Interview with Phil Conron
oral history, gay culture, cruising
In this oral history interview, Phil Conron, 53 years old, discusses growing up in Toronto in the 1940s, trying to fit in with other boys in school, and early adolescent sexual experiences with other young men. He discusses his involvement with the gay social scene in Toronto in the 1950s and 60s, touching on topics that include cruising in Queen’s Park, going to parties and other gay social spaces on Toronto Island, bar culture, group sex parties, bath houses, police harassment, and a brief stint living in Vancouver in the late 1950s. Conron had long-term relationships with several men, which he outlines in brief. He also discusses his developing taste, later in life, for intergenerational relationships with young men in their early 20s. Conron briefly discusses his career, which is not identified in specific terms, and his growing participation as an actor in community theatre after his retirement.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1985-05-22
Anna Malla
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto, Vancouver, 1950s, 1960s
Oral History Interview with Elgin Blair and Richard Brown (1983)
oral history, gay liberation, organisations, coming out, WWII, army, Unitarian, Christianity, gay bars, CHAT, The Body Politic, Older Gay Association, Gays and Lesbians against Disarmament (GLAD), depression, gay business, bars, baths, Lambda
In this oral history interview Elgin Blair and Richard Brown discuss their lives in Toronto as gay men. The interview begins with Elgin (58 years old) commenting on his coming out experience, his puritanical upbringing, his struggle to accept his homosexuality, time in service during the war, radical consciousness, and his work in the Unitarian gay caucus. Other topics include gay social structure in Toronto in the 1950s, gay bars, and Elgin’s involvement in the gay liberation movement and gay organizations such as CHAT, The Body Politic, Older Gay Association, and the Gays and Lesbians against Disarmament (GLAD), as well as in the CCF. Elgin also discusses how bars and pubs, and the people who met there, were instrumental in his coping with depression and sexual orientation. Richard Brown joins the conversation in the second half of the interview. He discusses the important role of gay business like bars and baths in the building of the gay community. He also comments on his personal life, growing up, coming out experience, and involvement in Lambda.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1983-03-20
John Grube, LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI), Zohar Freeman
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Duchan McLarren [Duncan McLaren] on the Bathhouse Raids
baths, police raids
Clip features Duncan McLaren discussing the experience of the raid on The Barracks bathhouse and his arrest and treatment by police in Toronto in 1981.
Nancy Nicol
Original footage for documentary series, From Criminality to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. http://www.yorku.ca/nnicol/documentary.html
2000-06-19
Copyright held by Nancy Nicol
Clip is original footage for documentary series, From Criminality to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. http://www.yorku.ca/nnicol/documentary.html
.mp4
English
moving image
2016-074
Toronto, 1981
The August Club / The Library
gay culture
night life
baths
meeting places
Black text in white strips on blue cover; inverted male symbol on front; naked male torso on back.
1970-1972
CLGA does not hold copyright
matchbook
English
matchbook
Interview with a found-in from the 1981 Bathhouse Raids
gay men
bars
night life
public sex
baths
cruising
vice squad
police
police raids
An interview by Michael Lynch with an anonymous man, age 41, who was arrested during the bathhouse raids.
Tape one (56 mins) covers his early life in Hamilton, coming out and family life, marriage to a woman, life in Hamilton, and gay life in Toronto from the 1950s including bars, cruising locations, and casual sex.
Tape two (56 mins) covers the barracks and other bathhouses in Toronto, and details his experiences on the night of the raids, as well as the aftermath including rallies and activities of the Gay Community Appeal.
Michael Lynch
1981-03-07
Cassette Tape
English
We Are Today's Jews: Germany 1939 Toronto 1981
homophobia
police
police raids
visibility
Circular white button with a Star of David made with two pink triangles, and black text.
1981
CLGA does not hold copyright
button
English
button
No More Shit! Toronto '81
activists
demonstrations
police
visibility
Circular white button with a pink triangle and black text.
1981-02-06
CLGA does not hold copyright
button
English
button
Reader defends homos, says they're inverts
baths
male prostitutes
homophobia
persecution of gay men
A letter to Flash debunking a number of myths regarding homosexuality included in a previous article.
J.L.E. (Jim Egan)
Flash
1950-05-16
The CLGA does not hold copyright
Newspaper clipping
English
Unparalleled orgies of perversion exposed by intrepid Flash reporter: Toronto steam bath uncovered as den for unnatural vice
baths
night life
group sex
male prostitutes
A newspaper article detailing the activities that take place in a bath house, sparking a debate on the nature of homosexuality between Jim Egan and Julian Farnley.
Flash
1950-05-02
The CLGA does not hold copyright
Newspaper clipping
English