Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
In the fall, my group partner and I conducted research for Outright Books, a lesbian and gay bookstore that operated in Virginia Beach in the 90s. We picked this site because for many LGBTQIA+ people, a bookstore was a way for them to explore themselves in literature when most mainstream literature predominantly focused on heteronormative identities. Our archival research relied heavily on Our Own Community Press, Norfolk’s gay newspaper that ran from 1976 - 1998, and prompted an oral history interview with the owner of Outright Books, Earl Jones. This research, completed for a class-based service-learning project, was presented to the local queer community for the 2020 Queer Walking Tour of Norfolk, a project that uncovers Norfolk’s historic queer history. This experience impacted us because we were able to give back to a community during a vulnerable time, an opportunity that our previous classes did not allow. It showed us how resilient we are during a pandemic to conduct original service-learning research. We would tell other Old Dominion University students that despite the initial frustration of engaging in original archival research, it is rewarding to put together what you find and piece them to tell important, previously unacknowledged stories.
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Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Cathleen Rhodes
College Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Session Title
Interdisciplinary Research #4
Location
Zoom Room V
Start Date
3-20-2021 12:00 PM
End Date
3-20-2021 12:55 PM
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Reading Between the Lines: Outright Books, Virginia Beach’s Lesbian and Gay Bookstore
Zoom Room V
In the fall, my group partner and I conducted research for Outright Books, a lesbian and gay bookstore that operated in Virginia Beach in the 90s. We picked this site because for many LGBTQIA+ people, a bookstore was a way for them to explore themselves in literature when most mainstream literature predominantly focused on heteronormative identities. Our archival research relied heavily on Our Own Community Press, Norfolk’s gay newspaper that ran from 1976 - 1998, and prompted an oral history interview with the owner of Outright Books, Earl Jones. This research, completed for a class-based service-learning project, was presented to the local queer community for the 2020 Queer Walking Tour of Norfolk, a project that uncovers Norfolk’s historic queer history. This experience impacted us because we were able to give back to a community during a vulnerable time, an opportunity that our previous classes did not allow. It showed us how resilient we are during a pandemic to conduct original service-learning research. We would tell other Old Dominion University students that despite the initial frustration of engaging in original archival research, it is rewarding to put together what you find and piece them to tell important, previously unacknowledged stories.