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An Army of Lovers

Lesbian, Bisexual, Two Spirit, and Queer Women in the 1970s and 80s

In this, the 50th anniversary year of the release of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, we honour the lives of all same-sex attracted women who confronted homophobia, bi-phobia, and trans-phobia not only in mainstream society, but also in the women's movement itself. An Army of Lovers takes its name from Rita Mae Brown’s 1974 poem "Sappho’s Reply." Brown is as well known for her writing as she was for her role in "Lavender Menace," a group that formed to protest the exclusion of lesbians and lesbian issues from the feminist movement at the Second Congress to Unite Women in New York City on May 1, 1970.

Based primarily on oral interviews undertaken by students at Simon Fraser University, An Army of Lovers barely scratches the surface of the many hundreds of organizations formed, events held, and experiences had during this vibrant era. We hope the exhibit galvanizes you to carry on in the struggle for social justice for all and inspires you to join us in our effort to document the rich and diverse experiences of same-sex attracted women.

Cyndia Cole

Cyndia Cole came to Canada as a war resister during the Vietnam War. While a student at Simon Fraser University, she worked closely with women's studies founder Maggie Benston. Cyndia moved to Commercial Drive in 1976 when lesbians were just beginning to claim it as Amazon Land. She remembers...

Nancy Pollak

Nancy Pollak is a socialist feminist who worked with Press Gang, a feminist printing and publishing collective in Vancouver, British Columbia, between 1974 and 2002. She also worked with Kinesis newspaper and acted up mightily with the feminist theatre group, Acting Up. She is currently...

Nora Randall

Born in the United States, Nora Randall immigrated to Canada during the Vietnam War. She edited Vancouver’s Pedastal, a women’s liberation newspaper that was reorganized briefly in 1975 as a lesbian feminist paper. Founder of the theatre group Random Acts, she wrote the parody "Fairy...

Nila Gupta

A Toronto-based biracial, South Asian author, artist, activist, and parent, Nila Gupta has worked tirelessly to create spaces that promote lesbian visibility and foster community among lesbians of colour. She started working at the feminist journal Fireweed in 1981 when it launched its...

Laurel Kimbley-Stone

When Laurel Kimbley-Stone attended the 1981 Lesbian Conference, she had been out for 16 years. Bisexual, working-class, and mother of a child whose father was Cree, she discovered that lesbian feminists weren't interested in her experience with women who attended the clubs and bars, or the "...

Marsha Ablowitz

Born and raised in Vancouver, Marsha Ablowitz earned a Master of Social Work degree at the University of British Columbia. Throughout the 1970s and 80s she started several support groups and organizations in the Lower Mainland including the Western Canada Feminist Counselling Association, and...

Beth E. Brant

Beth E. Brant (Degonwadonti) (Mohawk,1941-2015) was one of the first lesbian-identifying Indigenous writers on Turtle Island. Her work revolves around themes of Indigeneity, sexuality, racism, and colonialism. She edited A Gathering of Spirit: A Collection by North American Indian Women (1988),...

Pat Hogan

Born in the United States, Pat Hogan is a long-time Vancouver resident and mother. When alesbian couple was kicked out of Joe's Café for kissing each other, she opened Josephine's. Pat also founded Sounds & Furies Productions, which produces feminist music and hosts dances, retreats, and...

Betsy Spaulding

Betsy Spaulding was born in Toronto. In 1972, she came out, joined the Guelph Women's Centre, the Waterloo Rape Distress Centre and, after moving to Vancouver in 1976, Vancouver Rape Relief. Betsy also participated in Lesbians Against the Right and the anti-nuclear and pro-choice movements. She...

Dorothy Riddle

As a child Dorothy Riddle travelled all around the world with her missionary parents. As a young woman she experienced plenty of sexism and homophobia: first as a gifted student, then as a female university student, and later when she came out. Dorothy used her knowledge as a clinical...

Esther Shannon

Esther Shannon was born in Cape Breton and has lived on the east and west coasts of Canada. She has made a substantial impact in women’s liberation, particularly through her activism and writing on Upstream and Kinesis. In 1976, she played a leading role in opening the Powell...

Ellen Woodsworth

Ellen Woodsworth is a lesbian feminist activist. In 1972 she co-founded and edited The Other Woman newspaper in Toronto, and in 1974 created CORA, the Women's Liberation Bookmobile with Judith Quinlan. In 1974, she also helped found the Toronto Wages for Housework Campaign, and in 1975...

barbara findlay

barbara findlay, Q.C. is one of Canada's most accomplished queer feminist lawyers. Forced incarceration in a mental health institution for being a lesbian turned her into a life-long activist. She committed her legal career to advancing the rights of marginalized people, and considers the ...

Mary-Woo Sims

Mary-Woo Sims immigrated from Hong Kong with her mother when she was 14 years old. When she came out in the late 1960s her father threatened to have her institutionalized. She threatened to never see him again. He backed down. After being denied a position because she was a woman, Mary became...

Christopher Moore

Born in 1953, Christopher Moore moved to Canada shortly after leaving home at age 17. Coming out into the lesbian feminist movement in the 1970s was not easy for a masculine-presenting trans person. Still, Christopher was a proud queer activist. In 2002 in Nelson, B.C., he established the peer...

Viola Thomas

When Viola Thomas of the Tk’emlúpste Secwépemc nation attended Northwest Community College in Terrace, B.C. in the 1980s, she began participating in monthly lesbian potlucks. Through her work at Theytus Press, Viola promoted Two Spirit Indigenous writers. A long-time activist for murdered and...

Nym Hughes

Nym Hughes met her first "out" lesbians at the Lesbian Resource Centre in Vancouver in the summerof 1972 and came out shortly thereafter. She spent the 70s doing lesbian rights activism in the women's movement and being a farmer on Amazon Acres. The 80s were occupied with facilitation work with...

Full Circle Coffeehouse

Full Circle Coffeehouse was a women-only coffeehouse that operated on Friday nights from 1974 to 1976 in the basement of the New School. It eventually moved to a storefront location at 7th Avenue and Main Street. According to co-owner Coral Arrand, Full Circle Coffehouse "was especially...