Primary Source Set: Jewish LGBTQ Voices and activism
Our “Voices and Activism” primary source sets highlight personal stories and diverse activism within the LGBTQ community. They explore topics including the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality; building solidarity within the queer community; and the need to preserve and teach LGBTQ history related to BIPOC and other historically marginalized communities. The sources selected here document the lives of Jewish queer people, with a focus on Northern California.
In the sources, which range from newspaper articles and ephemera to photographs and audio recordings, you’ll find documentation of Jewish LGBTQ community groups and stories of individuals navigating their intersecting identities as queer Jewish people. For instance, you can read articles from the Bay Area Reporter related to Sha’ar Zahav, a pioneering LGBTQ synagogue founded in San Francisco in 1977. You can browse personal photographs, like those from Cora Latz and Etta Perkins, who committed to each other in a formal ceremony in 1973 and renewed their vows in 1998 as retirees in the Jewish Home for the Aged. Explore the campy fun of groups like the Kinsey Sicks, a drag a cappella group whose performances integrated queer life, Jewish identity, pop culture, and political satire. Browse material related to individuals, like Harvey Milk, a seminal figure in queer history who was shaped by his Jewish identity and spoke out against faith-based homophobia, or Sadie, Sadie the Rabbi Lady, a Jewish drag queen and founding member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. All of the sources document a unique story; click through the images below to access material and learn more.
The Jewish Gaily Forward, News Magazine of Sha’ar Zahav, September 1977.
Selected Source Set
Additional Resources and information
Browse GLBT Historical Society archival collections related to Jewish history.
Jewish Feminist Conference audiotapes. JFC was a two-part conference held in 1983 in Berkeley, California. The tapes include recordings of conference panels and talks.
The Digital Transgender Archive is an online hub for transgender historical content. Sample searches: “Judaism” “Jews”" “Jewish LGBTQ+ people” “Sha’ar Zahav”.
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley is one of the preeminent Jewish collections in the world.
Sha’ar Zahav maintains their own archives. Learn more by visiting shaarzahav.org.
You can further support our work to preserve and share Jewish LGBTQ history by adopting the Sadie, Sadie the Rabbi Lady collection.
Contact reference@glbthistory.org for research questions or information about reproductions and permissions.
These primary source sets are just a small sampling of our digitized materials. Additional resources are available in our digital collections. Our extensive archival holdings are searchable through our catalog.
This source set was supported by the Jewish Pride Fund, a program of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.
