Downtown St. Louis, circa 1920s
Post by Ian Darnell, St. Louis LGBT History Project
Below is an excerpt from the Bureau for Men's 1930 study on St. Louis' homeless boys. It is a brief case history of an unnamed "sex pervert" and "pansy" in the Bureau's care. Beyond the information provided in the report, we know that he was a white teenager and had been paroled no earlier than February 1925.
...
Case #2
Mother dead. Has stepmother. Is sex pervert, woman impersonator. Known as a "pansy". Paroled to Kingdom House. Placed in Christian Home. Had not lived at own home for a long time. Knew very little of his sisters and brothers. Charge in Juvenile Court was check forgery, which case testified his father had forced him into by beatings. Improvement while with Christian family remarkable. ([Bureau for Homeless Men] paying room and board.) Client displays concern for welfare of a brother and sister with father, who client claimed is always drunk. ... Client's mother - dope fiend, maternal grandather died in prison. Father himself had been outlaw, operating in Wyoming and Colorado. ... Doctor stated a minor operation (circumcision) might relieve sex preversity [sic] of client.
Good report from farm where client is learning farming. Psychiatric examination elicited no new facts. Client taking deeper interest in life. Has own chickens. Reads much - takes physical exercise for "muscles", wants to learn interior decorating. At present client still on farm - doing well. Juvenile Court pleased with reports on him and client's contacts with father and family entirely erased.
...
We find it fascinating/distressing that a physician apparently thought that circumcision might "relieve" the boy of his perversity. We also couldn't help but chuckle hearing that he was interested in improving his physique ... and in learning interior decorating.
We'd love to know how the rest of this guy's life played out. We'll probably never know, but it's fun to imagine anyway.
Source: file 84, Bureau for Men Records, 1921-1982 (sl 176), Western Historical Manuscript Collection
Learn more about the Show Me Bears and their history.
http://www.showmebears.org/missionstate
ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH
Campaign finance records for a ballot measure that last week defeated a law legalizing gay marriage in Maine show that the St. Louis Archdiocese contributed $10,000 toward that effort.
Only two other dioceses in the country - Phoenix and Philadelphia - contributed more ($50,000). The dioceses of Newark, NJ and Youngstown, Ohio also contributed $10,000.
St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch that the money came from a “special needs” account which is tapped at his discretion, and which is funded by “private gifts.”
By 53 to 47 percent, Maine voters rejected a law Maine’s Roman Catholic governor signed in May that would have made Maine the sixth state to allow same sex partners to wed. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont allow gay marriage now, and New Hampshire will in January.
The Nov. 3 ballot measure asked voters: “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”
The catechism of the Roman Catholic Church calls homosexual acts “acts of grave depravity” and “intrinsically disordered” because they “close the sexual act to the gift of life.”
The Catholic church led the charge to reject the new law. In the quarter leading up to the vote, 45 dioceses around the country contributed a total of $180, 550 to the effort, according to the campaign finance records. Six bishops (from Louisville, Ky.; San Antonio, Texas; New Ulm, Minn.; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind.) personally contributed a total of $2,700.
Two other Missouri dioceses contributed to the cause. The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau gave $500, and the Diocese of Jefferson City gave $2,000.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the two sides of the ballot issue in Maine “spent more than $7 million, with same-sex marriage supporters outspending opponents.”
The St. Louis Archdiocese released the following statement to the Post-Dispatch:
In June of this year, Archbishop Richard Malone of Portland, Maine sent a letter to all U.S. bishops asking for financial support for issues the church considers to be moral issues. Archbishop Robert J. Carlson approved a donation for $10,000 which was charged to the special needs fund. This fund has traditionally been the archbishop’s for discretionary spending, not for formal operations, and is funded by private gifts. These funds were already available when Archbishop Carlson arrived in St. Louis. Archbishops of St. Louis have made donations in the past to help other dioceses around the world for various causes ranging from disaster relief, to pro-life issues.
Carlson was installed on June 10. The contribution from the St. Louis Archdiocese was received by the Portland diocese on July 16.
Less than a month earlier, on June 22, the archdiocese eliminated four positions at Catholic Charities, the largest private provider of social services in Missouri. Catholic Charities president, Monsignor Mark Ullrich, said at the time that the job cuts were “due to our need to economically downsize.”
The archdiocese has been stung by the struggling economy. In January, it eliminated 25 part-time and full-time positions - representing 6 percent of the jobs within its administrative and educational offices, not including Catholic Charities. Last November, the archdiocese said its revenue had dropped 37 percent because of decreases in investment income and contributions.
