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Seeking Stories of Queer California: A Hidden Histories Online Exhibit Main Menu Introduction Galleries A guide to each of the online galleries in this digital exhibit, grouped by topic or theme. Arts Asian & AAPI LGBTQ+ people Bisexual People Black LGBTQ+ People Communities Defying Expectations Gay men HIV/AIDS Latino/a/x LGBTQ+ people Lesbians LGBTQ+ Activism LGBTQ+ Discrimination LGBTQ+ Life in California Marriage and Families Politics Pride Religion and Spirituality Transgender People

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, circa 1954

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Performing Arts Beth McDonald
Contents of this tag:
1. Rock Hudson
2. Rope, 1947-1948
3. The Children's Hour, 1961 Photograph of Shirley MacLaine, left, and Audrey Hepburn in a scene from The Children's Hour, and a letter from Arthur B. Krim to Eric Johnston regarding three films with homosexuality as a subject, including The Children's Hour, and requesting that the Code be amended. Photograph: Core Collection. Production files. Letter: Motion Picture Association of America Production Code Administration records.
4. Ann Margaret and Charles Pierce at Studio One, circa 1977
5. Poster and Call sheet for Making Love, 1981-1982
6. My Beautiful Laundrette, circa 1985
7. The Killing of Sister George
8. Gold record for "Melissa Etheridge" album by Melissa Etheridge, 1988
9. Finocchio's: House of the Fabulous Female Impressonators, undated A postcard of Finocchio's, that was a nightclub and bar in San Francisco. It shows five female impersonators standing in the back and five sitting in the front. The steps are a black and white checkered pattern and the background appears to be the stage. From left to right, starting in the back, a performer is wearing a bright pink robe with light pink feather lining, a silver patterned dress, silver shoes, and bright pink long earrings. Next the performer is wearing a pink and gold robe with a high collar, a pink dress, and a pink wig. The center performer is wearing a bright pink dress with a black belt. Next the performer is wearing a black and silver waistcoat with bright pink harem pants. At the end of the back row is a performer in a dark purple robe and dress, with peacock feathers and a peacock feather headdress. The five women in the front row are seated, all in similar 1920s flapper dancer outfits in different colors. From left to right, the first two women are turned slightly to the left and are in light purple outfits with pink feather headbands. In the center, facing forward, she is in a yellow dress with a green feather headband. Next, turned slightly to the right, she is in a dark purple dress and a dark purple feathered headband. Lastly, also turned to the right, she is in an orange dress and has an orange feathered headband.
10. Gay Men's Chorus 25th Anniversary concert poster, 2004
11. Thirteen Women, 1932
12. Salome, 1922
13. Turnabout Theater souvenir program, circa 1950
14. Outfest 07 Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival July 12-23 Film Guide, 2007
15. Pandora's Box, 1929
16. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, circa 1954
17. Adrian Thompson, undated
18. Tea and Sympathy, 1953-1956
19. Book Cover: Ballet by Cecil Beaton, 1951
20. Dracula's Daughter, circa 1936
21. Gregg Araki
Gay men Beth McDonald
Contents of this tag:
1. Rock Hudson
2. Blue check women's suit by Gilbert Adrian, 1946-48
3. Lavender Godzilla: Voices of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, April 2003
4. A celebration of adult Bar and Bat Mitvahs at Congregation Kol Ami, 2000
5. Robert Arthur, Ivy Bottini, Quentin Crisp, Morris Kight, and Patricia Nell Warren, 1994
6. Photo of William Haines at his holiday home, taken by Ruth Harriet Louise for Metro Goldwyn Mayer, circa 1925
7. Asian Pacific group at the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, 1993
8. The Golden Bull, 2023
9. Portrait of Morris Kight by Don Bachardy, 1980
10. Membership card to the 1350 Club, 1981
11. Matlovich for Supervisor, undated
12. Poster and Call sheet for Making Love, 1981-1982
13. Ron Douglas (left) and Jack Wilson cut their wedding cake at the private marriage ceremony, 1970
14. My Beautiful Laundrette, circa 1985
15. Joseph Hansen, “Why I wrote Early Graves,” circa 1987
16. Dorr Legg at drafting table, circa 1936-1942
17. Kenneth Anger, undated
18. Tan Suit Ensemble by James Galanos, 1962
19. The Gay Times, interview with Joseph Hansen titled “Simple Lessons,” January 1987
20. Gay Men's Chorus 25th Anniversary concert poster, 2004
21. Gay Dating Service Head, 1982
22. Jeff Horton, Larry Pickens and their son at Los Angeles gay pride, 1995
23. Gay Fathers Group, 1981
24. Don Bachardy, portrait of Stephen Spender, June 21, 1976
25. Portrait of William Andrews Clark, Jr., 1925
26. Tea and Sympathy, 1953-1956
27. Magpie of California, May 1969
28. Gay Marriage Case in Court, 1979 Rob Brown, Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library. Photograph caption reads, "From left, attorney David M. Brown, plaintiffs, Anthony Corbett Sullivan, Richard Frank Adams. Sullivan and Adams are married, Adams a US citizen and Sullivan an Australian citizen. Both were issued a marriage license in Bolder [sic] Colorado and were married in Bolder [sic]. When Sullivan reapplied in Los Angeles in November 1975, the District Director of Immigration and Naturalization Service an immigrant visa. 'You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots', Dist Director."
