Sexual Representation Collection

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  • Slideshow image for Erotic Film Collection Thumbnail and Description on black background

Administered by the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, an academic unit within the University of Toronto, the SRC is Canada’s largest collection of sex work history and adult film history. With a particular focus on feminist, queer, trans, and kink sexual cultures, the collection contains tens of thousands of photographs and negatives, thousands of 8mm and 16mm films, thousands of AIDS-era VHS, thousands of magazines, and more than 300 linear feet of personal papers, reports, art, kink objects, and unique ephemera dating from 1907 to the present. Among its many highlights, the SRC contains silent era stag films, pre-war hardcore films, coin-op peepshow films, beefcake photographs, and commercially produced VHS tapes from East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the United States, and Canada. In addition, it contains the personal papers of journalists, activists, sex workers, adult film producers, adult film studio executives, and sex shop owners related to the global history of sex work and the legal regulation of obscenity in Canada. These materials are stored at an off-site location.

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The Sexual Representation Collection was made possible with the assistance of:

Location and Contact Information

The SRC’s reading room, digitization stations, and processing workspaces are located on the lower level of University College, 15 King’s College Circle, Rooms 41 and 43. The Project Manager, Atticus Hawk, can be reached by email at a.hawk@mail.utoronto.ca. The SRC is accessible for visitors using wheelchairs or other mobility devices; additional arrangements can also be made on an individual basis.

Research Services and Hours

Researchers are welcome to visit the collection by appointment. Please contact the Project Manager by email at a.hawk@mail.utoronto.ca to schedule a suitable time weekdays between 9am – 5pm. The Project Manager is happy to assist with any reference questions and to provide additional resources related to your research. Unfortunately, the SRC does not employ any full-time staff and is therefore limited in the kinds of remote assistance it can provide.

The SRC is a non-circulating collection, and most of its materials are stored off site. Digitization services, including digital research copies, are freely available upon request. Material held by the SRC is open to the public; some collections, including digital copies, may have restrictions based on individuals’ privacy, donor specific restrictions, and the condition of the material. Before visiting the SRC, please consult our list of finding aids below. Contact the Project Manager with details of the collection and boxes you wish to consult. Most material is made available within 48 hours. However, digital research copies may take longer. The Brian Pronger Reading Room contains a shared desktop computer with internet access, a scanner/ printer, a television with VHS and DVD players, an 8mm film projector, and an 8mm-cassette player. Researchers are strongly encouraged to bring their own laptops. For long-term visitors, wifi can be made available through the Centre.

Reproduction Policy

We ask researchers to request permission to publish, exhibit or use records and to determine the appropriate acknowledgement(s), particularly to ensure personal or confidential information is not released. Failure to acquire permissions or to provide adequate acknowledgement is a violation of copyright law. Researchers can use SRC’s digital scanners in the archive, with the assistance of SRC staff. Researchers are also permitted to use digital cameras, including smart phones. Please credit “The Sexual Representation Collection, Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto.”

Events and Exhibits

SRC regularly organizes talks, panels, and workshops that provide a public forum for engaging social, cultural, and legal issues related to the sex industries, sex work, and pornography. These events bring together established and emerging scholars, people who have worked in the sex industry or are sex workers, and members of the community to develop a conversation that extends beyond the archive. In addition, SRC regularly partners with cultural institutions and university courses to exhibit highlights from the collection for a broader public. These exhibits rethink the politics and performance of public display and expand traditional ways of telling stories about archival objects. Support for these events comes from the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies and community partners. Please consult the Events page on the Centre’s website for details about upcoming events and exhibits. While you're there, check out our Sexual Representation Collection Annual Speaker Series too!

How to Donate Materials

The SRC actively accepts archival donations relating to adult film history, the history of sex work, and the history of sex education, including its social and legal regulation, production, circulation, and consumption. We prioritize feminist, queer, trans, and kink material. Please contact the Project Manager by email at a.hawk@mail.utoronto.ca with possible donations. Materials will be assessed according to our mandate, the significance of the materials, and space limitations for long-term storage and preservation.

Digitization Protocol and Ethics

Digitization for scholarly or preservation purposes falls under the terms of the "Libraries, Archives, and Museums" exceptions in section 30.1 of Canada's Copyright Act. Unlike the United States, Canada lacks an orphan works regime. When determining whether to disseminate third-party copyrighted material without restrictions, we rely on Simon Fraser University's "Risk Management Copyright Policy Framework for SFU Library Digitization Projects" (2016), the standard copyright guideline for library and archival digitization projects in Canada. Beyond copyright law, in cases where materials are not part of the public domain, we have an ethical obligation to obtain creator and performer consent, if possible, before making materials openly accessible online. This is critical for maintaining trust and faith with members of the sex industries and for honouring sex work as work. In cases where we are unable to determine copyright and where we are unable to obtain creator and performer consent, we make materials accessible through SharePoint, a University-administered storage platform with a secure firewall.


Finding Aids

Finding Aids are documents that lists metadata about material that is part of a collection or archive. In this section you will be able to access the finding aids of our different collections. These finding aids contain descriptions, notes, and different attributes of each individual material or item within that collection. If anything interests you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Project Manager at a.hawk@mail.utoronto.ca!