UPDATE (for all those commenting about IRS regulations):
It is illegal for tax exempt religious organizations to participate in political campaigns for candidates, but they can “engage in advocating for or against issues and, to a limited extent, ballot initiatives or other legislative activities,” according to Internal Revenue Service regulations.
http://www.loopnet.com/property/1637349
http://www.complexnightclub.com/
BELOW: Louvon Harris (L) stands alongside her sister Betty Byrd Boatner (2nd R), both sisters of James Byrd, Jr. , as she embraces Judy Shepard (2nd L), mother of Matthew Shepard, as US President Barack Obama looks on after Obama spoke in honor of the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. , Hate Crimes Prevention Act during a reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, October 28, 2009. In 1998, when he was a college student in Wyoming, Shepard was murdered because he was gay. Byrd, an African American man, was dragged behind a pickup truck to his death in Texas the same year.
This week, St. Louis again hosts Miss Gay America.
http://www.missgayamerica.com/
Thousands will come to St. Louis for the events this Wednesday to Sunday.
Here are some retro pics from St. Louis' historic drag past:
1992 Charity Case
http://www.geocities.com/charitymga
For our on-going history month celebration, here is a timeline of GLBT publications in St. Louis history: Please help with dates...
Pre-1975???
1975: Prime Time
1977: Gay St. Louis
1978: Gay Life
1980: No Bad News
1981: Gay News Telegraph
1987: Show Me Guide, PLUS Magazine
1989: KDHX Radio- Coming Out of Hiding Show
Late 1980s: Viewpoint
1991: St. Louis Advisor
1992: LesTalk, TWISL
1995: Pride Pages, SLAM, Kolours
Mid 1990s: Gallip
1996: EXP, Lookout
Late 1990s: Outlook
2001: Vital Voice
2008: Saint Louis Unlimited
Thanks to Colin Murphy for sharing some photos from his archives:
Topics of discussion will include:
* What is "GLBT history," and why does it matter?
* What do we already know about St. Louis's "GLBT past," and what still waits discovery?
* What is the St. Louis GLBT History Project, and what are its goals?
* How can I contribute to the St. Louis GLBT History Project?
If you're interested in volunteering but can't attend the meeting, please feel free to contact us. Find us on Facebook too.
email: stlgayhistory@mac.com
web/blog: stlouisgayhistory.com
phone: 314-740-0298
http://www.lombardosrestaurants.com/tra
Stories about the old bar cannot be printed here to maintain a G rating, but the joint was jumping with bars, a bathhouse and rooms to rent. The path to the bar in the basement was referred to as the "stairway to heaven" and the upstairs bar was called the "wrinkle room."
It also housed some of the early clubs, including Gateway.
http://www.gatewaymc.org/history.ht
Please enjoy the pictures. Please send in your own vintage pictures to support our project.
Harriet Hosmer was born at Watertown, Massachusetts.
She showed an early aptitude for modelling, and studied anatomy with her father, a physician, and afterwards at the St Louis Medical College. She then studied in Boston until 1852, when, with her friend Charlotte Cushman, she went to Rome, where from 1853 to 1860 she was the pupil of the English sculptor John Gibson.
While living in Rome, she was associated with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thorvaldsen, Thackeray, George Eliot and George Sand; and she was frequently the guest of the Brownings at Casa Guidi, in Florence. Later she also resided in Chicago and Terre Haute, Indiana.
Novelist Henry James unflatteringly referred to the group of women artists in Rome of which she was a part as "The White Marmorean Flock," borrowing a term from Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Marble Faun. These artists included lesbians Anne Whitney, Emma Stebbins, Edmonia Lewis and non-lesbians Louisa Lander, Margaret Foley, Florence Freeman, and Vinnie Ream.
Hosmer died at Watertown, Massachusetts, on the February 21, 1908.
Her St. Louis Works:
H.G. Hosmer: 1868 Senator Thomas Hart Benton at Lafayette Square, St. Louis
H. G. Hosmer: 1857 Beatrice Cenci, St. Louis Mercantile Library at UMSL
WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 11: Activists yell during a protest October 11, 2009 in Washington, DC. Activists gathered in DC to push President Barack Obama's administration and the U.S. Congress to live up to promises to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to advance civil rights.
During Gay History Month it's fun and educational to dig into our emerging St. Louis GLBT Archives. Here is a new addition to the St. Louis Gay History Project.
This is a fun retro picture of Ernie, long time bar owner. This looks to be the 1950s or 1960s. Love her hair and glasses. Her last bar was Ernie's Class Act, now a restaurant by the same name. Picture below.
Thanks to Dawn at Hummel's for sharing this vintage pic of Ernie. I met Ernie a few times and her bar was always fun.
ERNIE'S CLASS ACT RESTAURANT - 3756 S BROADWAY, ST LOUIS, MO
https://twitter.com/stlgayhistory
Our web is stlouisgayhistory.com
Find us on Facebook too.
Topics of discussion will include:
* What is "queer history," and why does it matter?
* What do we already know about St. Louis's "queer past," and what still waits discovery?
* What is the St. Louis GLBT History Project, and what are its goals?
* How can I contribute to the St. Louis GLBT History Project?
