Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

O'Day, Janet, Johnna Ossie

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Janet O'Day is 71 years old. She lives in Maine with her wife, Rosemary. She has one adult son. She was raised in a Catholic Family in Quincy, Massachusettes. She came out later in life after being married to a man and having a son. Religion is important to Janet and she was involved with Dignity in Boston and Maine, an organization that provides Catholic Mass and religious support to Catholic LGBTQ people. Janet continues to stay involved in her church community. During the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Janet worked at the Deaconness hospital in Boston as a discharge nurse with patients …

Wood, Barb, Isabella Rieger

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Barbra ‘Barb’ Wood is 63 years old and lives in Portland M.E with her partner Carol. Barb realized she was queer her junior year in college when an underclassman that she met at a party took her back to her apartment and kissed her. After this kiss Barb recovered her other queer crushes through her series of romantic friendships with women. After college Barb worked as an insurance inspection agent in the state of Maine and later went on to become a resident of Portland. Barb was instrumental in the creation and distribution of Maine’s first queer newspaper OUR PAPER …

Pezet, Antoinette, Emily Durgin

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Antoinette Pezet was born in New York April 23, 1937 as William Anthony Pezet. She recognized she was bisexual in her early teens. Her family was accepting of her sexuality very early on. Before enlisted in the military in her early twenties, she married her first wife, Helga. Due to mental health issues, Helga and Antoinette divorced. Antoinette then married her second wife, Emily, and went on to have two children.

It was not until Antoinette was divorced from Emily that she started dressing as a woman. In her early fifties she had a conversation with Jean Vermette that first …

Smallwood, Thomas, Maisarah Miskoon, Devyn Winter

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Thomas Smallwood moved to Portland, Maine in 2002 from Maryland and made the city his home. He has been a nanny for 14 of those years to two boys and watched them grow up under his care and treats them as family. He now nannies for two little girls, volunteers as an Outreach Counselor for the Frannie Peabody Center because he feels it is his duty to his community to educate and spread awareness. Thomas acts, sings and dances in theater, Maine Gay Men’s Chorus and performs as a drag queen, Miss Lajoy, at Blackstones during his free time.

His …

Performing (Female) Masculinity In The Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic World: An Analysis Of The Mujer Varonil In Gender And Genre, Nathaniel L. Redekopp

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

The following dissertation on the trope of the mujer varonil^[1] employs bibliographical research in literary criticism and historiography to identify and describe socio-historic attitudes about gender. In particular, this dissertation examines gender as communicated by texts that use the mujer varonil, or “masculine woman”, characterization to either praise or vilify exceptional female subjects in ways that highlight normative limits for masculine and feminine gender expression. Four texts are examined: a male author writes each and each represents a literary genre that was significant in early modern Spain and Spanish America. These genres are the hagiography, the relación, the …

“I Don’T Fit In A Box; No One Does:” Intersectionality And Gay Male Identity, Jesse L. Grainger, Brent E. Cagle

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

Using an intersectionality framework, this qualitative study explores how stigma affects identity development and how intersecting identities can compound to either foster resiliency or create health concerns for 11 men who are emerging adults (18-29), same sex identified, African American, HIV +, and homeless. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted through RAIN (Regional Aids Interfaith Network) in Charlotte, NC. Questions were formulated to understand how participants view themselves and perceived stigmas, current/past health conditions, and their five to ten year prospects. This study uses grounded theory as a guide to analyze and interpret data. Themes explored include: risks (acquiring HIV through …

Rich, Penny, Bianca Sturchio, Johnna Ossie

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Penny Rich is a 70-year old lesbian living in Portland, Maine. She recieved a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Southern Maine. She is known for her involvement in major social events such as Portland Pride and the Women's Coffeehouse, as well as her experiences with gay bar culture throughout the 60's and 70's. She spends her time socializing, exercising, reading, and getting involved in local political and social issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community in Portland, Maine.

Citation

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, …

Meeting The Social Media Needs Of Lexington’S Lgbtq Community, Erin Weber

LIS Student Conference

Erin will present a strategic plan for the social media needs of the Pride Community Services Organization (PCSO) and Pride Library in Lexington. She will include discussion on whether social media is a means to a larger goal or a means unto itself for PCSO.

Rand, Erica, Danella Demary

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Erica lived in Chicago for many years, but relocated to Maine because of her teaching position at Bates College. She is a Professor of Art and Visual Culture and of Gender and Sexuality Studies, and is acting interim chair of the Gender and Sexuality Studies department. She discussed her coming out process as well as her experiences as a budding activist in ACT UP and a branch of ACT UP, called The Pissed Off Dyke Cell. Erica talked significantly about her previous relationships and how those connections shaped her activisim as well as how her activism shaped her relationships. She …

Sawyer, Charles, Wendy Chapkis

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Charles Sawyer was born and raised in Philadelphia in 1940. He describes the need to be closeted as a young man, dating women, entering the military, and being discharged on suspicion of being gay. This outed him to his family who were largely supportive. He fell in love with a young man for the first time at age 21; his then lover was 17. Once the boyfriend outed himself to his parents, the boyfriend was sent to a psychiatrist who, he reported, he had sex with. Sawyer talks about gay bars and police harassment in Philadelphia and describes early monogamous …