Cover of Annie Sprinkle’s XXXOOO: Love and Kisses from Annie Sprinkle, featuring Sprinkle in corset
Annie Sprinkle Collection

A small collection of materials Sprinkle donated to the collection, including materials on her art projects, sex education, and ecosexuality movement.

Cover of Body Politic journal showing bearded man and titled Gay on the Line
Body Politic Collection

A complete run of the Body Politic, one of Canada’s first gay publications, a monthly magazine published from 1971 – 1987.

Closeup photo of VHS tapes in archival folders. Middle one labeled C94 *OUTPOST *IMPERFECT STRANGERS
Brian Pronger Collection

A collection of roughly 1,000 commercially produced VHS videocassettes of gay pornography from the United States, Mexico, and Canada from the 1980s – 1990s.

Cover of Aslan Leather 2000 Wholesale Catalogue showing naked woman covering up her chest
Carey Gray Collection

Carey Gray is the founder and owner of Toronto-based leatherware store, Aslan Leather.

Newspaper Cover published December 23, 2004 titled Pussies take a bite out of the cops
Carlyle Jansen Collection

Materials donated by Carlyle Jansen, a sex educator who owns the Toronto-based sex shop Good for Her.

Black and White cover of Carrie Leigh's NUDE Premiere Collector's Issue showing woman posing
Carrie Leigh Collection

A complete run of Nude magazine, a glossy art-photography magazine produced by Carrie Leigh, a former Playboy cover model and official “First Lady” of the Playboy Mansion.

Naked Man layered behind the Canadian Flag with the Maple Leaf covering up his groin
CCACC Collection

The the Canadian Committee Against Customs Censorship (CCACC), an activist group in the 1980s and 1990s that influenced changes in Canadian laws and culture.

Cover of Jump Cut from May 1974 with a photo of an astronaut
Chuck Kleinhans Collection

Personal papers of film historian Chuck Kleinhans, including film and video, electronic records, books, periodicals, and writings.

A collection of white film reels stored in blue cardboard boxes
David Webb Collection

A small collection of VHS, DVD, and Super8 reels.

Close up Photograph of El satario film negative showing a cartoon penis
Erotic Film Collection

Contains 16mm hardcore films from the 1910s – 1950s, 16mm coin-op peepshow films from the 1940s – 1970s, and 8mm stag films from the 1950s – 1970s.

Cover of Baby-Faced Bride Groom showing a man wearing stockings and high heels on yellow background
Forced Feminization and Dominatrix Zines

Collection of zines from the 1950s – 1970s focusing on forced feminization and dominatrixes.

Cover of Gai Pied magazine showing Asian man in gym wear exercising.
Higgs Collection

Three hundred issues of Gai Peid from 1983 – 1992, and an assortment of other newsletters, magazines, and ephemera documenting gay activism in Canada and France.

Poster of Morpheous' Bondage Extravaganza! showing cartoon woman in bondage.
Lord Morpheous Collection

Various materials, photographs, and publications of Lord Morpheous, BDSM practitioner and educator, including digital and print copies of his art work, ephemera, etc.

Cover of Court Case documents in Manitoba between the Crown and Donald Butler and Norman McCord
Max Allen Collection

The extensive materials of Max Allen, former CBC producer and recognized anti-censorship activist who was involved in numerous legal battles to produce sexual representations.

Cover of Regulations of Desire: Sexuality in Canada by Gary Kinsman showing illustration of two men.
Neville Austin Collection

A small collection of Neville Austin’s VHS, book, and magazine collection from 1990 – 2008.

Cover of March 1964 Playboy Magazine Issue showing blonde Caucasian woman posing on a bed.
Playboy Collection

A complete run of high quality digital copies of Playboy from 1953 – 2013. A nearly complete run of Playboy in print from 1963 – 2000.

Cover of the Libertine Reader featuring an illustration of bare chested woman.
Pulp Fiction Collection

Approximately 500 pulp novels from 1953 – 1986, many of which focus on sexual taboos, such as fetishism/ BDSM, and group sex.

Two posters both showing a South Asian Woman posing in a golden bikini
Scarborough Collection

Contains over 1,000 VHS videocassettes, DVD, magazines from the United States, Canada, and south Asia.

Two SCREW newspaper cover pages side by side both featuring sexual illustrations.
Screw Collection

A complete run of Screw magazine from 1974 – 1978.

Photograph of sexual studies books on a shelf.
SexTV Collection

Approximately 700 books, pamphlets, VHS, DVD, magazines, and catalogues donated by the producers of SexTV (2001-08).

Photograph of Cover of Adam Gay Video 1994 Directory showing muscular Caucasian man.
Trade Magazine Collection

Hundreds of pornography industry trade publications, such as AVN, Adult Gay Video News, The X-Rated Video Tape Star Index, Erotic Video Guide, etc.

A physical VHS cover featuring a tattooed forearm that reads Scent uVa Butch, a documentary.
Tristan Taormino Collection

A small collection of educational and erotic videos produced by Tristan Taormino, a leading feminist author, activist, and sex educator.