When working on this project, I kept imagining the women that responded to the 1982 SCLA survey walking the same paths and living and working in the same places that I inhabit today. I wanted to create a visual representation of the generations of queerness that exists on Smith’s campus. Although there were no pictures of the Lesbian Alliance in 1982, I was able to find pictures of LA picnics in 1986 and the radical debutante ball the LA held in 1993. I juxtaposed these images with images of me and my LGBTQ friends today in the same spaces on campus. Although the buildings, landscapes, and people have changed, Smith has remained a place where queer people can gather together and celebrate their gender and sexuality. I hope these photographs reflect that. 1
- I want to note that we can not assume, and I am not making an argument about, the sexual or gender identity of any of the people in the historic photographs. If you or any of your loved ones are in these photos and want them taken down, please reach out to me through this form and I’d be happy to remove them. ↩
- Catherine Hooper Memorabilia Book,
Class of 1911 Records, RG 80.02 Classes,Smith College Archives. ↩ - All other pictures: Photographs Folder, CA-MS-00112, Box 3016.1., Series IV, Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Alliance Records, Smith College Archives, https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/4/resources/16/collection_organization ↩