Women’s studies, gender, and sexuality

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Scope note(s)

  • SCA was founded in 1976 with a significant collection of materials related to women’s history and women’s studies as the cornerstone of the department. Acquired in 1967 by university librarian Doris Lewis from the National Council of Women of Canada, the donation included the Council’s library on the history of women in Canada. Present in these collections are the papers of individual women and women’s organizations, and reference files that support the study of women’s history in Canada from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. In general, the collections fall into the following broad categories: birth control and eugenics, broadcasting and journalism, domestic arts, education, medicine and science, organizations, politics, women’s rights and suffrage, and writers.

    SCA's ever-growing book and periodical collections have a wide historical and geographical focus, including works on the role and place of women in society from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Of note is the British Women's Periodicals Collection, which consists of some 35,000 issues of British women's magazines published from 1893 to 1977 that cover topics such as cooking, crafts, advice, fashion, and health, along with advertisements illustrating contemporary attitudes and concerns.

    In addition, SCA actively collects materials that support the study of gender diversity, sexuality, and social justice, including collections that document intersectional and/or racialized identities. Current collections include poems, plays, essays, and other works by John Herbert, a Canadian playwright and theatre director, best-known for his play, Fortune and Men’s Eyes, and the records of the Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity at the University of Waterloo, the longest-running queer and trans student organization in Canada. Additional collections include zines authored by and focused on queer, trans and Two-Spirit people, and a wide selection of paperback books featuring lesbian themes by authors such as Ann Bannon, Artemis Smith, and Randy Salem.

Source note(s)

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      Hierarchical terms

      Women’s studies, gender, and sexuality

        Equivalent terms

        Women’s studies, gender, and sexuality

          Associated terms

          Women’s studies, gender, and sexuality

            139 Archival description results for Women’s studies, gender, and sexuality

            139 results directly related Exclude narrower terms
            Elaine M. Catley fonds.
            SCA1-WA1 · Fonds · 1926-1975

            Correspondence, manuscripts and typescripts of poetry and prose, clippings of published work and reviews. Correspondents include Nellie McClung (2 letters), Laura Goodman Salverson (1 letter) and Charles G.D. Roberts (1 letter).

            Catley, Elaine Maud
            E. Cora Hind collection.
            SCA8-WA5 · Collection · 1926, 1945, [196-], 1973

            Consists of biographical information, two audio reels entitled "Between Ourselves", correspondence regarding purchase of same, and one autographed photograph.

            National Council of Women of Canada
            Dorothea Palmer collection.
            SCA31-WA17 · Collection · 1931-1937

            Collection consists of F.W. Wegenast's material relating to the trial of Dorothea Palmer. It contains correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts of court examinations, arguments used in court, research materials, documents, printed and published items, and clippings relating to the case Rex vs. Palmer.

            Wegenast, Franklin Wellington
            Donna Jean MacKinnon fonds.
            SCA394-GA459 · Fonds · [1950?]-2020

            Materials created or accumulated by Donna Jean MacKinnon during her professional life as a journalist. Includes articles written by MacKinnon in different news media and materials related to MacKinnon’s book Newsgirls : gutsy pioneers in Canada’s newsrooms (published in 2017), including research notes and interviews, drafts of the book in different phases, and records related to the publication of the book.

            MacKinnon, Donna Jean
            SCA14-WA8 · Fonds · [18--]-[19--]

            Two scrapbooks, the first compiled by Damaris Smith containing clippings, engravings, stamps and seals, obituaries and biographies of prominent suffragists, literary, political and social women, some British. The second, compiled by her daughter Gertrude, contains an article written by Damaris Smith entitled "Pioneer Wife". As well, it documents the history of the Smith family and contains photographs and a pencil sketch of the "Mountain Hall" homestead.

