Celebrate Pride Month with UK Libraries’ LGBTQ* Resources
By Robby Hardesty
UK
June is Pride Month, and while we’re sad we can’t tug William T. Young Library downtown to join the Lexington Pride Festival, we’re thrilled to be able to share important scholarly and practical resources supporting students, teachers, researchers, and community members across the Commonwealth.
Whether you’re seeking primary source materials that document the history and lived experiences of LGBTQ* individuals and communities, looking for cutting edge scholarship on gender and sexuality, or hoping to find guides and tools for self-discovery and belonging, UK Libraries has you covered.
Below, find several of our most commonly used resources and collections supporting teaching, research, and learning across the vast fields of gender and sexuality studies – as well as our very own guide to the resources and services that help Central Kentuckians build strong and dynamic communities, healthy and confident individuals, and informed and affirming allies.
OutSouth: LGBTQ+ Oral History Project
Produced through a partnership between the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and UK’s Office of LGBTQ* Resources, the OutSouth: LGBTQ+ Oral History Project documents the lives of Southern LGBTQ+ individuals who have fostered and grown LGBTQ+ communities locally, regionally, and nationally. These 55 interviews share stories that span decades of LGBTQ+ history, from trailblazing community members and the AIDS epidemic to contemporary activism and the enshrinement of legal rights. They also capture deeply personal moments of coming out to friends and family, finding the warmth of community and safe spaces, falling in love, and persevering through the difficult journey from self-discovery to self-acceptance and self-realization.
OutSouth is one of several dozen oral history projects that touch on gender and sexuality.
GenderWatch Database
With archival materials dating back to 1970, GenderWatch provides authoritative historical and current perspectives on the evolution of gender roles, gender identities, and human sexuality. The database supports a unique interdisciplinary approach to research in LGBTQ* studies, family studies, and gender studies, with particularly strong coverage of the women’s movement, the transgender community, femininity, masculinity, and gender equity.
Researchers can browse hundreds of thousands of articles covering the intersection of gender and sexuality with subjects ranging from religion and societal roles to eating disorders, daycare, and the workplace.
The database contains full text articles for hundreds of historically significant and leading contemporary LGBTQ* journals, magazines, and regional newspapers, including The Advocate, Gay Parent Magazine, Girlfriends, James White Review, ISNA News, Ladder, Lesbian Tide, New York Blade, ONE, Tangents, and many more.
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies
Offering a queer perspective on a wide variety of issues touching on sex and sexuality, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies provides a forum for interdisciplinary scholarly work in areas as diverse as law, science studies, religion, political science, and literary studies.
In an effort to achieve the widest possible historical, geographic, and cultural scope, GLQ seeks out new research that explores historical periods before the twentieth century; non-Anglophone cultures; and the experience of those who have been marginalized by race, ethnicity, age, social class, body morphology, or sexual practice.
The journal also features "The GLQ Archive," a special section highlighting previously unpublished or unavailable primary source materials for use in work in lesbian and gay studies.
Central Kentucky LGBTQIA+ Resource Guide
UK Libraries’ Central Kentucky LGBTQIA+ Resource Guide compiles a vast amount of information on resources and services supporting LBGTQIA+ individuals, communities, and allies. While many organizations and services referenced in the guide are local to Central Kentucky, the guide also includes information on national advocacy groups, organizations, and publications.
Users can find detailed descriptions, links, and contact information for:
- Resources for students at the high school and college levels, including student groups, scholarship funds, advocacy groups, and study abroad guides
- Health and wellness resources, hotlines, online support groups, and medical care resources, including HIV/AIDS care
- Information on individual and family counseling and housing services
- Advocacy organizations
- Scholarly publications, fiction and nonfiction books, and podcast series
- Open and affirming places of worship
Other UK Libraries-authored LGBTQ* guides include the Lesbian Studies Research Guide, an exhaustive resource covering all facets of the interdisciplinary field of Lesbian Studies. The guide includes information about advocacy organizations; books, journals, and databases; art, music, and film; blogs, comic books, and cartoons; news sources; academic programs; grants; oral histories and special collections; and politics and social movements.