Center Blog

On March 8, the Queer Nerds series of programs from the Center Speaker series presented “Queer Nerd Print Culture.” For this historical program, Ray Cha, editor of FAQNP: FAQNP’s A Queer Nerd Publication, dug into the Center Archive to find signs of the queer nerd in the pre- and early-Internet era.

Cha decided to research what the archive had because he’d come across an ad for “The Backroom BBS” while putting together FAQNP’s second issue, which focused on early computer and Internet culture. For those who don’t know, before the Internet existed as it does today, a BBS (a.k.a Bulletin Board Service) was one of the ways of making connections through the computer network. Of course, people still connect via computer today it’s just done through different—and more user friendly—formats.

In the archive Cha found many examples of LGBT people using the print medium to stay in touch.

Cha found several examples of queer nerds getting together, including:

• The Tri-State Gaylaixians, which met at the Center in the early 1990s, focused on gay and lesbian images in the comics.
• “Where No Gay Has Gone Before” was a letter writing campaign targeted at the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation to persuade them to add a gay character to the show to help commemorate the 25th anniversary of Trek.
• There were several examples from the Girth and Mirth Social Club, which had the Fat Apple Review and The Spare Tire. Each of the publications celebrated “wide pride.”
• In 1996 the Lords of Leather Ball XIII had a Star Trek: TNG theme and featured an image of the U.S.S. Enterprise on its flyer.

Before Google and Yahoo, the primary way to find things was through print directories. A 1970 edition of The Gay Persons Guide to England listed organization, services, products, radio shows and more. From 1985 there was the Directory of Homosexual Organizations and Publications, which had among its listings the nerd oriented Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Science Organization and Gays at MIT. More recently there was the 1991 Lesbian and Gay Community Phone Book, which covered New York City. Perhaps the best title of all is 1971’s The Gay Insider: A Hunter’s Guide to New York City and Thesaurus of Phallic Lore.

Even as late as 2001, there was Cybersocket, which promised 2,500 of the best gay sites. Cybersocket still exists today, but rather than a directory of sites it carries mostly adult ads and a few articles.

“Things were much harder to find in the time before Google,” said Cha. “Now we have so much information available that we have to filter what we get. These directories are good historical documents as on what was happening in gay life in a particular time and place.”

One of the primary uses of computer technology revolves around meeting people, which was one of the things the Backroom BBS was for. In the time before sites like Craigslist, ManHunt and Grindr there were personals in print publications.  QQ Magazine had personals that offered “a good look back for how people would look for other people,” said Cha.

Among the ads he pointed out were one from “CB Freak,” who was looking for information on how to find other interested CBers, as well as a white engineer who was looking to get together with a black engineer.

Today it’s easy to find groups of interest through a site like MeetUp. Before that, flyers and zines were the primary way to find out what groups were meeting and when.

There are many examples of pre-Internet publishing too. Today a lot of activism takes places on websites and on Facebook. However, there is a strong history of activist publications. The 1965 publication The Ladder was directed at lesbians and included an article titled “Does Research into Homosexuality Matter.” Another lesbian publication shown was Tribad: A Lesbian Separatist Newsjournal, which carried the warning that it was to be sold and read by lesbians only.

The AIDS crisis led to many publications, including the Diseased Pariah, which is considered the first AIDS publication that didn’t treat those infected as victims. Cha said this was quite radical at the time. There were only 11 issues, however, before it folded because its founder passed away.

The final installment of the Queer Nerds series is coming up on Thursday, May 12 at 7pm with “A Queer Nerd Travel Guide.” Queer travel is the topic of the third issue of FAQNP, which will debut at the event. There will be readings from the issue as well as the opportunity to talk with the creative team behind the magazine.

Written by Jeff Adams