Topic: “Michael Lynch, The Body Politic, and Queer Activism in Canada, 1970s-1990s”

Order Description We are living through a period in which LGBTQ activism is nearly dormant. Apart perhaps from the struggle over same-sex marriage, the queer movement in North America has been lulled to sleep by the extension of human rights, at least to certain segments of the community, and by the pacification of queer people in the embrace of consumer capitalism. This stands in marked contrast to the 1970s through to the mid-1990s when LGBTQ people, along with feminists, people of colour, and anti-imperialists, were at the forefront in the struggle for progressive social change. While this was only a few decades ago, popular memory of what was initially called the gay liberation movement has faded from view. This assignment is designed to bring the heady days of liberation back to life. There are two parts to the assignment. The first part is a book critique of AIDS Activist: Michael Lynch and the Politics of Community (BTL, 2003). The book is essentially a history of gay liberation in Toronto through the life story of Michael Lynch, one of Canada’s prominent gay activists, as pieced together by journalist Ann Silversides, using Lynch’s diaries and other sources. As you know from reading the book, Lynch was the founder of and/or involved in a wide range of sexual politics organizations through the 1970s-1990s. Your critique should address the over-arching themes of the text, such as the differences between human-rights and liberation approaches to LGBTQ politics, the potentials and pitfalls of the notion of ‘community,’ ‘identity’ etc. You should also zero in on a specific theme of the book that interests you the most, such as AIDS activism, movement journalism, queer parenting, issues of race or gender, etc.; the theme you select will be crucial for part two of the assignment. The second part of the assignment involves doing some primary research in The Body Politic. The Body Politic was Canada’s premier gay liberation journal. It published from 1971 to 1987, and Michael Lynch was one of its many frequent contributors. With your chosen theme in mind, read through The Body Politic and locate at least three substantial articles (as opposed to short new items) that relate to your topic. Incorporate them into your paper by discussing the ways they support, challenge, or otherwise modify the topic as presented by Lynch/Silversides. As a historian, you’ll also want to include some reflection on the nature of your sources, in this case, a community- or movement-based journal. What difference does this make? Tips: ? The assignment can be completed using just AIDS Activist and The Body Politic. Of course, there are secondary sources out there, including articles on The Body Politic itself, which you are free to also incorporate in your paper. ? Avoid organizing your paper around the two main parts of the assignment – book critique followed by discussion of The Body Politic sources. As we’ve discussed before, it’s always better to aim for a more complex structure in which you integrate the two different parts throughout your paper and organize it around your own theme/argument.