Publics
LGBTQ2+ people draw on photography to expand and queer the notion of family through spectacular and quotidian means, including the highly visible space of the street and park, and less visible spaces such as bathhouses, coffeehouses, and clubs. Both types of spaces are pivotal for expressing queer desire yet are targets for state suppression. Events such as pow-wows provide opportunities to reflect further on Two-Spirited kinship in relationship to Indigenous cultures and queer modes of belonging. In a neoliberal era, however, many queer family spaces have become gentrified and commodified in a process that benefits some LGBTQ2+ community members while marginalizing others on the basis of class and race.
Junior Harrison and Douglas Stewart marching with Gay Men of African Descent
Photographed by Courtnay McFarlane
Circa 1995
New York, New York
Gift of Courtnay McFarlane
Courtesy of The Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
Zami Gathering at 519 Church
Photographed by Leif Harmsen
March 1984
Toronto, Ontario
Gift of Courtnay McFarlane
Courtesy of The Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
(L-R) Carmen, Courtnay McFarlane, Anthony Mohamed, Deryck Glodon, Alex, Douglas and Hendry Wright
Zami was a lesbian and gay Black and Caribbean group formed in Toronto in the 1980s. Zami is a West Indian Creole word for lesbian, and was also the title of Audre Lorde's important 1982 biomythography. Although the group's focus was on the Black community and anti-Black racism, other members of Toronto's queer Caribbean diaspora were also welcome.
Alley Yapput, Stacy Status, and June Thunderchild at Pride
Unknown photographer
1992
Toronto, Ontario
Gift of Albert McLeod
Courtesy of the University of Winnipeg Archives, Albert McLeod fonds (17.026)
Twyla Starr (“Twiddles”), crowned Miss Club 200, and Steven McCorrister at the 22nd Annual International Two-Spirit Gathering
Photographed by Trevor Stratton
September 2010
Bausejour, Manitoba
Gift of Albert McLeod
Courtesy of the University of Winnipeg Archives, Albert McLeod fonds (17.026)
Two-Spirit powwow grand entry at the 22nd Annual International Two-Spirit Gathering held at a retreat centre outside of Winnipeg
Photographed by Trevor Stratton
September 2010
Beausejour, Manitoba
Gift of Albert McLeod
Courtesy of the University of Winnipeg Archives, Albert McLeod fonds (17.026)
These powwows are alcohol-free events held away from urban centers and are occasions for two-spirited peoples to connect with each other and with indigenous culture as a means of decolonizing gender. For the two-spirited movement, this requires decolonizing family, particularly as state-imposed family structures has involved the removal of children from indigenous homes.
Courtnay McFarlane posing outside a shop on Christopher Street
Photographed by Michelle McFarlane
March 1986
New York, New York
Gift of Courtnay McFarlane
Courtesy of The Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
Mudit holding a rainbow flag at his first Pride parade, with his friend Drishti
Photographed by Narayani
2013
Mumbai, India
Gift of Mudit Ganguly
Courtesy of The Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
Campaign for Equal Families demonstration in support of Bill 167 at Ontario’s Legislative Building
Unknown photographer
1995
Toronto, Ontario
Gift of Laurie Arron, Chairperson of Campaign for Equal Families
Courtesy of The ArQuives
Bill 167 was the proposed Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act in 1995. This bill sought to redefine the term "spouse" to provide same-sex couples with rights and obligations equal to those of opposite-sex common law couples.
Queer family portrait taken while out on the town
Photographed by Rose-Ann Marie Bailey
Circa 2012
Toronto, Ontario
Gift of Courtnay McFarlane
Courtesy of The Family Camera Network and The ArQuives
(L-R) Dionne Falconer, Courtnay McFarlane, Douglas Stewart, Angela Robertson, and Junior Harrison.