November Meeting – Dr Gertrude Glossip
Queer style(s) then and now: Hats, Gloves and Parasols!
Will Sergeant and Dr Gertrude Glossip PhD (Formal Drapery) Curtain University are two sides of the one coin. Will grew up in rural South Australia in the 1950s when ‘boys were meant to be boys’, love football and cricket and not ‘dressups’. Will loved the latter and not the former!
Fast forward – Adelaide early 1970s. After years of repression Will finally admits he’s gay and throws himself into the fledgling Gay Liberation Movement, participating in the first Adelaide Pride March in 1973 and the first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978.
Will’s been involved in many aspects of Adelaide’s gay community: the Uranian Society, Parkestone Foundation, AIDS Council of SA and the Feast Festival.
Gertrude was created in 1993 for the Uranian Society to lead a history walk and has subsequently led history walks at every Feast. Factual of course, a focus of the walks has been that they should be fun and entertaining. Gertrude’s choice of outfit has never been mere whimsy but designed to complement the particular walk’s theme. Gertrude is not a traditional drag queen but rather a persona in the style of Dame Edna Everage, but far more politically correct!
‘Hats, Gloves and Parasols!’ is a joyous romp through 22 seasons of Feast history walks in which Gertrude expounds on her tastes and wardrobe choices. There’s even a ‘sneak leak’ at this year’s Feast walk titled ‘Close Encounters’.
After this presentation the Historical Society will host its End of Year Celebration. Participants are requested to contribute $5 towards the cost of refreshments.