In John Barton’s introduction to Seminal: The Anthology of Canada’s Gay Male Poets, he describes what he calls “a gaydar moment.” For Canada’s earliest poets, we can only speculate on their sexuality – educated guesses based on their work, their lives, and the context of their times.
The few openly gay literary critics [...]
Archive for the ‘history’ Category
The First Poets, Part 1: “Gaydar Moments”
Posted in Blogroll, Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history on October 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The Disappearance of the Two-Spirit Traditions in Canada
Posted in Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history, trans history on August 11, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I’ve already written about the European reaction upon learning that the First Peoples of North America did not share their neurotic prejudice against homosexuality and gender variance.
The Jesuits and the French explorers brought back stories of Two-Spirit men “given to sodomy” and “Hunting Women” with wives. Later, British explorers brought back [...]
Racism and Homophobia: The Chinese in Victorian Canada
Posted in Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history on March 31, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Late nineteenth-century Canada was not exactly a place that welcomed difference or embraced diversity. In fact, thanks to “degeneration” theory and its believers among social scientists and medical experts, both racism and homophobia were growing in the new Confederation.
The theory of “degeneration” suggested that societies could be put into three categories – the “primitive [...]
The Media and Social Purity in Turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century Canada
Posted in Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history on November 15, 2008 | 2 Comments »
“Media” to us means mostly electronic means of communication. In the 19th century, though, news, high art, and low entertainment were carried mostly in print. Novels filled the place of movies, serial short stories and articles in newspapers filled the place of sitcoms and TV news programs, and pamphlets filled the space of [...]
The Social Purity Movement and Homosexuality
Posted in Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history on September 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Volunteer educators wearing ribbons and going into public schools – often over the objections of parents – to talk about sex with pre-teens and teenagers. Doctors addressing the topic of STDs and disease prevention in the media. Pamphlets and books urging parents and teachers to talk about sex with their children.
For the readers [...]
