2024 Oral History Association Annual Meeting

This roundtable analyzes the extensive history of drag performance in Florida, centering oral histories from the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s (SPOHP) Florida Queer History Project (FQH). Presenters will consider how FQH preserves the history of queer life in Florida amidst continuous political scrutiny, shedding light on continuity and changes in queer resistance over the course of more than ten years

ABSTRACT: This roundtable analyzes the extensive history of drag performance in Florida, centering oral histories from the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s (SPOHP) Florida Queer History Project (FQH).The Florida Queer History Project centers queer-identifying Floridians’ self-reflections. As a collection of oral history interviews from 2012 to the present, it preserves the history of queer life in Florida amidst continuous political scrutiny. Several interviews reflect experiences of students navigating life at the University of Florida as ‘out’ individuals; of Floridians growing up in environments in which stereotypes of queer identities influence the trajectory of their own expression; and of resistance to bigotry. FQH focuses on individual lives and the ways in which queer identity on the micro-level reflects larger socio historical trends. This specific roundtable will shed light on continuity and changes in queer resistance over the course of more than ten years. In pursuit of linkages across several years, the roundtable discussion will consider how current political debates regarding queer expression and drag performance in Florida provide insight into the dense narrative of queer history and its politicization. This project will focus on modern Florida politics - proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and anti-drag bills, specifically. Interviews will highlight the importance of studying Florida’s queer history in order to foster an inclusive future. A distinction will be made between the oft-intersecting concepts of “Florida politics” and “the politics of queer life.” The former is presently influencing the latter, as exemplified by recent aims at stymying queer expression vis a vis Florida’s “Protection of Children Act” which targets drag queens under the guise of ‘protecting children’. This queer history project is important, as it reflects more than the marginalization of the queer identity; it celebrates drag performance as art that is exemplary of queer resistance in past and present.