Collection context
Summary
Background
- Scope and content:
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The collection contains material from the Outcasts, the 15 Association, KISSSM and the Society of Janus, as well as extensive records from the Sandmutopia Guardian and Dungeon Journal. There are also materials from S&M organizations and anti-censorship groups active outside of California. These include BAYFACT; the Committee to Preserve Our Sexual and Civil Liberties; the Eulenspiegel Society; Shelix, the Chicagoland Discussion Group; the National Leather Association; L&L; Safe, Sane Consensual Adults (SSCA); and Beyond Vanilla. Materials related to Sandmutopia Guardian and Dungeon Journal and its publisher, Desmodus, Incorporated, include correspondence, legal records, meeting agendas, production files, source material, subject files, photographic materials, and artwork. Finally, there are materials related to the creation of an S&M Community Contingent in the San Francisco Pride Parade, including flyers, clippings, memos and correspondence, financial records, notes, and a Womanlink resource list and history. The collection is arranged in three series: organizations, publications, and the S&M Community Contingent. The first box holds records of groups from the Bay Area S&M community. Among these are the Outcasts, a social and educational organization that served the lesbian, heterosexual, transgender, and bisexual women’s S&M community. Outcasts records include meeting minutes, financial records, flyers of activities, and a run of their newsletter, The Lunatic Fringe, from 1985 to 1989. The collection also includes records from the 15 Association (1986-89), KISSSM (1985-87), and the Society of Janus (1986 and 1990). The second box contains records of anti-censorship organizations and kink groups and activities outside of California. The former include BAYFACT and the Committee to Preserve Our Sexual and Civil Liberties, two of the most active anti-censorship organizations in California in the 1980s. Truscott also collected information on kink groups active in other cities in the US. Among these are the Eulenspiegel Society in New York City; Shelix in Northampton, Massachusetts; and the Chicagoland Discussion Group. The Shelix file contains a record of the interactions between the women’s S&M groups and other feminist organizations. Finally, there are three files that contain information on S&M organizations that worked on a national level. Smaller amounts of material are held related to the National Leather Association; L&L; Safe, Sane Consensual Adults (SSCA); and Beyond Vanilla. Boxes 3-5 contain materials related to Desmodus, Incorporated and Sandmutopia Guardian and Dungeon Journal. GSSO Linked Terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_001236; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000381; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_008497
- Biographical / historical:
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Carol Truscott was part of San Francisco’s kink scene in the 1980s and early 1990s, and edited the Sandmutopia Guardian and Dungeon Journal, a S&M how-to publication written for all genders and sexual orientations. Truscott was the founding editor of the journal, which was first published by Desmodus, Incorporated in 1988. She was a member of the Outcasts, the 15 Association, KISSSM, and the Society of Janus.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Joann Lee, also known as Carol Truscott, 2003-2006.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 1984-1992
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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Collection is open to researchers with certain restrictions on certain materials. Contact the archivist for more information.
- Preferred citation:
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Carol Truscott papers. GLBT Historical Society
- Location of this collection:
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989 Market Street, Lower LevelSan Francisco, CA 94103, US
- Contact:
- (415) 777-5455