Bursis (Elizabeth) Papers, circa 1970s-2000s

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Scope and content:: Elizabeth (Liz) Bursis (October 20, 1949-June 9, 2013) was a theater artist, writer, nutritionist, and professional dominatrix who lived in San Francisco in the 1970s and NYC in the 1980s and 1990s, returning to San Francisco in 2000. The collection includes two large scrapbooks, which document Bursis’s participation in San Francisco’s theater and punk scenes in the mid-to-late 1970s and NYC’s 1980s downtown club scene (including Danceteria), respectively; several theater scripts and manuscripts from her time in San Francisco in the 1970s; issues of 1970s and 1980s underground papers, including Damage, Search and Destiny, Research, South Beach Antenna, Homo, East Village Eye, and others; issues of 1970s and 1980s adult publications, including The Stocking, the Inquisitor, Body Play, Bad Attitude, and others; and a small cache of 1970s correspondence and personal files related to astrology, Harvey Milk, and queerness. Bursis’s work as a dominatrix, under the name Ana Hunt, is documented in correspondence and published writings from the 1990s and 2000s. Bursis advertised in several publications, including Transgender Tapestry, in which she identified as a “biological female using make-up, clothes to facilitate” male-to-female and female-to-male cross-dressing. Because the correspondence includes the personal names and addresses of clients, it is restricted until 2070.
Acquisition information:: Gift of Robert Typermass, July 2024.

Subjects:: Nightlife
LGBTQ
Kink
BDSM
Sex work
Theater
Transgender people
Albums (Books)
Places:: San Francisco (Calif.)

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: circa 1970s-2000s
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Client correspondence is restricted until 2070. The remainder of the collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Copyright to materials created by Elizabeth Bursis has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist. Copyright to other materials in the collection may be held by their creators, or the creators' heirs or assigns. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US