Browse Exhibits (31 total)
Jim Egan: Canada's First Public LGBTQ Activist
James Egan was one of the earliest LGBTQ2+ rights activists in Canada. He is best known for his landmark Supreme Court Case, Egan v. Canada. Although he was defeated in this case, his fight for spousal benefits spurred the Supreme Court to add sexual orientation as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Queer Liberation Theory Project
The Queer Liberation Theory Project seeks to advance the public education and community development work being done in the name of Queer Liberation by resurrecting the principles of the historical Gay Liberation Movement, re-contextualizing them within contemporary queer discourse, translating the findings in theoretical terms, and disseminating them through various accessible multimedia platforms.
Ontario-based activists, academics and artists who engage in queer liberation theory and activism have been interviewed and an oral discussion and feature documentary created for public education and queer community development purposes.
Created by Dr. Nick J. Mulé in collaboration with Queer Ontario through Dissident Voices Productions with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
25 Years of YouthLine
LGBT YouthLine is a Toronto-based peer-support phone line that started in 1993 and reaches across Ontario. This exhibit outlines and celebrates YouthLine's 25th year history, and the significant impact the organization has had on LGBTQ2+ youth in Ontario.
Genderqueer in Canada
While "genderqueer" may be a relatively new term under the queer umbrella, the sense of out-of-placeness within and without the gender binary has a longer history. To be genderqueer means that one does not comfortably fit within the binary of female or male, woman or man. A genderqueer person may exist somewhere between, or outside of it entirely as a third gender. There are many ways to inhabit this gender identity and there is no one label that suits all people and this exhibit explores that reality.
Halloween Balls at the Letros and St. Charles Taverns
The Letros and St. Charles were two of the first popular gay bars in Toronto. These spaces were a safehaven for drag queens and genderqueer people, as until 2017 in Canada there was no protection for men who dress in women's clothing.
Due to the lack of protection under the law, drag queens were regularly arrested and harassed by police. The exception to this rule was on Halloween, when men dressing as women was considered socially acceptable.
In the '50s, '60s, and '70s, the Letros and St. Charles Taverns would host annual drag balls, which attracted huge crowds. These crowds eventually became violent towards the drag queens and other patrons to the gay bars, making this gay-bashing an annual Halloween ritual.
The violent behaviour of Torontonians, the degree of police involvement, and the participation of the queer community in protecting their peers is very reflective of the politics and climate of Toronto during the height of the gay rights movement.
Language note: The terms to describe the patrons and performers at the St. Charles and Letros Taverns include folks who wear clothing that is gendered to the opposite of their sex assigned at birth. Additionally terms such as 'drag queen' and the act of cross dressing.
The ArQuives is committed to preserving all aspects of LGBTQ2+ history in Canada and beyond. Given that language is a constantly evolving construct, terms used in this exhibit may be considered offensive, inappropriate, or unacceptable by contemporary standards.
Queering Family Photography
This exhibit explores the critical work that queer, trans, and two-spirited family photos do in documenting and creating queer modes of belonging, and how our emotional attachments to queer family photographs have also sustained LGBTQ2+ lives.
Photo credit:
Teo kissing her son, Matthew
Unknown photographer
Circa 2008
Toronto, Ontario
Gift of Teo Owang
Courtesy of the Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
Gender Review
Access to Gender Review, the newsletter of FACT (Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals, later the Federation for American and Canadian Transsexuals) with contextual information about Gender Review, FACT and trans-related medical and legal issues in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s.
Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, 1998-2008
This exhibit presents the work of an oral history project, conducted in 2016, focussing on the 1998 delisting and 2008 re-listing of coverage for gender confirmation. Inside you can find the reflections of 7 activists, community members, and politicians about their work advocating for the trans community during this time.
Gay Pride through Sports: the Cabbagetown Group Softball League
The Cabbagetown Group Softball League (CGSL) was founded in 1977 by a group of baseball enthusiasts who had gathered informally to play at public diamonds around Toronto since 1975. Many of the CGSL's founding members were activists in Toronto's gay liberation movement. The league's mandate was to provide an opportunity for members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters to play organized sports in a positive atmosphere. The league motto was "Gay Pride Through Sports". While the primary goal of the CGSL was to promote gay fellowship, it was also hoped that the league would serve as a means of bridge-building across ideological divides.
Mapping Foolscap: Gay Oral Histories, 1981-1987
