Shoulders to Stand On
When I moved to Rochester in 2014, I vaguely remember hearing about the historical presence of the LGBT+ community, but I never inquire more into the claim. Shoulders to Stand On was actually a very enlightening work that helped me understand more about the LGBT+ community here. The information given about Front Street is particularly interesting because it compared the street to the likes to Bowery of New York City. After living here for almost four years (with a semester of living in New York City), I haven’t seen anything in the community that has resonated NYC LGBT+ culture. The fact that it was eventually obliterated from the city speaks to the societal pressures placed on the LGBT+ culture. I also was amazed and somewhat proud of the University of Rochester’s role in welcoming gay and lesbian students. Much of the foundation for the Out Alliance, formally known as the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, began on our campus with the Gay Liberation Front.
“Perversity to Diversity”
In “Perversity to Diversity”, Susan Jordan objectively describes a controversial exhibit held in Rush Rhees Library from February 24th to March 27th. There is also a piece by Michele Moore which is her personal experience as a queer woman at the exhibit. The exhibit apparently contained LGBT + paraphernalia deemed too explicit and “shocking”. From Moore’s piece, the most controversial aspect was the depiction of safe sex which included dental dams, rubber gloves, and dildos wrapped with condoms. The exhibit also had a wall which allowed guests to share their personal thoughts. Some of these thoughts were positively reinforcing the LGBT+ community while others were derogatory towards the community.
While it did not mention a year, I utilized the authors to find the resource from which this was published. After googling Susan Jordan, I discovered from the Out Alliance website that she became the editor of Empty Closet in 1989. The Out Alliance Website has archived editions of Empty Closet, so I took a chance and began going through scans of the articles. Since Susan Jordan became the editor in 1989, I began with that year to search for the right edition. Since it is a monthly, publication, I used context clues to help pinpoint the correct month. The two major clues were: “… the exhibit which opened at Rush Rhees Library on Feb. 24” and “The exhibit was scheduled to formally close on Mar. 27th”. From the clues, I searched months in proximity to after February and March due to the past tense. Lo and behold, the article was published on page one in April of 1991 .(http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Databases/Attachments/Closet/1991/1991_APRIL.pdf)