From 1998 to 2014, the Toronto Women’s Bathhouse Committee organized the Pussy Palace—radical public sex events by and for queer women and trans people in Toronto, Canada. On September 15, 2000, five male officers from Toronto’s 52 Division entered the bathhouse, interrupting more than 350 attendees in what would become the last major police raid of a queer bathhouse in Canadian history.

Between February and August 2021, the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory at the University of Toronto Mississauga (Director: Elspeth Brown) conducted 36 interviews with Pussy Palace patrons, organizers, and community activists. These oral histories reflect not only on the raid itself, but also on the joy, intimacy, and radical sex/gender cultures that defined queer Toronto at the turn of the 21st century.

The digitized interviews have been transferred to our partner organization, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives, for long-term preservation and public access. Still, our desire to connect wider audiences with this history has led us to explore a range of creative and scholarly outcomes. Whether you are a scholar, artist, or community member, we invite you to explore this digital showcase and engage with a landmark moment in Toronto’s queer history.