Lou Sullivan diary, 1967

Content Warning: This item contains homophobic language and potentially sensitive material related to sexual assault. Lou Sullivan's diary for 1967, detailing his life as a 16-year-old student at Catholic school, his relationships with family and boyfriends, his struggles to define his gender and sexuality, his anxiety about his intense fantasies, and his participation in the beatnik, hippie, and prog-rock scene surrounding the Avant Garde coffeehouse. Sullivan was continuing to alternate between a feminine and masculine presentation, and his intense crushes on male musicians were now focused on the local band the Velvet Whip, whose flirtation with gay and sadomasochistic imagery gave him an outlet for his fantasies. Sullivan experienced two major milestones this year: his first relationship with a man who was often assumed to be queer, and the loss of his Catholic faith. Louis Graydon Sullivan (1951-1991) was a gay trans man from Milwaukee, WI who lived much of his adult life in San Francisco. A diarist, amateur historian, and administrative assistant, Sullivan is best known for the detailed and thoughtful diary he kept from childhood until his death from AIDS at age 39.

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Item Information:

Identifier: jm214p62z
Collection: Lou Sullivan Collection
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
Creator(s): Sullivan, Lou
Date Created: 1967
Dates Covered: 1967
Genre: Diaries
Places: Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > City of Milwaukee > Milwaukee
Topic(s): Catholic Church
Diaries
Gay men
Gay youth
Music
Trans men
Transgender youth
Resource Type: Text
Analog Format: Diary
Digital Format: PDF file, 338.9 MB
Language: English
Rights: In copyright
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