Queer & Quirky: OBJECTifying Ourselves

Image of Castro Village Tee-shirt

Some of the artifacts in the Hormel Center may seem silly, but they demonstrate the relationship of queer life to dominant American culture. A rare 1698 broadside speaks to the long history of homosexual persecution.  A Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence reliquary of ashes from the burned down Barracks, a towel from Dave's Baths and a mug from Artemis Cafe memorialize San Francisco's queer geography. Gay Monopoly and Gay Trivia speak to the desire to put a queer stamp on the popular games, while a Gay Bob doll playfully asserts his presence in the closet of toys, as does the Gay Pride jigsaw puzzle. Queer Beer acknowledges the purchasing power of LGBTQI consumers, with T-shirts, matchbooks, and buttons adding to the Hormel Center's growing holdings of realia, or three-dimensional objects. Please help us build our collection!