Introduction
This primary source packet contains materials related to the experiences of LGBTQ+ students and LGBTQ+ activism at Haverford College from the 1970s to the 2000s. Although there were certainly LGBTQ+ individuals present on campus prior to the earliest materials in this packet, few archival records capture this aspect of their identities or broader discussions of gender and sexuality at Haverford.
In 2016, Chris Bechen ’18 conducted oral histories with LGBTQ+-indentifying alumni from the Classes of 1965 through 2014 as part of a project entitled “That which is renamed, but always remains: an archival representation of LGBTQ+ life at Haverford College.” Recordings are available here and may be accessed by logging in with your Haverford credentials.
These materials may support classes and research topics related to the history of gender and sexuality, LGBTQ+ social movements, queer culture on college campuses, and student life and activism at Haverford.
Packet contents:
- List of primary sources
- Guiding questions for engaging with the primary sources
- Articles which provide background on this topic:
- Staley, Kathryn. “Gay Liberation Comes to Appalachian State University (1969-1979).” Appalachian History Vol. 39, No. 1/2 (Fall 2011/Winter 2012): 72-91. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.haverford.edu/stable/43488512
- Reichard, David A. “Animating Ephemera Through Oral History: Interpreting Visual Traces of California Gay College Student Organizing from the 1970s.” The Oral History Review, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Winter/Spring 2012): 37-60. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.haverford.edu/stable/41440957
- Beemyn, Brett. “The Silence is Broken: A History of the First Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual College Student Groups.” Journal of the History of Sexuality Vol. 12, No. 2 (April, 2003): 205-223. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.haverford.edu/stable/3704612
- Renn, Kristen A. “LGBT and Queer Research in Higher Education: The State and Status of the Field.” Educational Researcher Vol. 39, No. 2. (March, 2010): 132-141. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.haverford.edu/stable/27764565
Primary Sources
Letter to Bryn Mawr and Haverford Departments of Psychology, December 15, 1976. HCQ-003-027, Gay People’s Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Gay People’s Alliance newsletter, ca. 1977. HCQ-003-027, Gay People’s Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Gay People’s Alliance newsletter, March 1979. HCQ-003-027, Gay People’s Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Gay People’s Alliance proposal for Customs, ca. 1984. HCQ-003-013, Sexuality and Gender Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Feminist Group writing exercise on lesbianism, ca. 1985. Feminist Group and Feminist Alliance records.
[digitized version]
BGALA, Prism, ca. 1988. HCQ-003-027, Gay People’s Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
BGALA, Prism, September 1991. HCQ-003-028, Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
BGALA “Queers ‘n’ Customs packet,” 1993. HCQ-003-013, Sexuality and Gender Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
BGALA workshop on race and sexuality, February 13, 1995. HCQ-003-013, Sexuality and Gender Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Name change from “BGALA” to “SAGA,” 2001. HCQ-003-013, Sexuality and Gender Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Pride Week flyer, February 2010. HCQ-003-013, Sexuality and Gender Alliance records, Box 1.
[digitized version]
Guiding Questions
- Who created these sources? For what purpose?
- Describe the implied audience for these materials. What informs your opinion?
- What kinds of discussions were Haverford students having regarding sexuality and identity in the 1970s? How did these discussions change over time?
- Did the goals of Haverford’s LGBTQ+ groups change over time? If so, how?
- How does the language used to describe the LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ activism in these documents change over time? What might that tell you about how the LGBTQ+ social movements changed over time?
- Whose voices are heard in these sources? Whose are not?