A new exhibit chronicling queer history at U of T is now on display at Robarts library.
Titled “Proud Past,” the display illustrates the relationship between activism and academics at U of T. Several of the displays document the efforts made by many of U of T’s faculty as they struggled to bring gay and lesbian issues and concerns out of the closet and into the classroom. This is the first such exhibit to be seen at U of T about the institution’s often troubled relationship with its queer community.
“The display provides a sense of history and context of organization in the university and the larger community,” said Dr. Maureen Fitzgerald, executive director of U of T’s Sexual Diversity Studies Program. Dr. Fitzgerald emphasized the importance of documenting the historical interweaving of academics and activism.
One striking display in the exhibit is a chronology of queer history at U of T. It begins in 1955 with a series of articles published in The Varsity warning the university community about homosexual sex in Philosophers Walk, and ends with U of T’s campus-wide queer activist group LGBTOUTs controversial and ultimately unsuccessful campaign for a 69 cent student levy in March 2004.
LGBTOUTs Paul Bowser said the display is important because it sheds light on a subject that in the past has been largely ignored by academics.
“Representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered movements have only begun to acquire attention, academic focus, and funding in the last five years at this university,” said Bowser, “and I think we can do a lot more.”
Bowser said he remains optimistic, though, and regards the display as a first step toward making queer issues mainstream both on and off campus.
The exhibit is a collaboration between LGBTOUT and the Sexual Diversity Studies Program, which was officially launched in March 1998. The two groups say that the exhibit, like the movement it chronicles, is a work in progress.
“Proud Past” will be on display at Robarts library on the second floor until September 30 and will move to U of T’s Scarborough Campus for the month of October. It will then return to the first floor of Robarts Library in November, and close November 19.
