A person wearing a colorful shawl and loose pants stands on stage, hand on chest, with a surprised expression. The background shows the lit-up partial text “BLUDIE K*” on a tiled wall.

Prep School: Sex Variants of 1941

Sex Variants of 1941 – A Study of Homosexual Patterns is inspired by a “medical study” of the same year which attempted to analyze and medicalize queer sexuality. The Civilians, a NYC based theater company, produces works which examine our complex social and political realities. For this particular performance, they have recruited actors to play out the many stories in the depression-era study through monologue, song, and illustrations from the original case studies, which are radically honest and elaborately detailed. The Civilians creatively paint a vivid picture of queer life of the era that has been repressed from the mainstream.

RELATED EVENTS
  • Thu Nov 21 – Sun Nov 24, 2024

Sex Variants of 1941 – A Study of Homosexual Patterns

  • Skirball Presents
  • Theater
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Omar Fattal, MD, MPH on Advancing LGBTQ Health and Rights in Lebanon

By engaging with both the healthcare sector and the general public, LebMASH fosters a more compassionate and informed society.

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Ten women in flapper-style dresses stand in a line, posing with hands on each other’s waists, in front of an ornate stone wall with a large arched doorway. The setting appears to be a grand hall or castle interior.

GET INTO IT

In their latest venture, The Civilians mine an extraordinary archive to reveal the intimate lives of Depression-era queers.

A song by Michael Friedman inspired by the case study of “Sydney H,” performed here by Dito Van Reigersberg and accompanied on the piano by Nathan Dame.

Grace McLean composed and performs “(not) Normal” based on Molly N.’s case study. This performance was a part of The Civilians’ Let Me Ascertain You ongoing cabaret series, performed at Joe’s Pub on February 3rd, 2014.

GET THEE TO THE LIBRARY


Recommended readings to get you in gear for the show.

  • Erik Eckhert, A Case for the Demedicalization of Queer Bodies (2016)
  • George Chauncey, A Gay World, Vibrant and Forgotten (1994)
  • Henry L. Minton, Community Empowerment and the Medicalization of Homosexuality: Constructing Sexual Identities in the 1930s (1996)
  • Julio Capó Jr., 7 Queers During and After Prohibition (2017)
  • Richard Weinmeyer, The Decriminalization of Sodomy in The United States (2014)

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HISTORY LESSONS

How Gay Culture Blossomed During the Roaring Twenties

“As the United States entered an era of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity in the years after World War I, cultural mores loosened and a new spirit of sexual freedom reigned.”

Sarah Pruit for The History Channel | June 10, 2019(opens in a new tab)
A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a blue dress dance with exaggerated, playful arm movements; bird legs appear above them.
EXTRA CREDIT

‘They’ll figure that I’m a queer’: UC Berkeley student brings to light stories of LGBTQ+ Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII

“In his Library Prize-winning project, ‘Erased: An Exploration of Queer Japanese Americans’ Experience During the Internment Period,’ Gottschalk provides a sensitive, nuanced reading of firsthand accounts, revealing clues into the presence of LGBTQ+ prisoners in the concentration camps.”

Tor Haugan for UC Berkeley Library | February 19, 2024(opens in a new tab)
Black ink sketch of people carrying a large object near a gate, with a single figure in the foreground. Buildings and mountains appear in the background under a cloudy sky.