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Sidney Museum exhibit looks at queer history on the Peninsula
The writer had written to the CRD worried that mosquitoes at Island View Beach could be spreading HIV/AIDS.
She complained that the park was “a meeting place for nudist gays” who would sunbathe naked on the beach, which was in an area that had a long history as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
She said she had read “reliable reports” that indicated HIV/AIDS could “most likely” be spread by mosquitoes.
At the time, scientists had determined that the disease, which was first observed in gay men, was spread through bodily fluids — including blood. The Canadian Red Cross had responded two years earlier by testing all its blood products for the virus.
The letter, which came a month after flamboyant entertainer Liberace had succumbed to AIDS, is one of a number of archival pieces that make up Reading Between the Lines for Local Queer History, a new exhibit with a focus on LGBTQ history on the Saanich Peninsula, unveiled at the Sidney Museum for Pride Month.
https://www.timescol...ninsula-9082593
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 June 2024 - 04:04 AM.
