Mark Thompson Collection (CLGS)
Finding aid created by Graduate Theological Union staff using RecordEXPRESS
Graduate Theological Union
2021
2400 Ridge Road
Berkeley, California 94709
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Title: Mark Thompson Collection (CLGS)
Dates: 1987-2008
Collection Number: gtu 2011-11-01
Creator/Collector:
Thompson, Mark (1952-2016)
The Advocate
Extent: 3.5 linear feet (3 record boxes, 1 5" box, 1 2" flat box
Repository:
Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California 94709
Abstract: Mark Thompson (1952-August 9, 2016) wrote and edited several influential queer books, including the trilogy Gay Spirit, Gay
Soul, and Gay Body. His other books include The Fire in the Moonlight: Stories from the Radical Faeries; Leatherfolk: Radical
Sex, People, Politics, and Practice; and Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. The collection
consists of photographs and working files for Mark Thompson’s book Gay Soul, publicity and drafts of Gay Spirit and an oral
history.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open to the public.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Mark Thompson Collection (CLGS) . Graduate Theological Union
“The Mark Thompson Collection” belongs to the larger archival collection of The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion
(CLGS) at Pacific School of Religion, a member school of The Graduate Theological Union. Materials received in November 2011.
The GTU Archives is the designated repository.
Biography/Administrative History
Mark Thompson (1952-August 9, 2016) was born and raised on the Monterrey Peninsula. He attended San Francisco State, where
he was a founding member of the Bay Area-wide Gay Students Coalition. He joined The Advocate as writer-editor in the mid-1970s
and remained there for several decades. His books on gay culture included the trilogy Gay Spirit, Gay Soul, and Gay Body as
well as the books The Fire in the Moonlight: Stories from the Radical Faeries; Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics,
and Practice; and Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. He died a year after his companion
and husband, Malcolm Boyd, an Episcopal priest and one of the most influential gay figures in religion, passed away.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection includes photographs and working files on Thompson’s book Gay Soul; drafts, reviews, publicity and interviews
on Gay Spirit: exhibition materials for several photography shows; and an oral history from 1994. Additional photographs from
the Fellow Travelers exhibition are stored at CLGS.
Gay men -- United States -- Biography
Gay men -- United States -- Psychology
Gay men -- Religious life -- United States
Spiritual life -- United States
Gay Liberation Movement — United States — History
Thompson, Mark (1952-2016)
Boyd, Malcolm (1923-2015)
The Advocate
Los Angeles, Calif
San Francisco, Calif
Journalist
Photographer