Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

THEY/THEM/THEIRS

Date Range From

2017

Date Range To

2019

Materials

PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Diameter

3.75

Description

TRANSGENDER PRONOUNS BUTTON; FRONT SHOWS THE TRANSGENDER PRIDE FLAG WITH FIVE STRIPES, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: LIGHT BLUE, LIGHT PINK, WHITE, LIGHT PINK, LIGHT BLUE. WHITE STRIPE HAS BLACK TEXT READING “THEY/THEM/THEIRS”. BACK OF BUTTON IS WHITE PLASTIC WITH SILVER METAL C-CLASP. BUTTON EDGES ARE CRIMPED TO THE BACK; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON JULY 25, 2019, GALT MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT AND COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ELISABETH HEGERAT REGARDING HER DONATION OF PRIDE MATERIALS. ON THE BUTTONS COLLECTIONS, HEGERAT NOTED, “THEY, THEM, THEIR NUMBER TWENTY ONE. PRIDE FEST DID A SERIES OF BUTTONS WITH THE TRANS PRIDE FLAG AND PUT PRONOUNS ON THEM.” “[THE LETHBRIDGE PRIDE FEST SOCIETY] HAD A BUTTON MAKER AND WE WERE GOING TO MAKE SOME BUTTONS FOR MERCHANDISE. A FEW OF US THOUGHT WE SHOULD DO A VARIETY OF THE FLAGS REPRESENTING DIFFERENT IDENTITIES IN THE QUEER COMMUNITY, TO MAKE SURE AS MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY FELT REPRESENTED. ALSO, THERE [ARE] A BUNCH OF BAD PUNS AND THAT IS MY FAULT AND DERRICK ANTSON’S FAULT, BECAUSE THE TWO OF US EGGED EACH OTHER ON. THERE IS ALSO SOME HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM…AND SOME THAT REFLECT THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME. THE FIRST BIG BATCH OF THEM ARE ALSO 2017, AND FOR PRIDE FEST IT HAS BEEN (LIKE WITH MANY OTHER PRIDES ACROSS AMERICA) TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT’S NOT JUST THE CIS-GENDERED, GAY, MALE AND PREDOMINATELY WHITE COMMUNITY REPRESENTED. IT IS ALWAYS A STRUGGLE AND SOMETHING TO STRIVE TOWARDS. [BUTTONS WERE] A REALLY EASY WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE FELT SEEN. I REMEMBER WHEN WE TOOK THE BUTTONS OUT TO EVENTS AND THE PEOPLE GOT REALLY EXCITED WHEN THEY FOUND THEIR FLAG, AND WE HAD SOME REQUESTS FOR OTHERS WHEN WE TOOK THEM OUT, AND WE WERE ABLE TO WHIP A FEW MORE OFF FOR PRIDE IN THE PARK.” “THERE [WAS] A BUNCH OF ZIP-LOCK BAGS AND A LITTLE SIGN HOLDER THAT [HAD] A SHEET WITH A LEGEND ON IT. SO, IT IS NOT AS WELL ORGANIZED AS IT COULD BE, LIKE MANY THINGS IN SIMILAR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS, BUT SOME OF US ARE INTENDING TO MAKE MORE THIS YEAR AND WE SHOULD GET OURSELVES A LITTLE MORE ORGANIZED. AT ONE POINT THE SIGN CAME ALONG WITH A DUO TANG THAT HAD EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT THEY ALL WERE, BUT IT HAS BEEN LOST TO THE AGES. WE ALSO FOUND THAT PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT TO STAND THERE AND FLIP THROUGH A THING, THEY JUST WANTED TO POINT AND SAY, ‘WHAT’S THAT ONE?’” “[IT WAS A] FUNDRAISER/STEALTH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT I GUESS. THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD THE WHOLE SELECTION A COUPLE OF OTHER PEOPLE AND I DRAGGED THEM OUT TO ALMOST EVERY PRIDE FEST EVENT WHERE IT IS CONDUCIVE TO SELL MERCHANDISE AND SET THEM UP.” “WE [MADE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FROM BUTTON SALES] THE FIRST YEAR…I THINK THAT WAS ALL IN. JUST ME COUNTING THE CASH AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, NOT COUNTING THE SUPPLIES. [THE PROFIT] GOES TOWARDS