If you can't attend this meeting, never fear! We will be scheduling another general interest meeting later this month, probably to be held on a Saturday or Sunday. If you're interested in volunteering but can't attend either of these meetings, also please feel free to contact Ian or Steve.
stlgayhistory@mac.com
stlgayhistory.com
This photo is "Jake." This photo and his story are part of a traveling documentary exhibit, "My Right Self: Transgender Considerations" appearing at Washington University School of Medicine Sept. 21 through Oct. 9. On the exhibit's Web site, www.myrightself.org, the subject writes about their transgender experiences.
By Harry Jackson Jr.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/17/2009
Arthur Robinson Williams wants his fellow medical students to know more about the unique challenges of patients who are lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual.
So he has produced a traveling documentary exhibit, "My Right Self: Transgender Considerations." It's composed of 25 photos and personal stories. On Monday, Washington University School of Medicine will be the next stop on its U.S. tour.
"The average medical school spends three to four hours on transgender issues," said Williams, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "I've run across schools with no coverage of gay, lesbian or transgender issues."
The display will run through Oct. 9 in the atrium of the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center, 520 South Euclid Avenue. Hours are 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The appearance is sponsored by LGBT Lesbian Health Interest Group, an organization at the medical school.
Matt Zinter, a third-year medical student at WU and a spokesman for the LGTB Group, said while the university includes classes on treating lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual patients, the exhibit should increase awareness of problems that range from physical issues to mental health issues.
Some people, because of discrimination and stigmas, don't visit doctors, avoid health screenings and end up allowing their health to get so bad they can't be treated, he said.
"The images are meant to confront and dispel myths around this community," he said.
In October of 1987 the Community Liaison for Education and Research (C.L.E.A.R.), a member organization of Challenge Metro (formerly the St. Louis Gay and Lesbian Community Services), began an ambitious project. This project consisted of collecting the history of the Gay and Lesbian Community in St. Louis, and was to be called the Lesbian and Gay Archives.
The nucleus of the archives was a large collection of periodicals, clippings, flyers, and brochures donated by the owner of Our World Too Bookstore, Bill Cordes. After an initial surge of activity, the archives was placed in the care of Fredric Rissover. He continued to collect material and was assisted by Bill Cordes. In the summer of 1991, Fredric made arrangements to place the collection with the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection.
Learn more:
http://www.umsl.edu/~whmc/guides/whm054
Located on the second floor of UMSL' Jefferson Library
\FROM WIKPEDIA
ST. LOUIS' RODNEY WILSON NOTED FOR ROLE IN BEGINNING LGBT HISTORY MONTH
LGBT History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.
In the United Kingdom, it is observed during February, to coincide with a major celebration of the 2005 abolition of Section 28, which had the effect of prohibiting schools from discussing LGBT issues or counselling LGBT or questioning youth.
LGBT History Month originated in the United States and was first celebrated in 1994. It was founded by St. Louis Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson.
Among early supporters and members of the first coordinating committee were Kevin Jennings of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); Kevin Boyer of Gerber/Hart Gay and Lesbian Library and Archives in Chicago; Paul Varnell, writer for the Windy City Times; Torey Wilson, Chicago area teacher; Johnda Boyce, women's studies major at Columbus State University and Jessea Greenman of UC-Berkeley. Many gay and lesbian organizations supported the concept early on. In 1995, the National Education Association indicated support of LGBT History Month as well as other history months by resolution at its General Assembly.
October was chosen by Wilson as the month for the celebration because National Coming Out Day already was established as a widely known event, on October 11, and October commemorated the first march on Washington by LGBT people in 1979. LGBT History Month is intended to encourage honesty and openness about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
While it was first known as Lesbian and Gay History Month, the Coordinating Committee soon added "Bisexual" to the title. It has subsequently become known as LGBT History Month. The event has received criticism from, for example, the Concerned Women for America and others who believe it to be a form of indoctrination.
On June 2, 2000, President Bill Clinton declared June 2000 "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month". [4] President Barack Obama declared June 2009 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Pride Month 2009 on June 1, 2009.
Phyllis Schlafly - Conference Co-Chair
FROM THE BEACON
Leaders at conservative conference call for tougher talk against abortion, gays
Jo Mannies, Beacon Political Reporter
Updated 11:45 p.m. Sat., Sept. 26: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., asserted in St. Louis last Saturday that Americans are recoiling at the "gangster government'' now running the country. Her tough talk exemplified the message of conservative leaders at the "How to Take Back America Conference," held last weekend at the Hilton Frontenac Hotel, who say it's time their side got more gutsy.
In battling gay rights, for example, one workshop leader asserted, "It's time for fighting back against homosexual behavior" by detailing exactly what it is. As for abortion, opponents call for portraying it as genocide targeting minorities.
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
stlgayhistory- ST. LOUIS GAY HISTORY PROJECT
- ST LOUIS GAY HISTORY PROJECT
Syndicate
