In 2022, LET’S proudly offered a grant to JQT for their work on the BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History. In May, LET’S was honored to be invited to the official launch of the online exhibit of the BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project. LET’S is so excited to see this project go live.
Visit JQT’s website to see their interactive timeline documenting 100 years of BC’s Jewish Queer & Trans history.
JQT’s BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History is the first project of its kind in the province. The Dorot Jewish Division at the New York Public Library shared that this project is the one of the largest oral history collections on the Jewish LGBTQ+ topic worldwide.
“Included on JQT’s website are curatorial remarks that speak to the importance of this project: JQT Vancouver could not have existed without the work and lived experiences of the people featured in the BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project, as well as the work of many others who have not been featured. The sooner the weight of queerness can be lifted off a child’s shoulders and replaced with the culture of queerness, the easier it may be for that person to develop their own sense of self in a loving and accepting way. By telling the story of Max, who cruised synagogues in the early to mid-20th century, the stories of the feminist lesbian seders, queer Jewish weddings and transition ceremonies, and the presence of queer Jewish organizations and classes, we are sharing a queer and/or trans Jewish culture that has existed in British Columbia for almost a century. It often doesn’t take much to make someone who feels alone feel less alone.
By telling queer and/or trans Jewish stories, we hope to share with people and their families (biological and chosen) who are struggling with and/or celebrating their intersectional identities that there is a rich Jewish and queer and/or trans culture in BC. We hope that people feel seen by reading histories that reflect multiple aspects of their identities.
These stories are stories of queer AND Jewish pride. We honor the struggle of the elders who fought to make queer and/or trans bodies legal in public and Jewish spaces. We celebrate people who have changed how we see the possibilities of our identities and show the progress that has yet to be accomplished. We acknowledge the stories that have yet to be told and the identities that are not represented by virtue of the limits of this project. We hope that the stories we have recorded are only the beginning and that the voices herein allow people to feel represented and inspire them to share their stories.”
Also included on their website is a quote about what this type of representation means: “As a 23 year old queer Jew in Chilliwack… I have never had representation of queer Jews from the generation interviewed in your project, and I really can’t put into words how much that means to me and how appreciative I am of this project and everyone’s participation.” Martha Gumprich