Oral History Interview with Frederick Sproule (1983)

Oral History Interview with Frederick Sproule (1983)

oral history, relationships, gay culture, Frederick Sproule, WWI, coming out, army, cruising, work, interior design, WWII, Toronto, drag, bars, gay liberation

In this oral history interview Frederick Sproule, 88 years old, discusses his life as a gay man in Toronto from the early twentieth century onwards. The interview begins with Sproule describing his coming out experience when he was 18 and lived in New York. He then narrates his life during World War I, his time in service, sexual experiences, relationships, cruising practices, and his attendance to gay parties. Other topics discussed in the interview include Sproule’s relation with his family, his social circle, his career as an interior designer, the changes in Toronto after WWII, drag practices of people he knew, his political stance, his rather pessimistic opinion about the gay liberation movement, the bar culture in the city, and his relationships with women when he was younger.

Foolscap Oral History Project

1983-08-16

John Grube, LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI), Zohar Freeman

CLGA

PDF, WAV

English

Sound, text

2016-034

Toronto 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s; New York 1910s, 1920s.