This exhibition is a digital edition of the physical exhibit “Queer Perspectives: LGBTQ+ History in the Archives, 1968-2020” which was displayed in the Burling Library Gallery during the 2025-2026 academic year. The exhibit materials cover documented LGBTQ+ history at Grinnell College from shortly before the Stonewall uprising until the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which were pivotal and transformative moments for the queer community and campus life. This exhibit was curated by Morgan Smith, Class of 2026 as part of work as a Special Collections and Archives Student Assistant in the Fall of 2024, and expanded into a digital collection for a Mentored Advanced Project under Dr. Sarah Purcell and Dr. Jordan Reznick in the Spring of 2026. It is my hope that this project will spread awareness of local LGBTQ+ history and foster future research by expanding access to relevant primary source materials and making an initial entry into the scholarly record.
The dates that make up the boundaries for this exhibit’s focus directly evolved from the availability of primary sources, and is a clear example of how Grinnell College’s LGBTQ+ history mirrors broader historical developments. The earliest document focusing on queer life at Grinnell College in this exhibit appears in 1968, in the underground student magazine, the Pterodactyl. The document is a poem entitled “Lavender City,” which makes potential reference to homosexual acts and uses the term “Lavender” as coded language for gay men and lesbians. This poem was followed up in later editions of the Pterodactyl and its predecessor, the High and Mighty with essays interrogating the role of sexuality and gender in radical political movements and student life. As a direct response to the radical content that these magazines published, they faced censorship and struggled to find printers willing to produce their work. It’s these connections to broader political movements and LGBTQ+ history that makes local Grinnell history an excellent location for exploring queer history through place and microhistorical narratives.
To this end, the final section of this exhibit is devoted to materials related to broader queer history that reside in the Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives. All representing significant elements of LGBTQ+ history in the United States, they represent a fantastic resource for students and other researchers looking into explore queer history while they’re at Grinnell.
The final charge for anyone exploring this exhibit is to make their own mark on history: conduct research, preserve documents and artifacts from your favorite student organization, or consider donating something from your time at Grinnell College to Special Collections and Archives.