Queer Desire in the Archives

This quarter I have been working with the Curator of Visual Material at the UW Special Collections. She pointed out an interesting topic when thinking about queer material in the archives. Do archivists consider queer desire pornographic? If so, how do they handle the material? Furthermore, what if they accept the material and digitize it, will the viewer find it offensive? Whats the best approach to prepare the viewer to see queer desire in the archives?

I have been thinking about this for some time and many things come to mind. My response to these questions are questions back to the archivists. How do you prepare viewers to see racism? How do you prepare them to see nudity of any variety in the archives? How does prepping the viewer change the learning outcome? If we prep the viewers before they see the archive holdings does it present the material as something that was or is offensive?  Does this perpetuate racism, sexism and homophobia?

I have seen several naked people (mostly women) in archives, racism runs rampant and I have certainly seen my fair share of homophobia. My conclusion is you don't have to prep them nor do
I don't think you can prepare someone to see the content in the archives. However, it is an interesting topic and has room for further investigation.

Other things I have noticed in the archives, there is queer history. The problem I face is how to search for it, how to offer a better understanding of queer in the archive, and how to allow independent curiosities to tease it out. To start to grapple with these ideas I did a series of searches in the finding aids of the Special Collections at UW. The following include the results.


Searching the word Gay is the most successful word

	Personal Papers/Corporate Records	(48)
	Visual Materials Collections	(11)
	University Archives/Faculty Papers	(8)

However, Lesbian found

	Personal Papers/Corporate Records	(21)
	Visual Materials Collections	(6)
	University Archives/Faculty Papers	(3)

Many of these Lesbian results are duplicates from the Gay query; however, it should also be noted that there is a Lesbian archive in Tacoma, Wa. This certainly changes the findings of Lesbian material at the UW special collections.

Furthermore, Homosexual found

	Personal Papers/Corporate Records	(9)
	University Archives/Faculty Papers	(1)

Transgender found

	Personal Papers/Corporate Records	(1)
	University Archives/Faculty Papers	(1)

Transvestite found
 Personal Papers/Corporate Records (1)
 Visual Materials Collections (1)

Queer found 

 Personal Papers/Corporate Records (5)

And Invert
 nothing.

This summer I hope to query queer in the archives and see what concrete themes I can find. I also hope to push this through to the web. Fingers crossed and schedules full I move forward.

Holes In History- the search to fill the gaps of Queer history

I hear all too often that queer history is fragmented, which is undoubtably true. Generally speaking, there are holes in history. One could argue that there are holes in every facet of history, thinking specifically to greek history, chinca/o history, women's history, middle class history and especially history before the photograph. History is the victim of time, which ironically is the very element that creates history. So is queer history too fragmented to be pieced together, or have we not put in the work? Teasing the queer out of history creates our history.

The archivist I work with mentioned an equally interesting point. She emphasized looking for the other side of queer history, those working against queer people, performing medical treatments and experiments and other variations of queer bigots. Those stories inform the struggle of queer culture and are more likely to be the victim of time.

The next time you hear that queer history is fragmented, ask them if they have ever been in their local archive? If they know any historically queer figure in their town. Most likely they will say no; however, if they are able minded and know an answer to any one of these questions ask them to write about it. Start a blog, make a Facebook post, or even share the information on the new QueerWiki.

We have a history, there are tools to write, we just need to put in the time.

Queer in the History Musuem

I've often noticed that museums approach queer culture as parenthetical to the greater historical context. This idea was the at the core of the exhibit Hide and Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, exposing that queer desire is not tangential to the cannons of American art but a recognizable thread throughout. This idea applies to the influence of queer culture on American history, its not tangential but influential.

Many museum are reexamining how to address queer history as a non tangential element included in the greater story. However, we live in a world caught up with being politically correct. This desire to be "pc" comes from our nation's history which is littered with cultural miscommunications and biases. To avoid repeating the mistakes of previous generations many are left navigating a rugged path to successfully address queer history in a politically correct and socially cogent manner. 

Navigating that path can be very difficult but Seattle's Museum of History and Industry took the lead with style. The Museum of History and Industry developed an award wining program called MOHAI Minutes, a program dedicated to creating short videos of two residents stumbling upon different elements of Seattle's diverse past. These videos highlight places, events and themes that built Seattle into what it is today. It's a history adventure that won't make you fall asleep!

Recently MOHAI  Minutes sucessfully addressed Seattle's queer past and all the while remaining "pc," proving it can be done! The video discussed Shelly's Leg, a disco bar that had an influential role in Seattle's queer past during the 1970's. The video does an excellent job of illuminating the rise and fall of Shelly's Leg and its impact on Seattle's queer history. Not to give away too many of the interesting factoids, this disco was the first gay - straight alliance in Seattle's queer nightlife. First we danced together, now we can get married together. Watch it, you wont be sorry.