Pride Month recommended readings

To celebrate the start of Pride Season, which kicks off with Pride Month in June, Mount Royal is highlighting some suggested readings from the Aveline-Vazquez LGBTQ+ Library Archive Collection. The recommendations come from Dr. David Aveline, PhD, who donated the collection, and student Sydney Morrissette, who cataloged and organized the collection for MRU’s Archives and Special Collections.

Aveline’s recommended readings for Pride Month include:

1. Society and the Healthy Homosexual
   Author: George Weinberg

Written in the early 1970s, Aveline describes Society and the Healthy Homosexual as one of the first books to look at homophobia and describe what it is.

2. Gay American History
   Author: Jonathan Katz

This work captures some of the earliest moments of gay and queer history and includes stories from Indigenous people, transgender people and other marginalized voices.

3. The Wolfenden Report: Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution
   Introduction: Karl Menninger

Published in the 1950s, this book reviews laws governing sexual behavior in England. Aveline calls it an interesting read and notes it is an important element of gay and queer history.

Sociology student and library archives employee Sydney Morrissette’s recommended readings are:

1. RFD: A Country Journal for Gay Men Everywhere

This vintage U.S.-based magazine was meant for gay men in rural areas looking to connect with one another. It includes some interesting classified ads and offers a look back in time, Morrissette says.

2. The Advocate

Another vintage magazine recommendation, Morissette chose a 1984 edition with Michal Foucault on the cover. Morrissette says Foucault is an important part of queer history. A number of different editions are available to browse.

3. HIV/AIDS information pamphlets and posters

Morrissette suggests checking out the hundreds, if not thousands, of pamphlets, posters and other ephemera related to the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis. Morrissette says that especially during Pride Month, it is important to reflect on both good and bad histories.

Read more about the MRU Archives and plan your visit to see the Aveline-Vazquez LGBTQ+ Collection. Anyone can drop in during open hours (currently 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the spring semester, or by appointment during the summer). Email archives@mtroyal.ca with questions or to book an appointment. You can also call 403.440.7046. An online finding aid containing searchable descriptions of the collection's contents should be ready by the end of the summer.

The collection is also accepting donations of relevant materials, especially of those relating to 2-spirit, intersex and asexual histories and experiences. The hope is to expand its breadth to incorporate the full 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum. If you have content to add, contact David Aveline via email at daveline@mtroyal.ca.

For further reading, you can also check out the Library’s 2SLGBTIA+ Collection, which highlights contemporary works by and about the queer and trans community in the Library’s holdings.