Grindle, Charles, Gwendolyn Wolf, Johnna Ossie

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Charles Grindle is a 66-year-old man from Ellsworth, ME. He is a piano player, as well as a minister. He has been heavily involved in church, music and theater since childhood. He has also done a lot of traveling- he’s lived in Portland, Boston, San Diego and England. He has years of experience working for churches- doing sermons and weddings, etc. In his earlier years, he played piano at many hopping places- such as The Front Porch and the Inn By the Sea. He worked at Blackstones when it first opened. Other bars that he frequented were Styxx and Rollins. …

We Just Need To Pee: Bathroom Bills And The Intersection Of Human Rights, Gender, And Race, Lena Tenney

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Although rarely publicly discussed, bathrooms are a fundamental element of everyday life. In fact, the majority of the population does not question their right or ability to access public restroom facilities because they are a mundane aspect of daily routine. However, the recent rise of “bathroom bills” in state legislatures has sparked significant media coverage and highlighted activist movements seeking to guarantee safe, affirming, and legally protected access to bathrooms for people of all gender identities and expressions.

This paper will illustrate that bathroom access is not only a matter of public policy, but also a question of human rights. …

Homophobia, Human Rights And Diplomacy, Douglas Janoff

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Multilateral human rights diplomacy is a product of the triad relationship between intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and states. This paper examines the emergence of LGBT rights within the context of the UN human rights system. Recently, the global debates around LGBT rights have become much more public and increasingly complex: Ministers, leaders, and even the UN Secretary-General routinely call on states to do more to protect sexual minorities. Countries such as Uganda and Russia are labeled “homophobic” — not just by human rights activists, but by other states. These “accusations” are delivered both bilaterally and in multilateral …

No Human Right To Sodomy: Christian Conservative Opposition To Sogi Human Rights, Cynthia Burack

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The American Christian conservative movement is the most consistent and persistent adversary of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) civil rights in the US. In recent years, the Christian right has responded to changes in attitudes to same-sex sexuality in the US by relocating some of their attention and operations to issues and arenas of contest outside the US that hold more promise for implacable antagonism to rights and recognition for LGBTQ people. In some parts of the world, these US-based anti-LGBTQ actors have become recognized as “experts” on gender and sexual minorities and the dire consequences the existence of …

Johnson, Myke, Marwa Abdalla, Colleen Fagan

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Myke Johnson (she/her pronoun) is a 64 year old Unitarian minister currently living in Portland Maine with her partner of 24 years. She is from Michigan and later moved to Texas and Wyoming with her family. She is the oldest out of 9 children. She grew up Catholic and found herself being an activist during her college years. She became a feminist and was part of the Women's Peace Encampment, March on Washington, Marriage rights campaigns and many more. She got her doctorate degree in the Feminist Liberation Theology Program and became a minister in Massachussets. She then continued to …

Bunker, Lisa, Molly Roberts, Jesse Lucas

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Lisa Bunker is an author who lives in Exeter, New Hampshire and worked at WMPG at the University of Southern Maine for fourteen years during her process of coming out as transgender. She is the author of Felix Yz and an upcoming book called Zenobia July, but spent most of her life in broadcast radio before she left to pursue a full time career in writing.

Citation

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries. …

Practice With The Gay Male Community, Michael P. Dentato Phd, Msw, Tyler M. Argüello, Courtney Wilson

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Understanding the complex needs of the unique and widely diverse gay male community underscores the importance of practitioners to robustly examine the wide array of sociocultural, lifespan, health and mental health factors. While gay men are a subpopulation of the broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, practitioners should realize that they have unique needs associated with their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression sometimes similar to their LBTQ counterparts but often separate from factors that impact LBTQ individuals. In the same fashion, while gay men may encounter similar life challenges as their nongay counterparts separate …

Affirming Strengths-Based Models Of Practice, Trevor G. Gates, Brian Kelly

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Affirming and strengths- based practice with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and communities started to become more mainstream in the 1970s and 1980s and continues today. Whereas stigmatization of LGBTQ individuals and communities was once the accepted norm, most mainstream professional organizations in social work and allied helping professions today treat LGBTQ identity as part of the normal spectrum of human experience and support affirming and strengths- based models of practice with LGBTQ communities (American Counseling Association, 2013; American Psychological Association [APA], 2008; Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], 2015; National Association of Social Workers, 2005). In …

Battling The Big One: Lgbtq Inclusive Art Education During The Trump Era, Mark J. Villalpando

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Recently, because of our new political atmosphere, there have been many attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, or LGBTQ+, individuals and communities. Even though there have been positive developments in the past few years, homophobia is still a major concern for many people in the Unit- ed States. These issues often manifest themselves to a greater degree within the microcosm of public schools where LGBTQ+ students are forced to deal with hateful speech, heteronorma- tive environments, and rampant homophobia. These strugglescan have harmful e ects on the social and emotional develop- ment of queer youth. Progressive and inclusive …

Graphic Activism: Lesbian Archival Library Display, Shawn(Ta) Smith-Cruz

Publications and Research

This chapter outlines the implementation of Graphic Activism, an exhibition of archival material from the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the oldest and largest lesbian archive in the world, located inside the display cases of the Graduate Center library of the City University of New York. The two-semester-long display stems from an institutional need to showcase material inside of the main library display cases, and the interest of including visual representations of Women's Studies material from the collection as well as those which represent the collection. The chapter discusses collaborative relationships outside of the academic institution, pointing to select challenges when …