The Lesbian Organization of Toronto (L.O.O.T. or LOOT) was a lesbian organization founded in 1976 and disbanded in 1980. The group was Toronto's first openly

lesbian feminist Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logica ...

group, and its members elected to open Canada's first Lesbian Centre.

History

L.O.O.T. grew out of an October 1976 meeting convened in the C.H.A.T. (

Community Homophile Association of Toronto The Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT) was founded on January 3, 1971. The organization grew out of the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA). CHAT's work centered around providing support services, education, and organiz ...

) offices on Church Street. Fiona Rattray, an original member, estimates the meeting was attended by 30–60 lesbians.Ross (1995), p. 64 Members present at this meeting decided to rent part of a house (342 Jarvis St), to develop a multi-use lesbian centre. The collective also included Eve Zaremba, who would later become one of Canada's first notable openly lesbian writers,Robert Aldrich and Garry Votherspoon, ''Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History Vol. 2: From World War II to the Present Day''. p. 460.

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, 2001. . and

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, a noted documentary filmmaker.Lynne Fernie
at

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The Lesbian Organization of Toronto shared the building with two other compatible organizations; ''The Other Woman'', one of Toronto's longest lasting feminist newsmagazines, and the Three of Cups Women's Coffeehouse. L.O.O.T. moved into the house on February 1, 1977.

Purpose

Member Gay Bell referred to the lesbian centre as a "crucial locus of (the lesbian community's) development ... in Toronto". One of the group's earliest public statements explains that it hopes to "serve as a bridge to unify various existing groups who can provide services to the lesbian community." Organizers also believed that an available physical space for lesbians would "raise the profile of lesbians in the city, and make it possible for them to come out of the closet in the company of other lesbians without fear of reprisals." Collective member Nancy Adamson is quoted in Becki L. Ross' history of L.O.O.T., ''The House that Jill Built: Lesbian Nation in Formation'', as saying that the organization gave lesbians in the city a much-needed "safe place in the world"". L.O.O.T.'s first newsletter described its purpose as "an umbrella organization for lesbians. It serves social, recreational, personal, cultural, political and educational purposes for the lesbians involved. Mostly, it simply allows a lesbian to meet and get together with other lesbians who share her interests." In ''

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'', a Toronto gay and lesbian newspaper, journalist Megan Davies emphasises some of L.O.O.T.'s social aspects, referring to the group as an important resource for countless lesbians in Toronto, offering a safe, lesbian-positive environment in which to come out and meet other lesbians. L.O.O.T. was for

womyn-born womyn Womyn-born womyn (WBW) is a term developed during second-wave feminism to designate women who were assigned female at birth, were raised as girls, and identify as women (or womyn, a deliberately alternative spelling that challenges the centerin ...

only. A formal request to join the organization was made by a male-to-female transsexual lesbian in 1978. In response, the organization voted to exclude

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

. During informal discussion, members of L.O.O.T expressed their outrage that in their view a "sex-change he-creature... dared to identify himself as a woman and a lesbian." In their public response L.O.O.T. wrote:

A woman's voice was almost never heard as a woman's voice – it was always filtered through men's voices. So here a guy comes along saying, "I'm going to be a girl now and speak for girls." And we thought, "No you're not." A person cannot just join the colonized by fiat.Ross (1995), p. 135

Activities

The organization regularly provided peer support, telephone counselling, dances, social and political activities, a lending library, a newsletter, potluck socials, brunches, concerts and performances by well-known feminist and lesbian musicians like

Ferron Ferron (born Deborah Foisy on 1 June 1952) is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and poet. In addition to gaining fame as one of Canada's most respected songwriters, Ferron, who is openly lesbian, became one of the earliest and most influential ...

, Alix Dobkin,

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, and Beverley Glenn Copeland. In 1979, L.O.O.T. members, in collaboration with the International Women's Day Committee, organized that year's

Bi-National Lesbian Conference The first annual Bi-National Lesbian Conference happened in Toronto in May 1979. Organizing The conference was organized by members of the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT) in cooperation with members of the Toronto International Women's Day ...

on the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

campus.

Closure

The Lesbian Centre at 342 Jarvis closed May 1, 1980. Historian Becki Ross refers to the factors leading to the organization's closure as "multiple and complex" and notes that they included political differences, fragmented membership, volunteer burn-out, inflated expectations, lost organizational focus and changing political climate. After the closure of the centre, L.O.O.T.'s telephone peer counselling functions were taken over by the Lesbian Phone Line, who continued to offer this service in the city until 1984.Warner, Tom. ''Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada'', 2002, University of Toronto Press, , p179

Other Information

Th
L.O.O.T. Oral History Project collection
is held at the University of Ottawa Archives and Special Collections.

References

{{Authority control 1976 establishments in Ontario 1984 disestablishments in Ontario Feminism in Ontario Lesbian culture in Canada Lesbian feminist organizations LGBT history in Canada LGBT non-profit organizations in Canada Organizations established in 1976 Organizations disestablished in 1984 Organizations based in Toronto Lesbian organizations based in Canada Women in Toronto Feminist organizations in Canada