Swimming with Lesbians

Swimming with Lesbians offers a profile of the LGBT Archives of Western New York, which preserves materials related to the Buffalo area's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered population in the days before the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which marked the start of the gay rights movement. Filmmaker David B. Marshall focuses on author Madeline Davis (Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold), who oversees the collection. Davis talks about various subjects, including speaking at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, finally feeling accepted as part of a community, and her desire to shed light on the trailblazers profiled in her book—including John Minzer (aka Tangara), bedridden and 94 at the time of filming, who speaks to Davis about his days as a female impersonator; and the late Peggy Ames, a man who lived as a woman. Davis notes that many people were forced to lead double lives, because blue-collar Buffalo wasn't a safe place to come out, and those who did “paid a price.” Davis and her colleagues—such as her partner Wendy Smiley, and performer Danny Winter, aka Vicky Vogue—also read from letters Ames left behind, in which she discusses her childhood and her transition. Sadly, Ames didn't receive support from lesbians of her era, who shunned her just as heterosexuals did. Marshall also includes a pitch Davis makes to representatives from Buffalo State College in hopes that they'll take over the archives. As a documentary, Swimming with Lesbians would have benefited from a tighter focus, but the worthy subject makes this a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)