Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.L.A.

Degree Name

Master of Liberal Arts (M.L.A.)

Degree Granting Department

History

Major Professor

David Johnson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

J. Michael Francis, Ph.D.

Committee Member

S. L. Crawley, Ph.D.

Keywords

Butch, Gender Presentation, Lesbian, Queer History

Abstract

Bobby Smith (1923-2008) was a Tampa Bay butch lesbian, photographer, and earlyLGBTQ Florida figure, together with his partner of nearly fifty years, Katherine “Kay” Thompson (1923-2009). Coming of age as the Second World War provided women and girls with a certain level of independence, Smith easily found comfort presenting in a masculine, butch fashion outside of certain spheres such as school, and quickly dropped any remaining femininity once he left it. Throughout his life, in the workplace, at social gatherings, and at home, he maintained a masculine presentation for his entire life. As a photographer, Smith documented numerous photographs of Tampa’s early LGBTQ community from as far back as 1950s, revealing scenes of a sizable yet isolated community hidden away in the “closet,” a lively bar scene, intimate parties in personal homes, and many drag queens and gender performers. That community came under threat in the 1960s, as conservative forces took advantage of southern anxiety and paranoia about the Civil Rights movement to fund the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee efforts to “purge” Florida schools and universities of homosexuals. In the 1970s, Bobby and Kay were among the early members of Tampa Bay’s branch of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a church dedicated to the acceptance of LGBTQ people, and aided in its establishment and growth. By examining Bobby Smith’s photographs, interviews done over the course of his life, and research into Florida’s queer history, this thesis endeavors not only to highlight a local historical figure, but the community of which he was a part.

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