Storefront Manitoba's Playlist is a monthly curated list of films, podcasts, and other resources that aim to entertain, inspire, enrich, and advance critical discussion.
In honour of Pride Month, this playlist compiles stories that trace a labyrinthine path towards equity and liberation for the gay community. Featured is the Stonewall Inn, an instigating contested space in the history of gay rights. Other highlighted queer spaces include clubs, the new Canadian monument to the LGBTQ2+ community, and the first instance of gay & lesbian elder housing in the US. We investigate the origins of some of the associated iconography i.e. buttons, t-shirts, and the now-ubiquitous flag. This playlist celebrates contemporary LGBTQ2+ designers and activists who are changing the world as we know it, and commemorates their predecessors who challenged an even more unforgiving status-quo. Together they have generated a paradigm of queer opportunity that we honour this month, and every month.
A PLACE TO LIVE: THE STORY OF TRIANGLE SQUARE
Directed by Carolyn Coal
2008 | 80 Minutes
"A Place to Live" follows the journey of seven individuals as they attempt to secure a home in Triangle Square, the nation's first affordable housing facility for LGBT seniors. Since demand far exceeded the number of available units, a lottery system was established to select who would live in the complex. Not everyone will be chosen. "A Place to Live" is both a moving portrait of gay and lesbian seniors on the fringe of our community and the triumph of the opening of this historic building.
THUNDERHEAD ANNOUNCED AS WINNING ENTRY FOR LGBTQ2S+ NATIONAL MONUMENT
Canadian Heritage
2022 | 1 Minute
Hear more about the winning proposal for the national LGBTQ2S+ monument in Ottawa, submitted by a team full of Winnipeggers! The design was conceived by the Winnipeg-based team led by Liz Wreford, Peter Sampson and Taylor LaRocque of Public City, with artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, and Albert McLeod, Indigenous and Two-Spirited People subject-matter expert and advisor.
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REMEMBERING STONEWALL
99% Invisible
2016 | 26 Minutes
Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, there were few establishments that catered to members of the LGBTQ community. But the Stonewall Inn was a noted exception. The bar welcomed even the most marginalized members of the gay community. It was a favorite spot for drag queens, transgender people, lesbians, and more.
Early on the morning of Saturday, June 28, 1969, officers from the New York City Police Department’s vice squad pulled up in front the Stonewall Inn.
MISS CHIEF EAGLE TESTICKLE, KENT MONKMAN'S ALTER EGO
2020 | 2 Minutes
Kent Monkman tells the story of his alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, in an interview with the MET museum. “I created Miss Chief Eagle Testickle to offer an Indigenous perspective on the European settlers and to also present a very empowered point of view of Indigenous sexuality pre-contact. We had our own traditions of gender and sexuality that didn’t fit the male-female binary.”
WEARING HISTORY: A COLLECTION OF LGBTQ2+ BUTTONS AND T-SHIRTS
The Arquives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives
Though small, buttons and pins communicated pivotal concerns of the LGBTQ2+ community to the world. With the earliest item dating to 1977, the buttons in this collection speak to issues in human rights, health, and politics up to the 2010s. T-shirts are an important medium of expression for the LGBTQ2+ community; allowing subcultures to demonstrate what they stood for and expand their membership, and giving organizations the chance to raise awareness for issues like AIDS and homophobia. T-shirts and dresses also provided a simple but effective way for LGBTQ2+ to showcase their pride in themselves and their nonconformity.
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NIIZHO-MANIDOOG: A TWO-SPIRIT FASHION LOOKBOOK
By: Alya Ansari
2019
Niizho-Manidoog is an Anishinaabe word that refers to and honors those Indigenous people who embody the spirit of two genders. These individuals are said to have a “Two-Spirit” identity. The newest collection from the Indigenous designer honors this sacred space of nonconformity, diversity, and resistance.
