Objects of Celebration: LGBTQ+ Ornamentation in the Twentieth Century

Objects of Celebration: LGBTQ+ Ornamentation in the Twentieth Century

The materiality of LGBTQ+ celebration in the mid-south during the twentieth century.

Ron Sanford - business owner, community organizer, and gay rights advocate - was born and raised in Nashville, but his life and work have left legacies all throughout the South. In particular, Ron's efforts to make space for LGBTQ+ individuals in the region have been made concrete through the numerous gay bars he has helped own and operate, in many cases serving as venues for drag pageants. In the foreword for James Sears' "Growing Up Gay in the South: Race, Gender, and Journeys of Spirit," Virginia Uribe wrote that, in the South, the stories of the LGBTQ+ are at their core "stories of courage and triumph in the face of defeat" (Sears 1991, xii). Vanderbilt Special Collections, largely under the initiative of Sarah Calise, has made a broad effort to make those stories visible and available for the public and scholars alike. The Ron Sanford Papers, a collection of items related to Sanford's life and career, form one pillar of this archival project. This collection, drawing on those papers, highlights the objects that defined LGBTQ+ celebration in the mid-south during the twentieth century and the material aspects of a pageantry tradition which Sanford himself was active in organizing throughout his career.

Group #1 as part of DHUM 1100 at Vanderbilt University, Spring 2025.

Vanderbilt University Special Collections - Ron Sanford Papers

Vanderbilt University Special Collections

March 20, 2025

Organized by Sara Jones, Nadia Maldonado, Logan Bartee, Jacob Ashby

Per Vanderbilt Special Collections: When publication is intended, an application for publication rights for any material quoted must be submitted. These stipulations also apply to dissertations and research theses.

https://collections.library.vanderbilt.edu/repositories/2/resources/2199

10 linear feet of source material from the Ron Sanford Papers, digitized by the students of DHUM 1100 and Vanderbilt University Special Collections.

English

Digital Collection

Located within the Ron Sanford Papers, archived at the Vanderbilt University Special Collections.

Physically located in Nashville, TN.