May 1, 1974: Cora, a women's bookmobile and resource centre, began its travels around rural and small-town Ontario. Named after pioneering Canadian suffragist Ella Cora Hind, Cora was stocked with material on feminism and lesbianism.
At the time, gay women in rural or isolated areas lacked access to this kind of information, which was beginning to empower their counterparts in major urban centres. They struggled, often alone and with great vulnerability, against homophobia. By sharing information about the lesbian feminist movement, Cora helped women develop a positive self-image and overcome their sense of vulnerability.*
A few years after Cora launched, a group of women based in the Fraser Valley formed the Rural Lesbian Association. Serving small settlements in BC, they provided services that included a lending library of lesbian writings. Their goal was to build “a network of country women” able to undertake the “political and spiritual work” needed for living in rural areas.**
*Warner, Tom. Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
** Rural Lesbian Association, pamphlet
At the time, gay women in rural or isolated areas lacked access to this kind of information, which was beginning to empower their counterparts in major urban centres. They struggled, often alone and with great vulnerability, against homophobia. By sharing information about the lesbian feminist movement, Cora helped women develop a positive self-image and overcome their sense of vulnerability.*
A few years after Cora launched, a group of women based in the Fraser Valley formed the Rural Lesbian Association. Serving small settlements in BC, they provided services that included a lending library of lesbian writings. Their goal was to build “a network of country women” able to undertake the “political and spiritual work” needed for living in rural areas.**
*Warner, Tom. Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
** Rural Lesbian Association, pamphlet