LGBTQIA Library Services

Throughout the month of March, celebrate the lives of LGBTQ+ Womxn at SDPL!

In 1930 Germany, Danish painter, Lili Elbe became one of the first individuals that history would track as having had male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. The transition was intense, comprising of a series of surgeries to remove her original reproductive organs as well as implantation of those that matched her identity (Folley, 2017). Having married her wife pre-transition, Elbe was able to find a loving support system through the difficult times of transitioning, relocating and living as a lesbian couple. Despite the success of having changed her name on paper, once she changed her sex, Elbe’s marriage was nullified due to the Parisian government not recognizing same-sex marriage at the time. After undergoing a uterus transplant in 1931, Lili Elbe suffered from heart failure and died shortly after. A fictionalized story of her life was published in 2000, and adapted into film in 2016. Her posthumous autobiography, Man into woman: the first sex change, can be found at university libraries across the nation.

Christine Jorgensen, an American soldier in the 1940’s, made headlines on December 1, 1952 as America’s introduction to sex reassignment surgery (SRS). With the operation being illegal in the United States at the time, Jorgensen had to travel to Europe to complete herself, originally planning to have to see a surgeon in Sweden, but stopping in Denmark and coming across a surgeon who specialized in the procedure. And though she was far from the first recipient of SRS, her case was one of the few that included hormone therapy. After serving with the Army during World War II, Jorgensen dabbled in several other career fields. She settled into her unsought after fame upon her repatriation to New York. Jorgensen’s notoriety provided a platform for her to become an actress and singer (Rosenthal, n.d.). While she did achieve professional success as a result of her surgical procedures, Jorgensen remained unmarried due to the state of New York refusing to issue a marriage license to her and her intended husband (Long, 2010). In May of 1989, Christine Jorgensen passed away from cancer, after having given the sexual revolution “a good swift kick in the pants” (Parke, Roisman, Rose, 2019).

In the summer of 1969, a gay club called the Stonewall Inn in New York City was raided by NYPD. As a result, LGBTQ+ community members protested for six days against the violent treatment. The days that followed are now known as The Stonewall Riots, and have become what many now refer to as the catalyst for the gays rights movement not only within the United States, but around the world (History.com, 2019). Being that homosexuality was still illegal at the time, many gay bars were owned and operated by the Mafia, as they had the money and influence to keep the police at bay (Pruitt, 2019). The relationships between Mafia families and the police meant that gay bars often got tipped off before police raids, however, in the case of the Stonewall Inn, the tip off never came. The Stonewall uprising became the springboard for many early gay rights organizations such as Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD and PFLAG.

Sally Ride was the first American woman and the youngest American to go into space at the age of 32 in 1983. Ride was a Southern California Native who received her English and Physics degrees from Stanford University. She later earned a master’s and PhD in physics, also from Stanford, before becoming the first known LGBTQ+ astronaut (Garofoli, 2012). After spending over 343 hours in space, it was Ride who eventually discovered that O-rings (a packing joint used to create a seal) becoming stiff at low temperatures is what caused the 1986 Challenger disaster (Dean, 2016).

Book Recommendations

Research Database

Archives of Sexuality & Gender

Research sexuality and gender in relation to LGBTQ+ history and activism, cultural studies, psychology, health, political science, policy studies, and other related categories.

Resources

• The San Diego LGBT Community Center
  The Center is the nation's second oldest and one of the largest LGBT community centers that provides direct program services to the many different facets of the LGBT community, including men, women, youth, seniors, families, LGBT Latino community members and their families, and those living with HIV.
• San Diego Youth Services
  Mental health services and drop-in centers for LGBT youth and their families.
• The Trevor Project | 1-866-488-7386
  24/7 crisis and support hotline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth ages 13-24. Also offers text and chat services.
• GLBT National Help Center
  Free and confidential hotlines, chatrooms, and other resources for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people.
• Trans Lifeline | 1-877-565-8860
  Hotline that offers support and resources to transgender people in need. Staffed by the transgender community for the transgender community.
• San Diego LGBT Pride
  San Diego LGBT Pride fosters pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally. Pride supports a number of programs for all ages that meet the diverse needs and interest of the LGBTQ community.

Pride Library Card

In partnership with San Diego LGBT Pride, the San Diego Public Library is presenting our first-ever San Diego LGBT Pride commemorative card. The design concept was developed by the San Diego Public Library's LGBTQIA committee and carried out by local San Diegan artist and library employee Rachel Murray. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Art from SDSU, she also has previous experience working as a live caricature artist.

 

These commemorative cards will be issued at our Lit Cafe booth, located at the San Diego Pride Festival, as well as all San Diego Public Library locations beginning Friday, June 12. Quantities are limited to what is on hand at each location.

 

Commemorative cards are no longer available as all were given out during the month of June 2019.