Coming out is a difficult process – it changes not only your own life, but also defies the unspoken expectations of those around you; the assumptions that bind many people to the comfort of a hetero-normative existence. This alone can be a strong tide to swim against.
Reaching out to a peer group or a like-minded community is often the way that individuals can get over the disheartening feeling of being ‘the only one’ in their situation. Often for individuals just coming out of the closet, exposure to anything queer is a shock to the system, but a necessary first step toward a colourful life they can finally call their own.
But what do you do when the community is so hidden that you can’t find it, even if you wanted to? What if you live in a town where the fags feel compelled to live in hiding and the dykes really do stay home with their cats. Alberta is one place that consistently finds itself at least a decade behind more liberal providences, creating a very different experience for those of us growing up and coming out. A protester at a Vancouver or Toronto Pride Parade would be ridiculed for their audacity, but a similar situation here in Alberta raises doubts of us ever being accepted.
Something that many people in the larger main stream community fail to realize is that we have always been here and we will always be here. Up until now, however, there has been little evidence of our struggle besides word of mouth among community members, and isolated legal battles captured in local papers. Our roots are much deeper than that, and sadly it doesn’t show.
That’s why the recently rebranded Queers on Campus (formerly GLASS) is taking steps to ensure that our LGBT history is not only written down but made accessible to those who can take comfort in knowing that our existence isn’t so shallow.
It is an effort headed by Jasmine Ing, co-chair of Queers on Campus (QC), and funded by the Millennium Grant Project. QC is aiming to have a written booklet and web site dedicated to Calgary’s queer history.
The Calgary Queer History Archive Project will gather information surrounding the community in Calgary as far back as information becomes available from community members and media sources.
Volunteers are actively seeking out prominent members of the community for interviews, to put to paper the struggles and triumphs of local people who helped build the community. The callout is also going to the greater community for other information and memorabilia.
”We’re looking for interviews of course, and newspaper clippings, and things like that for either donation to the archive or the opportunity to scan the information and add to the archive,” says Ing.
People who are interested in volunteering for the project be it in man hours to put all the information together, or sharing their stories and experiences are welcome to contact QC via email. Anonymous submissions are of course welcome.
The project is due to be completed at this time by April 2009, with submissions due for processing by November 1st, 2008.
Queers on Campus, a group that once primarily served the campus community, is taking a first step into the greater community with this project; the name change introduces more inclusively and new life.
The annual Gender Bender this past year was a smashing success, and the fall and winter speed dating implemented this past year has helped the group grow and gain visibility. Volunteers are always welcome any time of the year to assist with events. The next year of QC launches with the start of the Fall semester, and they will be back planning the coming year, starting with a little history lesson.
For anyone interested in volunteering with the archive project, please use the contact information below for inquiries.

Calgary Queer History Archive Project
calgaryqueerarchive@gmail.com

Queers on Campus (formerly GLASS)
glass@ucalgary.ca
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~glass