by Jeremiah J. Garretson An innovative, data-driven explanation of how public opinion shifted on LGBTQ rights The Path to Gay Rights is the first social science analysis of how and why the LGBTQ movement achieved its most unexpected victory-transforming gay people from a despised group of social deviants into a minority worthy of rights and protections in the eyes of most Americans. The book weaves together a narrative of LGBTQ history with new findings from the field of political psychology to provide an understanding of how social movements affect mass attitudes in the United States and globally. Using data going back to the 197s, the book argues that the current understanding of how social movements change mass opinion-through sympathetic media coverage and endorsements from political leaders-cannot provide an adequate explanation for the phenomenal success of the LGBTQ movement at changing the public's views. In The Path to Gay Rights, Jeremiah Garretson argues that the LGBTQ community's response to the AIDS crisis was a turning point for public support of gay rights. ACT-UP and related AIDS organizations strategically targeted political and media leaders, normalizing news coverage of LGBTQ issues and AIDS and signaled to LGBTQ people across the United States that their lives were valued. The net result was an increase in the number of LGBTQ people who came out and lived their lives openly, and with increased contact with gay people, public attitudes began to warm and change. Garretson goes beyond the story of LGBTQ rights to develop an evidence-based argument for how social movements can alter mass opinion on any contentious topic.

About Canada : queer rights by Peter Knegt Questioning whether or not Canada is a “queer utopia,” this document reflects on the country’s exponential growth of acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, speculating if it was truly the goal that queer activists hoped to achieve. Using the origins of the 1970s gay and lesbian liberation movement as a starting point, the history of the struggle for queer rights in Canada is highlighted, creating a clearer understanding of the present day. Covered topics include regional organizing; legal reform; institutional homophobia; children, youth, and education; health; and difference and privilege. Contending that Canada’s queer community is as diverse and multicultural as the country itself, this study also emphasizes that the region’s homosexuals are not easily generalized, arguing that they have not yet achieved equality.

The Canadian war on queers : national security as sexual regulation by Gary Kinsman; Patrizia Gentile From the 1950s to the late 1990s, agents of the state spied on, interrogated, and harassed gays and lesbians in Canada, employing social ideologies and other practices to construct their targets as threats to society. Based on official security documents and interviews with gays, lesbians, civil servants, and high-ranking officials, this path-breaking book discloses acts of state repression and forms of resistance that raise questions about just whose national security was being protected. Passionate and personalized, this account of how the state used the ideology of national security to wage war on its own people offers ways of understanding, and resisting, contemporary conflicts such as the "war on terror."

Queerly Canadian : an introductory reader in sexuality studies by Maureen FitzGerald and Scott Rayter. Anthology examines the role that sexuality has in the building of Canada, and in our national narratives, myths, and anxieties about Canadian identity. Includes historical and contemporary perspectives on law and criminal justice, organizing and resistance, health and medicine, labour, education, marriage and family, sport, popular and youth culture, and visual media, these essays also integrate marginalities such as race, class, and gender.

The children of Harvey Milk : how LGBTQ politicians changed the world by Andrew Reynolds A testament to the power of individuals to impact social change. The gay rights movement has achieved social transformation at a dizzying pace, upending conventional views on sex, love, marriage, the family, and equality itself. While most scholars understand the movement as a broad-based social movement, Andrew Reynolds argues that the most important catalyst of gay rights is often overlooked: individuals. Specifically, openly gay politicians had a critical role in bringing about a more positive attitude towards homosexuality, both among other politicians and the general public. The Children of Harvey Milk tells the epic stories of courageous men and women around the world who came forward to make their voices heard during the struggle for equal rights. Based on in-depth interviews with more than fifty elected officials and high profile political candidates, Reynolds traces major breakthroughs for the gay rights movement through the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender politicians who advanced the cause. The book documents their successes and failures, heartwarming stories of acceptance and heartbreaking stories of ostracism, demonstrating the ways in which an individual can change the views and voting behaviors of those around him. Reynolds also includes rare vignettes of LGBT leaders in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean who continue to fight for gay rights in spite of threats, violence, and homophobia. Blending personal stories with historical data, Reynolds offers both a compelling portrait of LGBT politicians and a powerful explanation of the importance of identity politics in the success of the gay rights movement. A touchstone narrative of the tumultuous journey towards gay rights, The Children of Harvey Milk is a must-read for anyone with an interest in gay rights, social movements, and social change.

Pride : the LGBTQ+ rights movement : a photographic journey by Christopher Measom This lavishly illustrated book commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and is an inspiring photographic journey through the LGBTQ+ Pride movement over the last century. "A stirring history of the LGBTQ Pride movement." --Publishers Weekly This celebratory book is the most in-depth visual tribute to the LGBTQ+ pride movement ever created. The story starts in the bohemian subculture of post-World War I American cities. Author Christopher Measom next covers the influence of World War II, which relocated millions of people to single-sex barracks and factories, encouraging a freedom and anonymity that helped spark the formation of gay communities after the war. The repressive '50s era saw the launch of two important rights organizations, the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, that led to the rebellions of the 1960s--culminating in the game-changing Stonewall Uprising of June 1969. The book then explores the devastation of the AIDS crisis, its impact on gay culture, and the fight to bring awareness to the disease. The narrative is brought up to the present day with coverage of the struggles for equality in marriage, the military, and beyond--and the push for gender rights. With more than 120 photos, posters, artworks, ads, and other rarely seen memorabilia; profiles of icons in the movement such as Christine Jorgensen, Marsha P. Johnson, Harry Hay, and Stormé DeLarverie; excerpts from key news reports; speeches by leading activists and political figures including Harvey Milk, Urvashi Vaid, and Barack Obama; and passages from important dramatic, musical, and literary works such as Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, this book is a groundbreaking homage to a historic movement and its milestone achievements and hurdles.