            Smith, Damaris Isabella
            SCA427-GA497 · Fonds · [ca. 1962]

            One item of correspondence addressed to Maryse Choisy by an unidentified sex worker, signed "a fan." The writer of the letter states that she has read Choisy's "Psychoanalysis of the Prostitute" and encourages her not to make the mistake of making generalizations about all sex workers. In specific, she points out that she does not consider her clients lovers and thinks of them as no more a customer than a waitress thinks of diners in a restaurant. She also states that she is engaged in sex work purely for the money. As well, the writer notes that she has a pimp and that they have a positive relationship, are married, and enjoy a healthy sex life. They met while she was already working as a sex worker, and he was already working as a pimp and had no desire to change each other's profession. She also notes that they did not sleep together until after they moved in together. The letter is ended by noting that they eventually would like to settle down, and that they are saving to open their own bar or liquor store one day.

            Consent card.
            SCA390-GA455-1 · Collection · ca. 1930

            One possibly satirical consent card, stating that the woman who fills the card in is giving her permission to engage in sexual acts with the man who has given her the card. It also grants the man indemnity under the Mann Act.

            Clare Clark fonds.
            SCA204-GA535 · Accession
            Part of Breithaupt Hewetson Clark collection.

            Fonds consists of material collected and maintained by Clare Clark. Included are records related to organizations and associations Clark worked with, as well as personal records related to family affairs and relationships.

            Of note are records related to the commemoration of Holy Ann Preston, including the acquisition of land and the installation of a memorial cross, as well as files maintained by Clark tied to the Canadian Association of Adult Education, the Canadian Council on Rural Development, and the Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada.

            Breithaupt Hewetson Clark family
            Claire Wallace fonds.
            SCA29-WA16 · Fonds · 1930-1962

            Fonds consists of materials created and accumulated by Claire Wallace. Includes scrapbooks which contain radio scripts, correspondence, clippings and other material relating to her career as a broadcaster and also to her travel bureau.

            Wallace, Claire
            Charette family collection
            SCA319-GA359 · Collection · [19--]

            Collection consists of a handwritten recipe book kept by members of the Charette family, primarily Helen Charette and Ann Lauzon. The book also includes pasted and set in recipes taken from magazines and newspapers. Many of the recipes are indicated as being from other women, and names include Mrs. Baker, Bertha, Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. McCollough, Mrs. Duchene, Mémé Langlois, Mrs. McKee, Mrs. Laramie, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. McClelland. All of the recipes are for food, excepting one which is a remedy for rheumatism. The Five Roses Cook Book is also included. The collection also includes personal passports of Ann Lauzon and Helen Lauzon.

            Charette family
            Catherine Taylor fonds.
            SCA13-WA7 · Fonds · 1899,1917-1967

            Fonds consists of material accumulated by Catherine Taylor throughout her career as a nurse. Includes correspondence, certificates, clippings, an autograph book, and other material. Correspondents include Viscountess Eleanor Sandhurst, wife of the Lord High Chamberlain of England and Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen, and Sir Thomas J. Lipton.

            Taylor, Catherine
            SCA267-GA288 · Fonds · 1910-1912

            Fonds consists of two letters patents for the Canadian Suffrage Association. One is dated October 20, 1910 and incorporates Suffrage Headquarters Limited and the other dated April 12, 1912, incorporating the Canadian Suffrage Association.

            Canadian Suffrage Association
            SCA391-GA456 · Collection · 1906

            One photograph album kept by a member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers documenting a Canadian west coast trip through the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. The 120 silver gelatin photographs show images of interest to the engineers including elevators, irrigation works, mines, smelting works and power plants as well as the scenery of the Rocky Mountains and local people and wildlife. Of particular note is the fact that the party contained numerous women, not all of whom were wives. The front of the album has a pastedown listing all participants in the tour and the back a pastedown listing captions for all of the images.

            SCA393-GA458 · Collection · 1946-[198-]

            Photograph and scrapbook album containing photographs and other materials related to the early life of Camilla Young, an African American woman from New Jersey.

