We write today to remind you that Dr. Tom Hooper  (Department of Equity Studies, York University) will be speaking on "Resisting Anti-Queer and Anti-Trans Hate: Lessons from 1970s Toronto" this Friday (11 October, 2024) at 2:30pm in 108 St. John’s College.

  

Everyone is welcome to attend this event, which is presented by the 2SLGBTQ+ Histories Series. Some details, shared by Dr. Hooper, follow. We hope to see you there!

 

In January 1978 anti-Queer and anti-Trans activist Anita Bryant brought her "Save Our Children" campaign to Toronto. The previous year Bryant had organized against a Miami-Dade, Florida ordinance that protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Bryant's central argument was that this ordinance protected Queer and Trans people from discrimination in employment, including teachers and others who worked with children. The campaign to define Queer and Trans people as a threat to children worked, the Miami-Dade ordinance was repealed. Bryant was emboldened and embarked on a cross-continent campaign that also included a brief time Canada. Queer and Trans communities resisted these campaigns with various tactics. In this presentation I argue that studying our communities' resistance to Anita Bryant could be useful as our communities rally to resist anti-Queer and anti-Trans hate today.

  

The 2SLGBTQ+ Histories Series is thankful to the following units at the University of Manitoba for their support of Dr. Hooper's lecture:

 

Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity)

Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Education

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Department of English, Film, Theatre, and Media

Department of History

Women's and Gender Studies Program

Institute for the Humanities

The Centre for Human Rights Research