ALL THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS PRIDE FEST OFFERS. SOME OF IT MIGHT GO TOWARDS BUYING MERCHANDISE FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT WE DON’T PUT THE BUTTON MONEY STRAIGHT BACK INTO MAKING BUTTONS. IT ALL GOES INTO A GENERAL REVENUE.” “[WE SOLD BUTTONS FOR] TWO DOLLARS EACH AND THREE FOR FIVE. PRIDE FEST AT THE TIME BOUGHT, I WILL KINDLY SAY, THE MOST ECONOMICAL BUTTON MAKER AVAILABLE TO THEM. I’M LOBBYING TO GET A NEW ONE BECAUSE…IF YOU LOOK AT THE BACK OF SOME OF THE BUTTONS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS PLASTIC INSTEAD OF METAL. THE BUTTON MAKER IS A GIANT PAIN, YOU HAVE TO GET IT EXACTLY RIGHT. THE BETTER ONES ACTUALLY COME FROM THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY QSA KIDS HELPED OUT WITH SOME BUTTON MAKING, AND THEY USED THE BUTTON MAKER IN THE LIBRARY TO MAKE A BUNCH. IT MEANT THAT THEY PICKED OUT THE ONES THEY LIKED BEST AND MADE ALL OF THOSE.” “A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD PICK THROUGH AND END UP WITH A WHOLE HAND FULL AND GO, ‘OH I HAVE TO PUT ONE BACK,’ OR , ‘I NEED TO GET ONE MORE,’ JUST TO GET THAT THREE FOR FIVE. BUT WE SAW, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUNGER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO WERE COMING TO MORE THAN ONE EVENT, THAT THEY WOULD COME BACK AND SAY, ‘OKAY I BROUGHT MORE MONEY THIS TIME,’ AND BUY MORE BUTTONS. IT IS AN INEXPENSIVE REALLY EASY WAY TO CLAIM AN IDENTITY; VISIBLY CLAIM AN IDENTITY.” “I HAVE SEEN SOME OF [THE BUTTONS] OUT IN THE WILD. I HAVE SEEN A COUPLE ON CO-WORKERS, AND WE HAVE SEEN SOME OF THEM POP UP THE NEXT YEAR OF PRIDE. AND PEOPLE HAVE COME BACK HERE YEAR TO YEAR, ‘OH I NEED ANOTHER ONE,’ OR, ‘OH I WANTED TO GET THAT ONE LAST YEAR.’ IT HAS BECOME A THING.” “I THINK [THE BUTTONS] ARE IMPORTANT TO HAVE OUT THERE BECAUSE OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE AND BECAUSE THEY ARE INEXPENSIVE. ESPECIALLY…TO SOME OF THE YOUNGER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, OR ANYBODY ELSE WHERE COST MIGHT BE A BARRIER. THE BUTTONS IN GENERAL DO HAVE A HISTORICAL ROLE IN TERMS OF ACTIVISM AND VISIBILITY, BOTH WITHIN THE QUEER COMMUNITY AND BEYOND. THE OTHER THING ABOUT THE BUTTONS TOO IS THAT WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN AND CUSTOMIZE THEM…WE DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON SOMEBODY ELSE TO BE MASS PRODUCING THAT MERCHANDISE. WE CAN USUALLY WHIP SOMETHING UP IN RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER IF WE HAVE DISCOVERED WE HAVE MISSED SOMETHING IMPORTANT, OR SOMETHING WE OVER LOOKED.” HEGERAT ELABORATED ON THE BUTTON DESIGNS, SHARING, “IN MOST CASES, IT IS NOT LIKE THERE IS AN OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR THESE FLAGS. THEY ARE GRASSROOTS, COMMUNITY DRIVEN AND IN SOME CASES WE FIND MORE THAN ONE VARIATION. I JUST, LIBRARIAN TO THE CORE, POKED AROUND ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND ONES THAT SEEM TO BE MORE COMMONLY USED OR THAT AN ORGANIZATION WAS USING.” “DERRICK [ANTSON] MIGHT HAVE CREATED SOME OF THE GRAPHICS, BUT I SEARCHED FOR OPEN SOURCE, CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGES WE COULD USE WITHOUT COPYRIGHT. I JUST LOOKED IN A COUPLE OF PLACES AND MUCKED AROUND WITH MY INCREDIBLY RUDIMENTARY GRAPHIC SKILLS TO PUT THEM TOGETHER, AND THEN DERRICK MADE A BUNCH OF THEM PRETTIER…WE TRIED NOT TO PICK ANYTHING WHERE THERE WERE CONTRADICTING OPINIONS