For this week's analytical blog, I've created a brief, rough timeline of events in the history of Chicago's gay community. I also am toying with the idea of using the word gay, instead of queer, or perhaps both but only in each appropriate circumstance. I think the word gay works better functionally for the time period I'm talking about, and Tracy Baim, editor of the book
Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community, sums the reasoning up nicely: "I
deliberately chose the word 'gay' as all-encompassing because the word
has historical significance. 'Queer' is too modern, and including gay,
lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, intersex and allies
(GLBTQIA), etc., is difficult to explain in a mainstream context. We
were once 'gay,' and that included men, women, transgender, bisexuals
and more. We are now LGBTQIA, and we are still a community. 'Gay'
simplifies, but it does not deny the reality of our diversity. I am a
lesbian, but I am also 'gay' and 'queer' and 'dyke' and whatever words
someone chooses to use to define me when they love me or hate me, fire
me or hire me, attack me or honor me. We have alternately used LGBT and
GLBT throughout the book, because there is no one standard used by the
community."
Below is the timeline. Enjoy, and keep in mind that it's still somewhat of a work in progress-- I think a hand drawn or computer generated timeline may be easier to understand than the interactive timeline that I made below.
Sources:
Baim, Tracy, ed. Out and Proud in Chicago :an Overview of the City’s Gay Community /. Chicago: Surrey Books, 2008.
Bergquist, Kathie. A Field Guide to Gay & Lesbian Chicago /. 1st ed. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, 2006.
Chicago (Ill.).Vice Commission. The Social Evil in Chicago :a Study of Existing Conditions /. 4th ed. Chicago: Republished by the Vice Commission of Chicago, Inc. for distribution by the American Vigilance Association, 1912.
Onge, Jack. The Gay Liberation Movement /. Chicago: Alliance Press, 1971.
I cannot see your timeline (that you mention is at the end of the post). Instead, I have an error message.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the same error message. I tried fixing it a few times and I think something may be wrong with their website today. Some sort of bug. I'll get it working ASAP. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Delete“Gay” has a fascinating history. Have you encountered primary sources from the 20s and 30s using it exclusively to identify LGBTQIA? If so that would be awesome and worth noting in your project. The OED cites some sources for the 4c sense early as 1922, but as far as I can tell, all the examples until 1941 are an unclear blend with OED 4b.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the timeline!