            Photographs in album cover Young's life from her birth in 1946 to the early 1980s. First sheets include disbound pages from a commercial baby book written and illustrated by Tony Sarg (issued by New Library Inc. for Greenberg Publishers) filled in by Young's mother with Camilla Young's first photographs and baby accomplishments. Rest of sheets include photographs from Young's childhood, teenage, and adult years. Most photographs are ordered chronologically and range in fashion styles and locations. Photographs include family and friends gatherings, school events, celebrations and parties, holiday trips, and other moments in Young's life.

            Album includes a newspaper clipping with an article about Young published in The News Tribune of Woodbridge Township (today the Central New Jersey Home News Tribune) from August 9, 1979, written by Donna Eastman. Also contains Young's certificate of merit for participation and outstanding performance in the Miss Black America Pageant of New Jersey.

            Young, Camilla
            BC5 · Book Collection · 1893-1977

            The British Women's Periodicals Collection is made up of some 35,000 issues of British women's magazines published from 1893 to 1977. The majority of titles were published by the Amalgamated Press and publishers which it absorbed, and many copies are, in fact, copies from the publishers' own archives. Most titles in the collection are very rare.

            Because these magazines were aimed at a mass market audience, the British Women's Periodicals Collection offers a unique opportunity to examine the interests and concerns of British women during the time period covered. The collection's content is primarily "popular" fiction written for a female audience, but magazines for children and youth are also well represented. Cooking, crafts, advice columns, fashion, health, and inspirational topics are also featured. Of particular interest are the advertisements, which illustrate contemporary attitudes in a vivid manner.

            BC3 · Book Collection · 1910-1950

            The B.M. Bower Western Novels Collection, acquired in 2015, consists of over 70 American western novels written by Bertha Muzzy Sinclair (known as B.M. Bower) and her husband Bertrand Sinclair. Many of the books in this collection also feature pictorial cover art.

            Bower, B.M.
            SCA5-WA3 · Fonds · 1954-1960

            Fonds consists primarily of correspondence, 116 letters, from Beulah Alloway to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harley Misener of Brantford, Ont. The letters describe her journey to Africa and her daily life and work as a missionary in Kenya. Also included are newsletters sent out by the Alloways, correspondence relating to Beulah's death, and 4 photographs.

            Alloway, Beulah Misener
            SCA399-GA465 · Collection · [194-]-1991

            Materials created or accumulated by Bettie Bernice Wilson and related to her years in the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division (1942-1945). Includes photographs of instruction and training sessions, of facilities, of graduating classes, and of Wilson and her colleagues; official documentation and ephemera related to Wilson's service and different events she attended; writings by Wilson and her colleagues; related newspaper clippings, and correspondence sent and received by Wilson.

            Wilson, Bettie Bernice
            BC2 · Book Collection · 2018-2020

            A collection of seven zines created by Jenna Rose Sands on topics including cultural appropriation, residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Pow Wow etiquette and the 60s scoop. Much of the artwork is hand-drawn and includes collage work.

            SCA10-WA6 · Fonds · 1911-1974, predominant 1952-1955

            Fonds consists of material created, published, and accumulated by Annie Elizabeth May Hewlett. Includes a scrapbook and correspondence.

            Hewlett, Annie Elizabeth May
            SCA171-GA377 · Accession · 1933-2011
            Part of Anne Innis Dagg fonds.

            Materials relating to the personal and professional life of Anne Innis Dagg. Includes correspondence, juvenalia, manuscript and typescript drafts, annual files and more.

            Dagg, Anne Innis
            Anne Innis Dagg fonds.
            SCA171-GA146 · Accession · 1942-2002
            Part of Anne Innis Dagg fonds.

            Material relating to the activities, career, research and writings of Anne Innis Dagg. Files contain extensive annotations and commentary by Anne Innis Dagg.

            Dagg, Anne Innis
            Angolan missionary letters.
            SCA429-GA500 · Fonds · August 23, 1887-July 22, 1902

            Three letters written by Marion Webster during her time as a missionary in Angola for the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola. Her letters detail the history and geography of Angola, as well as activities undertaken by her. Also includes 5 envelopes from Marion Webster that do not correspondence with the letters.

