Stumbling Over Our Words
As debates over queer naming intensify, what gets lost beyond language? In Stumbling Over Our Words, Ally Krueger-Kischak explores symbols, silence, and the messy limits of labels in queer history and oral storytelling.
All posts filed under: Activist Histories
Remembering the Sugar Shack: A Sneak Peek Q&A
Remembering the Sugar Shack offers a powerful look back at a radical, QTBIPOC-led bathhouse night that redefined Toronto’s queer pleasure politics in the early 2000s. Through intimate reflections from organizers and attendees, this Q&A unpacks how the Sugar Shack challenged white dominance in queer spaces and centered joy, consent, and erotic freedom. A teaser for the June 10 event, this post invites readers to remember—and imagine—what liberatory sex-positive space can look like today.
“Bisexual History is Queer History”: A Conversation with Gabryelle Iaconetti
Meet Gabryelle Iaconetti, a passionate historian dedicated to preserving the rich and often overlooked narratives of bisexual activism in Canada. From their journey into queer history during the pandemic to her doctoral research on bisexual support groups in smaller Ontario cities, Gabryelle's work reveals the powerful connection between bisexual history and queer history. Explore the unexpected joys of oral history and discover how tangible pieces of Toronto’s past have deepened her research.
Nancy Irwin At Home: An Interview with an Icon
Nancy Irwin is the dyke you read about in queer history classes and the woman you always wished had a hand in raising you. World traveller, biker, writer, raconteur extraordinaire; Nancy sits down with The Gays Did What Now? for a tender reminiscence of dyke life in 1980s Toronto and her first girlfriend, the “very experienced lesbian,” Shirley. Listen to the audio or read the transcript for a riveting story of Nancy before she was the international dyke icon she is today.
Crip Orgies: cum’on everybody!
You ever seen a wheelchair user fuck harder than the best porn stars in Vegas? How about the hardcore harness fetishists losing it over the straps of a hydraulic sling lift? Ever considered the implications of the condom catheter X leg bag situation as the ultimate power move in watersports? In 2015, disability activists Andrew Gurza and Stella Palikarova embraced it all with Deliciously Disabled, an accessible, sex-positive party held at the iconic Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, right in the heart of Toronto’s Gay Village. But why there and when can we get tickets for the next one?
Queer & Disabled Activisms in Tkaronto Project: An interview with Creative Scholar Megan Ingram
Welcoming Megan Ingram, our inaugural “Creative Scholar in Virtual Residence.” Part scholarship and part cultural production, Megan is developing a new documentary project, using oral history interviews conducted with community activists working at the intersections of disability, queerness, healthcare access, housing, and poverty.