ABOUT THE SYMBOL, BECAUSE WE TRIED TO PICK THE ONES THAT WERE RELATIVELY UNIVERSAL.” “I WAS LEFT UNSUPERVISED WITH THE BUTTONS AND I ENDED UP SORTING A BUNCH INTO THEME PACKS TOO, AND I THINK THOSE WERE LIKE, TEN FOR TWELVE. [EACH THEME PACK HAD A TITLE] THERE WAS TRANS ACTIVIST, QUEER HISTORY, THERE WAS A SNARK FEST ONE [MORE SARCASTIC PUNS]. THERE WAS A LESBIAN BUTTON THAT SAID, ‘YES WE’RE, NO YOU CAN’T WATCH,’ I THINK IT WAS ON A BLACK BACKGROUND, OR, 'LET’S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT. I’M NOT,' SO SOME OF THE ONES LIKE THAT WENT INTO THE SNARK FEST ONE. BOY MEETS BOY, GIRL MEETS GIRL. THERE WAS A FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONE TOO, THAT ONE HAD A RAINBOW BUTTON THAT SAID, ‘ALLY,’ AND THAT ONE WENT INTO THAT PACK WITH SOME OTHER STUFF LIKE, ‘THE GSA’S ARE A’ OKAY,’ AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS.” ACCORDING TO THE PLATFORM “THEM” [HTTPS://WWW.THEM.US/STORY/GENDER-NEUTRAL-PRONOUNS-101-THEY-THEM-XE-XEM], A PART OF THE “CONDÉ NAST” MEDIA COMPANY, THE SINGULAR “THEY” IS A GENDER-NEUTRAL PRONOUN THAT AROSE OUT OF THE NECESSITY FOR PRONOUNS THAT WERE MORE INCLUSIVE OF WOMEN, AND LATER TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF A WIDE SPECTRUM OF GENDERS. TRANS AND NONBINARY PEOPLE SOUGHT OUT INCLUSIVE PRONOUNS OR CREATED NEW ONES BECAUSE BINARY PRONOUNS (HE/SHE) WEREN’T SUITABLE FOR CONVEYING THEIR IDENTITIES. “GENDER-NEUTRAL PRONOUNS DON’T ASSUME A GENDER FOR THE PERSON OR PERSONS BEING DISCUSSED. THEY CAN BE USED TO REFER TO ANYONE IN CONVERSATION. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY CAN BE VALIDATING FOR ANYONE WHO LIVES BEYOND THE BINARY.” ON TRANSGENDER IDENTITIES, GLAAD [HTTPS://WWW.GLAAD.ORG/TRANSGENDER/TRANSFAQ ] ELABORATES, “TRANSGENDER IS A TERM USED TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE WHOSE GENDER IDENTITY DIFFERS FROM THE SEX THEY WERE ASSIGNED AT BIRTH. GENDER IDENTITY IS A PERSON'S INTERNAL, PERSONAL SENSE OF BEING A MAN OR A WOMAN (OR BOY OR GIRL.) FOR SOME PEOPLE, THEIR GENDER IDENTITY DOES NOT FIT NEATLY INTO THOSE TWO CHOICES. FOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, THE SEX THEY WERE ASSIGNED AT BIRTH AND THEIR OWN INTERNAL GENDER IDENTITY DO NOT MATCH. PEOPLE IN THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY MAY DESCRIBE THEMSELVES USING ONE (OR MORE) OF A WIDE VARIETY OF TERMS, INCLUDING (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) TRANSGENDER, TRANSSEXUAL, AND NON-BINARY.” THE MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION [HTTPS://WWW.MATTHEWSHEPARD.ORG/RESOURCES/LGBTQ-TERMS-AND-SYMBOLS-GLOSSARY/] NOTES, ON THE TRANSGENDER PRIDE FLAG, “DESIGNED BY TRANSGENDER WOMAN MONICA HELMS AND FIRST FLOWN AT A PRIDE PARADE IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA IN 2000. HELMS DESCRIBED THE MEANING “THE LIGHT BLUE IS THE TRADITIONAL COLOR FOR BABY BOYS, PINK IS FOR GIRLS, AND THE WHITE IN THE MIDDLE IS FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRANSITIONING, THOSE WHO FEEL THEY HAVE A NEUTRAL GENDER OR NO GENDER, AND THOSE WHO ARE INTERSEX. THE PATTERN IS SUCH THAT NO MATTER WHICH WAY YOU FLY IT, IT WILL ALWAYS BE CORRECT. THIS SYMBOLIZES US TRYING TO FIND CORRECTNESS IN OUR OWN LIVES.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENENT FILE P20190020001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190020021

Acquisition Date

2019-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail