The Queerest Museum in the Country
Updated: Aug 8, 2021
a tour of the Castro District's very own GLBT Historical Society Museum
Today, we bring you to the Castro District in San Francisco, California. This neighborhood, located near both the Twin Peaks and the Painted Ladies, is known as one of the first LGBTQIA+ neighborhoods in the U.S. And we'll take you to the GLBT Historical Society Museum, located in the heart of the Castro, with our own personal takes.
The GLBT Historical Society is a museum created by a group of queer friends in 1985 during the AIDS epidemic. Their one goal was to preserve belongings of gay men, which eventually evolved into saving personal items from other LGTBQIA+ members throughout the years. As the museum itself says on their Queer Past Becomes Present description plaque, "These activists, who formed what would later become the GLBT Historical Society, believed in the power of personal belongings as artifacts that would one day inspire a new generation of queers...".
To start, the museum itself is very small, consisting of two galleries (rooms), with the first honoring Gilbert Baker, the inventor for the pride flag used today. The main room focuses on three sections (not in order, each 'section' is mixed with the others): important figures/activists, 'gayborhoods', or places with a high LGBTQIA+ presence, and defining eras and movements.
Major Figures in the LGBTQ+ Community
The GLBT Historical Museum has beautiful and emotional exhibits for some key players in LGBTQIA+ history. We noticed that each exhibit has pictures of the person, a short description of their life, and newspaper clippings or other primary sources.
In 1961, Jose Sarria became the first openly gay American to run for office. As a drag queen, one of his dresses and umbrellas is on display, and it focuses on his drag queen career as well as his political activism, who paved the way for politicians like Harvey Milk.
Harvey Milk, the first gay candidate to hold office in the U.S. in 1978, where he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He wasn't that open about his sexuality, but was the most pro-LGBT at the time. His exhibit has powerful words about what he faced, words from the man himself, and truly honors the late politician, who was assassinated.
A honorable mention goes to the lesbian community, with Filipino activist Rose Bamberger and her girlfriend, Rosemary Sliepen, two of eight original founders of the Daughters of Bilitis, who were activists that fought for lesbian rights. In addition, they founded The Ladder, a newsletter for lesbians, and serves as an inspiration for this magazine and blog. You can see excerpts of their newsletter in their section.
Pictured: a photo of an exhibit showing queer love in the 20th century.
The 'Gayborhoods'
A smaller section of the GLBT Historical Museum focuses on these places with high LGBTQIA+ communities. The Castro District is one of them. The GLBT Historical Museum gives a small tribute and some historical information about these gay villages, such as the Village in New York, Boystown in Chicago, and smaller villages in L.A.
Major Movements
While we were visiting, we saw another couple there. They were looking at a very specific section of the museum, and it invoked some tears in the both of them. When they left, the section revealed itself to be that of the AIDS activism that took place from the 1980s to the 1990s.
In San Francisco (during that time period), the AIDS epidemic was a dark time in LGBTQIA+ history, specifically for gay men. The artifacts in this section simply reflect that time period as if it was a looking glass. You can see the desperation and emotions in the photos, the determination in a notebook that plans out a protest vigil, and unity of the community with the artwork and memorabilia.
While this isn't exactly a movement, the GLBT passes the microphone to the 1980s-1990s BLUR group for bisexuals, advice columns for gender-confused
individuals and transgender people, and small, digestible booklets that discuss safe
sex.
Final Thoughts?
Overall, we think that the GLBT Historical Museum is a wonderful place to visit for LGTBQIA+ folks. It serves as a reminder of where we've been; an eternal time capsule that breathes in the present to exhale the past. Speaking of the past, you can see an original pride flag, along with the collection of posters, advertisements, and old journals. By just looking at them, you can see the through the lives of so many LGBTQIA+ individuals.
One last thing I'd like to praise the historical society for: intersectionality (even if it's the bare minimum!). While the white patriarchy has directed its focus and fetishization on white gay men, leading to less intersectionality in our everyday lives, the museum is able to bring the issues of race and sexism in tandem. From the Japanese camps in the late 1940s-1950s, to slavery, to fighting for women's rights along gay rights, BIPOC communities are represented and included in these artifacts, and you're able to see someone like yourself in these memories, LGBTQIA+ or not.
For the last day of Pride month, remember why we have museums like this. Remember our history. And remember that supporting LGBTQIA+ communities does not stop after June.
Visitation Information:
You can go to the GLBT Historical Society website to learn more, or go to the museum in San Francisco!
Address: 657 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone #: (415) 777-5455
Resources: (shortlist)
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7366
Sources:
** a lot of information was taken from the GLBT Historical Society Museum itself, and has been cited in this post
All photos have been taken by us.
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