Browse Items (3176 total)

Sara Ellen Dunlop, beloved Toronto lesbian, singer and personality, died of cancer in February 1978. A true force in women's music, she was a founder of the original Mama Quilla band. During the 1960's, Sara was a co-creator and co-owner of the Music…

John Duggan grew up on an Ontario farm, moved to Ottawa in 1970 and became involved in Gays of Ottawa (GO) in 1974. At GO, John worked tirelessly on the peer-counselling, public education, and political action committees; wrote for GO’s newspaper (…

Michelle Douglas never imagined herself as an activist, yet that was exactly what she became after being fired by the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989 for being a lesbian. Michelle joined the military in 1986 and, by all accounts, was at the beginning…

Struck by a bolt from the blue when she was 11 in the form of a ginger-haired girl in her class in Chesterfield - she was in love. A process which has brought much pleasure since and more hard work than she anticipated.

The struggle to know and…

Harold Desmarais has been an active community organizer in Ontario since 1970, taking a leading role in numerous organizations, starting with Windsor Gay Unity (1972 - 1980). He was one of the founders of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in…

Gay activist, educationalist and writer, Bernard Courte, was raised in Weir, Quebec, where he was told to 'speak white'. Bernard learned English out of necessity. This and an early traumatic experience with homophobia--the infamous 1977 raid on Truxx…

Alec Butler, is an acclaimed playwright, cultural producer, art slave, performer, and "lesbian punk iconoclast". Alec is the author of several plays, including: Claposis, Cradle Pin, Shakedown, Turnout, Medusa Rising (nominated for two Dora Mavor…

Nicole Brossard is a poet, novelist and theorist. Born in Montreal, she has been a leading figure in post-modern writing since 1965, ensuring that issues of gender and language are now central within Quebec's poetic landscape. Internationally, her…

Persimmon Blackbridge is a visual artist and writer whose work has focused on lesbian sex and sexual representation, disability culture, and the mental illness system. Her ground-breaking collaborative works include: Still Sane (with Sheila…

Anne Bishop's diligent work for lesbian and gay rights in Halifax, Nova Scotia led to achieving spousal rights for CUSO and Dalhousie University employees. From 1987 to 1992, Anne Bishop was an integral part of Lesbian and Gay Rights Nova Scotia,…