This month’s seasonal display is a celebration of Pride Month and the LGBTQ2S community. The OISE Library collections include materials which discuss LGBTQ2S issues both historic and contemporary. Additionally our Children’s Literature Collection contains books with LGBTQ2S themes appropriate for a wide variety of reading levels. Get the Pride Month party started by picking up one of these thought provoking reads.
Our Stacks and Curriculum Resource Collections feature a number of titles which focus on the experiences of LGBTQ2S students and teachers. Trans* in College: Transgender Students’ Strategies for Navigating Campus Life and the Institutional Politics of Inclusion by Z Nicolazzo is based on interviews with nine transgender college students, examining the realities of being trans in the classroom and on campus. Queer Girls in Class: Lesbian Teachers and Students edited by Lori Horvitz is a collection of personal stories written by queer women drawing on their perspectives as both students and educators. The collection touches on both personal experiences with homophobia and pedagogical techniques the writers have used to address discrimination and ignorance. “Don’t be so Gay!”: Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe by Donn Short features interviews with queer youth in Toronto drawing on their personal stories of homophobic bullying to assess the effectiveness of existing safe-schools policies and legislation.
Looking to celebrate Pride Month with a story? The Children’s Literature Collection has materials ranging from graphic novels and picture books to novels and short story collections with with LGBTQ2S themes. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a Stonewall Book Award winning young adult novel. A coming of age story which focuses on two Mexican-American teens, Ari and Dante, following them as they deal with friendship, sexuality, and love. Love is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting is a collection of comics focused on mourning the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting and celebrating the strength and resilience of the LGBTQ2S community. The collection features short 1-2 page comics with art and words contributed by more than 30 creators. Wrist by Nathan Adler is a monster story with a plot spanning over a hundred years. In addition to its century-spanning narrative, the story features a two-spirit character. Author Nathan Adler is also contributor to Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time, another anthology featured in our Pride Month display. Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time, edited by Hope Nicholson, collects science fiction and fantasy stories by Indigenous writers, with all of the stories featuring LGBTQ and/or two-spirit characters.
There are a number of books focusing on LGBTQ2S history from our Stacks and Curriculum Resource Collections. Branded by the Pink Triangle by Ken Setterington deals with gay men’s persecution and imprisonment under the Nazis. Writing for a teen audience, Setterington examines the tragic history of the pink triangle symbol. Awfully Devoted Women: Lesbian Lives in Canada, 1900-65 by Cameron Duder draws on letters and journals to tell the stories of Canadian lesbian and bisexual women prior to the rise of second-wave feminism. And They were Wonderful Teachers: Florida’s Purge of Gay and Lesbian Teachers by Karen L. Graves studies the period from 1956 to 1965 when teachers in Florida were subject to investigation and firing on the basis of their sexuality.
The display case on the Ground Floor of the OISE Library features these books and many more Pride Month related works. All items included in the display are available to be checked out, speak to staff at the library service desk if you need any assistance.
