In watching the beginning of the documentary, Shoulders to Stand On, in class, I was able to gain a better understanding of the immediacy of Rochester’s involvement, as both the city and the University, in the start of the gay rights movement. I learned that the UR students’ creation of the Gay Liberation Front entirely reflected the already divided political atmosphere in the 1970s with the Vietnam War. This was further emphasized when an interviewee commented on the “combative language” with the use of the word “front” in the organization’s title. According to those interviewed, the fact that the movement happened in concurrence with the Vietnam war actually made their fight easier. I also learned additional ways in which Rochester was at the forefront of the movement, such that the country’s first openly gay radio show, “Green Thursdays,” and the oldest openly gay newspaper, “The Empty Closet,” began there.
In looking for the date for the University’s “From Perversity to Diversity” exhibit, I first googled, “Perversity to Diversity exhibit at the University of Rochester.” Initially, I found a book, Femininity Played Straight: The Significance of Being a Lesbian, by Biddy Martin, which was published in 1996. In the chapter mentioning the University’s exhibit, Martin said, “A few weeks before writing this I had the opportunity to see an exhibit entitled, ‘Perversity and Diversity’ on the campus of the University of Rochester.” With that statement in mind, and the knowledge that the book was published in 1996, I knew it was likely that the exhibit was available for viewing a few years prior to the publication of the book, but that wasn’t an exact date. Going back to my initial google search, I then found another link about an artist, Cindy Smith, who was the curator of the exhibit. In her website’s bio section, which details the many exhibitions she has created singularly and in groups, lectures she has given, awards and grants she has received, and exhibits she has curated, UR’s exhibit’s date was listed as February of 1991.
The link to Cindy Smith’s website is: http://www.cindysmith.org/bio/ (It’s necessary to scroll nearly to the bottom of the page before coming across works she has curated.)
-MF