Panel Discussion
What Is a Bear? Exploring and Defining a Gay Male Subculture
Wednesday, July 24
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
What defines a "bear" in gay culture? The creation of a safe space for men whose bodies are larger, hairier or older has roots in the leather and biker cultures that emerged after World War II. In the following decades, a bear culture developed as clubs, bars and a media industry were created to promote an accepting and eroticized view of male bodies outside the conventional gay standard of beauty.
Today's bear culture has an endless list of labels for bodies and styles, from cub and otter to the traditional bear, wolf, black bear and panda. This panel discussion will explore what it has meant to be a bear in the past, how the self-image and media images of bears have changed over time, and how bears are creating a community of inclusion in San Francisco today. Panelists will include Mark Katzenberger, Harry Lit, Desmond Miller, Nick Sabatasso and Dan Taylor. Cosponsored by Bears of San Francisco (BOSF).
Admission: $5.00 (general); $4.00 (BOSF members); $3.00 (California students); free for GLBT Historical Society members.
History Talk
From Beatniks to Gay Liberation: Allen Ginsberg and Queer San Francisco
Thursday, August 15
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
What was the world that Allen Ginsberg inhabited in San Francisco in the 1950s? How did the then-lively gay scene in the North Beach neighborhood interact with the rest of the city? And what happened to that scene between Ginsberg's controversial public reading of "Howl" at the Six Gallery in 1955 and the dawn of the era of gay liberation?
By reading passages from biographies and memoirs of Ginsberg, Jack Spicer, Sam Steward, James Broughton and José Sarria, as well historical studies, Michael Flanagan will recreate a vibrant world that has disappeared and will tell the story of how bohemian and beat San Francisco blended -- and didn't blend -- into one another. Flanagan is a reference librarian, writer and independent scholar who lives in San Francisco. His talk is cosponsored by the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
Admission: $5.00 (general); $3.00 (California students); free for GLBT Historical Society members.
Panel Discussion
March on Washington: 50 Years Later -- Where Are We Now?
Wednesday, August 21
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition presents a panel discussion on civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, a gay man who was a prominent strategist for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Participants also will look at the journey of the African American community over the past half-century and where its stands in the new high-tech economy -- and will address the issues of queer economic status and demographics of today. Founded in 2006, the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition works to end racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia in all their manifestations.
Admission: $5.00 (general); $3.00 (California students); free for GLBT Historical Society members.