            Webster, Marion
            Andrew Telegdi fonds.
            SCA373-GA432 · Fonds · [196-?]-January 28, 2017

            Material created or accumulated by the Honourable Andrew Telegdi related to his life and career. Records in this fonds document Telegdi’s early career as a bistro owner and rock music promoter in British Columbia as well as his experiences as a student at the University of Waterloo. In addition, the material records his work as an Executive Director for Youth in Conflict with the Law. Most notably, the fonds documents Telegdi’s extensive political career as a City and Regional Councillor as well as a Member of Parliament. Additional records capture Telegdi’s post-political career and personal activities.

            Telegdi, Andrew Peter
            SCA545-GA546 · Collection · 1967-1977

            A collection of publications from the American Eugenics Party (AEP), a political party that campaigned in the United States in the 20th century. Relying on eugenics and scientific racism to justify their beliefs, the publications discuss the party's political platforms, as well as their feelings towards women, people with mental illness, Arab, Asian, Black and Jewish people, and "white defectives" a term used by the AEP to refer to white people who supported desegregation.

            American Eugenics Party
            Amelia Alderson Opie letter.
            SCA68-WA38 · Collection · 1838

            One holograph letter from Amelia Alderson Opie to an unidentified correspondent dated May 5, 1838 refusing an invitation.

            Opie, Amelia
            SCA249-GA369 · Accession · 1978-1984
            Part of Alida and George Burrett fonds.

            Fonds consists of materials created and accumulated by Alida Burrett. Primarily includes material relating to Burrett's work with women's rights issues including equal pay and with the K-W Status of Women Group, as well as her peace work.

            Burrett, Alida
            SCA249-GA255 · Accession · 1961-2002
            Part of Alida and George Burrett fonds.

            Fonds consists of materials relating to the personal and professional lives and interests of Alida and George Burrett. Contains materials relating to Alida's interests in women's rights and the environment, and her work with the Kitchener-Waterloo Status of Women Group. Also contains materials relating to the couple's shared interest in nuclear disarmament and George's work with the Waterloo Region Peace Network. Includes clippings, ephemera, financial records, meeting minutes, correspondence, etc.

            Burrett Family
            SCA27-GA368 · Accession · 1862-[193-?]
            Part of Alice Riggs Hunt fonds.

            Accrual consists of materials created and accumulated by Alice Riggs Hunt and her family. Includes correspondence to and from Alice, locks of hair, and photographs. The photographs document other members of the Hunt family including her mother Mary Osgood Riggs Hunt (1860-1953) and her brother Charles Warren Hunt Jr. (1888-1953). Also present are over 500 slides documenting Charles Warren Hunt Jr.'s trip around the world.

            Hunt, Alice Riggs
            SCA27-GA284 · Accession · [18--]-1980
            Part of Alice Riggs Hunt fonds.

            Accrual consists of materials created and accumulated by Alice Riggs Hunt documenting her personal and professional life, as well as her travels within and outside of the United States. Includes correspondence, ephemera, clippings, manuscripts, photographs, etc.

            Hunt, Alice Riggs
            Alice Riggs Hunt fonds.
            SCA27-WA15 · Accession · 1911-1973
            Part of Alice Riggs Hunt fonds.

            Material relating to the life, career, activities and interests of Alice Riggs Hunt. Includes correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, clippings, diaries and memorabilia. Correspondents include E. Sylvia Pankhurst, Carrie Chapman Catt, Jane Addams, and Romain Rolland.

            Hunt, Alice Riggs
            Alice Mary Hagen fonds.
            SCA7-WA4 · Fonds · 1893-1975

            Fonds consists of Alice Hagen's correspondence, clippings, articles and ephemera relating to her work in pottery and ceramics. Includes correspondence with Elizabeth Long regarding her part in painting plates for the Canadian Senate's gift of hand-decorated china to Lord and Lady Aberdeen at the emd of the former's term as Governor General of Canada in 1898.

            Hagen, Alice Mary