50 Years of Toronto Pride at the Toronto Reference Library
In Toronto, in 1964, not one but two magazines by and for the gay community were launched. One was simply called "Gay". The other was "Two", a name inspired by an earlier American magazine called "One". That same year, "The Homosexual Next Door: a Sober Appraisal of a New Social Phenomenon" by Sidney Katz, was published in Maclean's magazine. It is considered the first positive portrayal of homosexuals in the Canadian mass media.
Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives
Fifty years later, Toronto is host to World Pride, a festival of LGBTQ arts, activisim, history and education. As part of that celebration, Toronto Reference Library presents Hugh Brewster, author, activist and organizer of the first Toronto pride parade, who will moderate a panel discussion on Toronto gay history with:
Susan G. Cole: Feminist, author, playwright and Senior Entertainment Editor at Now Magazine.
Andrea Houston: Journalist, activist and 2012 Honoured Dyke.
Ed Jackson: Activist, early member of the Body Politic Collective and one of its editors.
Kyle Rae: First openly gay Toronto City Councillor, Ryerson lecturer and development consultant.
50 Years of Toronto Pride
Toronto Reference Library Atrium
789 Yonge Street
Tuesday June 24, 2014
7 PM
4 thoughts on “50 Years of Toronto Pride at the Toronto Reference Library”
I don’t understand how young, history-rewriting Andrea Houston has any standing to appear on a panel about “Toronto gay history,” especially since this “Honoured Dyke” has a boyfriend and latterly worked for the NDP.
Can somebody explain her qualifications to me? (Is she just somebody you people know and like?)
Joe, Andrea Houston was the choice of moderator Hugh Brewster. He’d seen her on a panel discussion on bisexuality several months ago and told us in April: “”She was excellent, a natural, and will be a fabulous panelist for us. It’s good that she is of a younger generation and very much in touch with issues concerning all those other colors in the rainbow flag.”
Incidentally, over 140 people came to the program, and the feedback has been really positive. eg.”warm congratulations on an outstanding evening at tonight’s Library Pride Retrospective.”
When you say “feedback has been really positive,” you are actually telling me to shut up and stop being critical.
Andrea Houston denies gay actually exists, because, as a polysexual Honoured Dyke with a boyfriend, it was always a subset of trans. The panellist who recommended her was working in ignorance of her actual ahistorical beliefs, which do the greatest damage to eldergays like him.
I see you wanted to invite a “young” person to an event celebrating lesbian and gay history. Fine. Invite someone who is actually lesbian or gay and who does not deny the past actually factually happened.
Really: You invited her because she’s your kind of people and you think she’s just grand. Isn’t that true, Katherine?
http://www.andreahouston.com/
Take a look.