Boulder Gay Liberation collection

Collection

Identifier: COU:193

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of materials collected by University of Colorado Boulder alumn, Stanley Hohnholz including material from the Boulder Gay Liberation, of which he was a member. These material include newspaper clippings from Boulder/Denver area, pamphlets, fliers and posters from dances, events, and parties held by the Boulder Gay Liberation including dances at Hidden Valley Ranch, meetings at Coffeehouse 5, and t-shirts. It also includes local publications such as issues of The Boulder Gay Record from 1971-1977. Other material from Boulder LGBTQ groups include several publications. These include issues of The Melting Pot, a newsletter from the Gay, Lesbian and Friends in Boulder from 1987-1988; issues of Queer Times, the Boulder County journal from the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual community, from February-March 1993, one issue of The Branch from 1977, and two issues of the LGB Alumni news, a newsletter from CU Boulder, from Fall 1994 and Spring 1995.

There are also issues from several national publications related to the LGBTQ community from the late 20th century, including Christopher Street (a national gay magazine published in New York, issues #1-231), RFD (an underground magazine celebrating queer diversity and alternative lifestyles with a focus on rural and country life within LGBTQ community), The Fag Rag, and Out magazine.

This collection contains sensitive and graphic material that may be upsetting or offensive. Many of the publications and newsletters discuss sex and have sexually explicit imagery. One publication with a slur in the title, Fag Rag, discusses and/or contains photographs or illustrations of illegal activities such as bestiality, incest, and pedophilia. Please note that this is the original title of that journal, and it does not reflect the views or values of the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. Despite the sensitive nature of these materials, Rare and Distinctive Collections has retained these publications as a reflection of the historical and cultural context in which they were created. All references to illegal activities are not intended to be representative of the queer community as a whole.

Dates

Creation: 1969 - 1995

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use. The publication titled Fag Rag is available to researchers over the age of 18. Researchers under the age of 18 may not access materials under that title due to the discussion, illustration, and photographs of illegal activities described in the processing information notes. Please contact rad@colorado.edu with questions.

Boxes 4-18 were transferred to Rare Books for cataloging in 2021. They can be found and requested by them through rad@colorado.edu

Copyright Statement

The University Libraries may not own the copyright to all materials in this collection. Researchers are responsible for contacting the copyright holder(s) for this material and obtaining permission to publish or broadcast. The University Libraries will not grant permission to publish or broadcast this material and are not responsible for copyright violations resulting from such use.

Biographical / Historical

The Boulder Gay Liberation Front was founded in November of 1970 as a student group at CU Boulder after an article in a Boulder newspaper stated the need for a gay liberation movement. By the fall of 1972, the organization was a UCSU student group, receiving university funding and opening an office in the UMC. The Boulder Gay Liberation said that their primary function was to serve as a resource to Boulder’s gay community, providing social spaces, a library on gay topics, counseling services, political activity, and housing guides among other things. They hosted monthly dances at Hidden Valley Ranch which drew hundreds of people as well as running a coffeehouse at the Wesley Center. They also published a newsletter under multiple names including the Boulder Gay Record and the Gayly Planet. It the first known LGBTQ club in Boulder's history and formed concurrently with the first gay marches occurring nationally in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They were involved in Boulder politics both on campus and off, working with politicians and organizing protests/demonstrations.

The collection was created by Stanley Hohnholz, a Boulder native, who was a member of the organization and served on the Steering committee. He graduated from CU Boulder in 1976 and worked in the CU Bookstore until 2002, when he retired and moved to Vancouver.

Extent

8.5 linear feet (14 standard boxes, 2 oversized boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Boulder Gay Liberation Front was founded in 1970 as a student group at CU Boulder. The collection consists of materials collected by Stanley Hohnholz, University of Colorado Boulder alumn, including newspaper clippings, local and national gay publications, fliers and posters, and t-shirts some of which relate to activities held by the Boulder Gay Liberation.

Arrangement

This collection has four series which are Series 1: Newspaper clippings 1969-1994, Series 2: Boulder Gay Liberation records, Series 3: Boulder gay community publications, and Series 4: Gay publications.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was given by Stanley Hohnholz in 2007.

Processing Information

Emily Howard, a CU student studying History and LGBT Studies, arranged this collection. Emily preserved original order where it was possible, but moved some material that fit better under other groupings and organized the folders chronologically. The creator rarely provided folder titles, so Emily assigned folder titles based on the folder contents. The series titles that Emily wrote reflect the source and/or type of material within the series.

Boxes 4-18 were transferred to Rare Books for cataloging in 2021. They can be found and requested by them through rad@colorado.edu

This collection contains sensitive and graphic material that may be upsetting or offensive. Many of the publications and newsletters discuss sex and have sexually explicit imagery. One publication with a slur in the title, Fag Rag, discusses and/or contains photographs or illustrations of illegal activities such as bestiality, incest, and pedophilia. Please note that this is the original title of that journal, and it does not reflect the views or values of the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. Despite the sensitive nature of these materials, Rare and Distinctive Collections has retained these publications as a reflection of the historical and cultural context in which they were created. All references to illegal activities are not intended to be representative of the queer community as a whole.