29. Portrait of Harrison Post, 1920
30. Miguel Criado Outwords profile
31. Gregg Araki
32. Gay Sunshine no. 6, March 1971,
33. Painted Rocks by Ray Lowen, undated
34. Intertwined, 2007 Artist: Luciano Martinez. As real and imagined borders separate same-sex partners, the artist considers a new obstacle Gay Latino men face: gay marriage. Intertwined addresses the forbidden love between two men, sometimes complicated by geographic and cultural differences, trapped by an invisible cell that confines yet separates them. The prison-like bars that separate the lovers in the artwork are not only geographic, racial, and cultural but ominously political, highlighting the cross-national restrictions on gay marriage and the difficulties of recognizing same-sex partners within conservative societies. Part of the exhibit "At the Heart of It: LGBT Representation at Self Help Graphics", curated by Ruben Esparza.
35. Flier advertising A Different Light bookstore's 1989 Gay Writer Series events
36. Designer Rudi Gernreich in His Office, 1969
37. Butch/Top, 2007 Artrist: Miguel Angel Reyes. Influenced by oddly-toned color ads from 1970's fashion magazines, play with the labels men use to describe themselves for "sex hook-ups" internet personal advertisements. Though proudly gay, the butch-top asserts his sexually dominant role as a man, dispelling the commonly-held notion that homosexual men are feminine and passive. His attitude challenges any question of machismo. Part of the exhibit "At the Heart of It: LGBT Representation at Self Help Graphics", curated by Ruben Esparza.
38. Mr. Muscle Beach Contest, 1950
39. Charles Pierce and Virginia Grey
40. Photo booth photographs of Don Bachardy and Christopher Isherwood, March 30, 1953
41. Y Que, 2007 Artist: Ruben Esparza. A deliberate flat artwork with limited colors boldly represents a shirtless, masculine, queer Chicano in a powerful stance. Y Que (translates to So What). The tattoo utilizes a decorative type treatment used in gang culture; the pearl necklace is a gay code representing a particular body fluid. Part of the exhibit "At the Heart of It: LGBT Representation at Self Help Graphics", curated by Ruben Esparza.
42. Crystal Beach Bathhouse, 1943
43. Salome, 1922
44. Gown by Gilbert Adrian, 1948
45. Newspaper clipping from photograph album showing Christopher Isherwood and W.H. Auden, ca. 1930s
46. The World Book of Naders, undated
47. Lesbians and Gay Men The Grand Jury's In Town, 1979
48. Ramon Novarro, circa 1920s
49. Souvenir featuring Don Bachardy from a party thrown by producer Allan Carr in honor of Truman Capote, December 13, 1979
50. Excerpt from Sketchbook 11, Morris Scott Dollens, undated
51. The Word is Out, 1977
52. Don't Give Him Anything But Love, 1973
53. Don Bachardy, portrait of Truman Capote, June 26, 1961
54. Cover of manual for "Civil Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men: A Reference Manual for City and County Officials", 1990
55. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, circa 1954
56. Data Boy, Issue 136: Film, January 1976
Religion and Spirituality Beth McDonald
Contents of this tag:
1. Portrait of Marie Corelli, 1908
2. Cover and Dedication from The Treasure of Heaven, 1906
3. The Soul of Lilith, 1892
4. A celebration of adult Bar and Bat Mitvahs at Congregation Kol Ami, 2000
5. Beth Chayim Chadashim at the Los Angeles Christopher Street West pride parade, 1979
6. I Lied, 2021 Artist: Alex Donis. I Lied is the culmination of an unfinished work that began in the mid-1990s after completing a single lithography poster of the same image. The edition depicts the Virgin Mary in her iconic contemplative stare and delicate hand gestures but with the words, I Lied subtly placed before the sacred heart. Through these simple words, the artist forces the viewer to see Mary beyond her divinity, but her humanness. A human with faults who perhaps may have lied to protect her loved ones, or to hide a secret or a painful truth. However, the criticism here heavily lies on the religious institutions who through the prevalent imagery, authority, and doctrine, have exploited and harmed many with minimal accountability. Part of the exhibit "At the Heart of It: LGBT Representation at Self Help Graphics", curated by Ruben Esparza.
7. Church leaders at the March on Washinton, 1987
8. Kenneth Anger, undated
9. Letter from Marie Corelli to unknown recipient, undated
10. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, circa 1954
11. Concern magazine, Vol. 1, Nr. 1, 1966
12. The Prodigal, Vol. II, No. 20, May 21, 1971
13. Every 10th Jesus is a Queer, circa 1990
14. Holy Homophobia!, 1990
15. Sister Karen Boccalero, circa 1990