[2005] History Project Interview Questions
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS – TULSA GLBT HISTORY PROJECT
Revised September 11, 2005
Basic Biography
Where/when were you born?
What is your ethnic background?
Family background? Education?
How long have you lived in Tulsa? What brought you here?
Occupations? Out at work?
Marriage? Children?
Long-term GLBT relationships?
Sexual Identity
Would you classify yourself as homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual for most of your adult life?
If homosexual/bisexual, how long have you been “out”? When did you have your first homosexual experience?
What was your first visit to a gay-related place or event like? What did you expect?
Did your sexual preference create problems for you or between you and your family? Employment issues? Neighborhood issues?
Did/do you have a strong network of gay friends and/or acquaintances?
How did these relationships develop? When/how did you realize that there were others that shared your sexual preference?
How visible were you and your friends in the community? Did you ever encounter prejudice on the part of the police, government officials, etc.? What kind of relationships did you and your fiends have with the police, religious authorities, district attorneys, etc.?
What were the limits of “acceptable” public behavior and how were the norms enforced?
Community
How did one know if somebody was homosexual in the 1920s/1930s/1940s/1950s in Tulsa?
Were there any distinctive attitudes, fashions, language, or occupations that seemed to resonate with your homosexual friends than other groups?
Social taboos? No-nos?
Ways of finding each other?
How did you keep in touch with current events relating to your homosexuality? Any underground newspapers or newsletters?
Where did you and your friends hang out? Any particular establishments, neighborhoods, parks, homes, or other places that were popular?
“Rules” for how to act around GLBT people, around straight people? In public? Private?
Role models and/or inspirations within the community? Famous people? Cultural icons?
Stories from elders – did you recall stories you heard from older GLBT people about their experiences?
Did elders give you any advice?
What about bars and honkey-tonks? Any of them exclusively cater to gay/bisexual men/women? If so, where were they located and what were they called?
Were there ever any galas, socials, or “drag balls” in the Tulsa area that you heard about or attended? Explain…
Any pictures or memorabilia you might like to share?
What impact did events like WWI, WWII, the Great Depression, or the tumultuous 1950s have on your lifestyle, friendships, socializing patterns, etc. Any discernible turning points in the acceptance/mortification of homosexuality that you can remember?
- What was your military experience like? Stats?
- Were you “out”? Others?
Were you or anyone you knew ever involuntarily committed because of your sexuality?
Substance abuse?
Describe any distinctive examples of prejudice or violence you encountered in Tulsa that stemmed from your sexual preference?
Terms – what did you call yourselves? Gay? Queer? Butch/Femme?
Humor – what things made you laugh? GLBT-specific humor? Pranks? In-jokes?
Were butch-femme roles pervasive? Personal experiences? When/what?
“Passing” by butch women? Violence? How strict were roles adhered to, enforced?
Interactions between gay men and women? Positive?
Was Tulsa any less tolerant of homosexuality than other places you lived/visited?
Was it easier being gay then than it is now? Explain…
Race/Ethnicity
Personal background? Impact?
Recollections of white/black interaction within GLBT community?
Segregation?
How do you account for white/black split in GLBT community now?
Black GLBT life? Memories to share? Contacts?
Ethnic/Race-specific bars, organizations?
Interracial relationships? Yours? Others’? Attitudes toward?
Your or other GLBT people’s involvement in the civil rights movement?
Racial prejudice within GLBT community?
Religion/Spirituality
What is your religious background? Did it affect your attitude toward your sexual identity? If so, how?
Changes in your religious beliefs after coming out? If so, why? What?
Membership in any GLBT religious organizations, churches? Experiences?
Sex
Let’s talk about sex---where did gay/bisexual men in Tulsa go if they wanted to have a sexual experience?
Was it easy to have a sexual encounter in Tulsa? Were the police or community groups ever problematic in allowing these to occur?
What are some of the most notorious or memorable sexual encounters you have personally had in Tulsa?
Slang?
Monogamy? Casual sex?
AIDS? When did you first learn? Alter your behavior? Community’s response? Personal stories?
Was there ever any homosexual-heterosexual contact of which you remember? How were the “straight” men viewed by the community? Any prejudice or negative ramifications?
Impersonation
What do you know about the history of female impersonation in Tulsa?
When did you first dress in drag?
What led you to do this? Anybody “lead” you to it, or did it just occur naturally?
Where would one go in the 1940s/1950s/1960s to do shows? Any notorious drag bars/clubs? Private parties?
Were they high profile affairs? High profile people?
Did drag assume a large role in the gay community---was it a central aspect of socialization, a humorous escapade, a means to make a living? Explain.
Leather/S/M
Experiences? Events? Bars?
Bars
How many bars have you owned? Names, dates, etc.
Were they always “gay,” or did you cultivate mixed crowds?
Lucrative business?
Did you face a lot of community pressure, police pressure, familial pressure in regard to starting/running a bar?
Which bars did you attend? Police harassment? Atmosphere?
Activism
What were the political values you grew up with?
Have they changed since then? How and why?
Active in social movements? Civil Rights? Anti-war? Women’s?
Were you ever politically active with GLBT issues? If so, what groups? Activities? Members?
Summing up
Other topics you want to cover?
Significant changes? Advice to others?