Private Lives Become Public Record

San Fran Gays Create Historic Library Collection

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Dozens of so-called sexual deviants cataloged their lives for one of San Francisco’s public libraries yesterday.

In an effort to chronicle queer American history, Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library archivist Susan Goldstein asked gays, lesbians and trans folk to contribute their own personal photos, which will become part of the library’s permanent collection.

Of her mission, Goldstein says,

We’re getting the photos, and we’re getting the history,” said city archivist Susan Goldstein. “We’re hearing: ‘This is my family. They didn’t talk to me because I was gay’; ‘This is when I was in the military’; ‘This is when I came to San Francisco.’ It’s a great cross section.

Not to be confused with a cross-dressing session, of course.

Activist Felizia Elizondo (pictured) submitted pictures of herself from her boyhood days, declaring, “I’m a transsexual woman who had surgery in 1974 to go from male to female. I’m here because I’m a pioneer, a legend and a diva.”

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