The gay marriage generation : how the LGBTQ movement transformed American culture by Peter Hart-Brinson The generational and social thinking changes that caused an unprecedented shift toward support for gay marriage How did gay marriage--something unimaginable two decades ago--come to feel inevitable to even its staunchest opponents? Drawing on over 95 interviews with two generations of Americans, as well as historical analysis and public opinion data, Peter Hart-Brinson argues that a fundamental shift in our understanding of homosexuality sparked the generational change that fueled gay marriage's unprecedented rise. Hart-Brinson shows that the LGBTQ movement's evolution and tactical responses to oppression caused Americans to reimagine what it means to be gay and what gay marriage would mean to society at large. While older generations grew up imagining gays and lesbians in terms of their behavior, younger generations came to understand them in terms of their identity. Over time, as the older generation and their ideas slowly passed away, they were replaced by a new generational culture that brought gay marriage to all fifty states. Through revealing interviews, Hart-Brinson explores how different age groups embrace, resist, and create society's changing ideas about gay marriage. Religion, race, contact with gay people, and the power of love are all topics that weave in and out of these fascinating accounts, sometimes influencing opinions in surprising ways. The book captures a wide range of voices from diverse social backgrounds at a critical moment in the culture wars, right before the turn of the tide. The story of gay marriage's rapid ascent offers profound insights about how the continuous remaking of the population through birth and death, mixed with our personal, biographical experiences of our shared history and culture, produces a society that is continually in flux and constantly reinventing itself anew. An intimate portrait of social change with national implications, The Gay Marriage Generation is a significant contribution to our understanding of what causes generational change and how gay marriage became the reality in the United States.

One gay city : a history of LGBT life in Winnipeg by directed by Aaron Floresco. "From a deeply closeted culture to a more open and out society, "One Gay City: A History of LGBT Life in Winnipeg" takes viewers on an emotional tour of Winnipeg's LGBT community through personal stories, news headlines and archival images."--mcintyre.ca.

Pride rises by written and directed by Joey Gill, Karen Hawes. "This look at [the] LGBT movement in Canada starts with the impact of the Stonewall Riots through the Toronto Bathhouse Raids and the political battles that paved the way for the legalization of marriage and explores the struggles that still lie ahead. Stock footage combined with feature interviews with leaders from the community takes you through the key moments in LGBTQ history. Reverend Brent Hawkes (Sr. Pastor Metropolitan Community Church, Member of the Order of Canada), Ken Popert (Founder of The Pink Triangle Press) and Brenda Cossman (Law Professor and Director of the Bonham Center for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto) give us a personal look at the emergence activist, the battles, the triumphs and the challenges that still lie ahead."--Container.

Pride denied : homonationalism & the future of queer politics by roduced, directed & edited by Kami Chisholm. Largely shot during World Pride in Toronto in June 2014, Pride Denied is a political essay documentary that explores the stakes of contemporary LGBT politics, organizations, and celebrations. In particular, Pride Denied traces the transformation of contemporary pride events from activist roots to large, corporate-sponsored events that actively displace street-based folks such as sex workers and the homeless/underhoused. Pride Denied also looks at how state governments and corporations increasingly invoke rhetorics of LGBT inclusion to proffer a progressive image of themselves - a practice known as pinkwashing - in order to distract attention from imperial wars, settler colonialism, environmental destruction, and other human rights abuses. Lastly, the film explores how LGBT movements and organizing on issues such as marriage primarily address the interests of wealthy LGBT people, while largely ignoring the needs of everyone else especially people of color, transgender folks, and non-citizens. Pride Denied addresses these topics and more though interviews, event footage, and archival research. The film primarily targets audiences at post-secondary educational institutions as well as queer and trans community activists.

Stolen moments by written and directed by Margaret Wescott. "Stolen Moments takes you on a voyage through three centuries of gay life. Filmmaker Margaret Wescott weaves together the lost threads of history: from the unique lesbian cultures of Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, steeped in traditions of passing women, seductresses and relationships that lasted decades, to the more recent North American meccas of Montreal, Vancouver, New York, and San Francisco. Highlights of lesbian culture from times gone by are combined with incisive, personal commentary on contemporary struggles surrounding sexual politics and feminism, life and love. Olympic athlete Betty Baxter, stand-up comic Georgia Ragsdale, and writers Nicole Brossard, Joan Nestle, Leslie Feinberg, Judy Grahn and Audre Lorde all share their insights on the courage and passion, the challenges and triumphs, that mark the lesbian experience. Stolen Moments is about personal testimony of past and present courage and passion; about reenacted moments from lesbian history; about yesterday's oppression and today's resistance; about song and dance, ritual and performance...about crossing boundaries. Giving voice to stories that have been scattered or buried, rendering a shadowy history visible, Stolen Moments chronicles the past-and future-of lesbians in society."--Provided by nfb.gc.ca.