Lavender Menace, The White House Studio Project
Curated by Maddie Alexander
Artists: Adrienne Crossman, Maximilian Suillerot, Charlie “Scratchpeppper” McQuaide, Faith, Jesse King.
The White House Studio Project, Toronto, ON
May 17-25, 2018.
At a National Organization for Women (NOW) meeting in 1969, author, activist, founder and president of NOW Betty Friedan stated that “outspoken lesbians” had become a “threat to the feminist movement.” Friedan claimed that their presence “distracted from the ultimate goal of gaining equality for women,” and labeled them a “lavender menace." Nearly 50 years later, this rhetoric of exclusion as a means for assimilation still remains present. Being too loud, too radical, or non-commodifiable deems you a potential threat. Within this exhibition, these five artists explore varying intersections of queerness which are continually erased, overlooked, or silenced in order to keep queerness palatable for the masses.
Photos by Nathaniel Addison