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{{Short description|Canadian writer, academic and political activist}}
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'''John Alan Lee''' (August 24, 1933 - December 5, 2013) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] writer, academic and political activist, best known as an early advocate for [[LGBT rights]] in Canada<ref name=xtra>[http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/news-and-ideas/news/proud-life-activist-and-rebel-john-alan-lee-76213 "Proud Life: Activist and rebel John Alan Lee"]. ''[[Xtra!]]'', December 18, 2013.</ref> and for his later-life advocacy of [[assisted suicide]] and the [[right to die]].<ref name=cbc>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/john-alan-lee-pushes-limits-of-canada-s-assisted-suicide-debate-1.2627093 "John Alan Lee pushes limits of Canada's assisted suicide debate"]. [[CBC News]], May 5, 2014.</ref>
{{Other people|John Lee}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox writer <!--For more information, see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]].-->
| name = John Alan Lee
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|08|24}}
| birth_place = [[Maxville, Ontario|Maxville]], [[Ontario]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|12|05|1933|08|24}}
| death_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]]
| resting_place =
| occupation = sociologist, activist
| language = English
| nationality = [[Canadians|Canadian]]
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[University of Toronto]] (B.A.), [[University of Sussex]] (Ph.D.)
| period = 1970s–2000s
| genre = <!-- or: | genres = -->
| subject = psychology and sociology of love and sexuality
| movement =
| notableworks = ''The Colours of Love'', ''Getting Sex''
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⚫
'''John Alan Lee''' (August 24, 1933 – December 5, 2013) was a Canadian writer, academic and political activist, best known as an early advocate for [[LGBT rights]] in Canada,<ref name=xtra>[http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/news-and-ideas/news/proud-life-activist-and-rebel-john-alan-lee-76213 "Proud Life: Activist and rebel John Alan Lee"]. ''[[Xtra!]]'', December 18, 2013.</ref> for his academic research into sociological and psychological aspects of [[love]] and [[sexuality]], and for his later-life advocacy of [[assisted suicide]] and the [[right to die]].<ref name=cbc>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/john-alan-lee-pushes-limits-of-canada-s-assisted-suicide-debate-1.2627093 "John Alan Lee pushes limits of Canada's assisted suicide debate"]. [[CBC News]], May 5, 2014.</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Born in [[Maxville, Ontario|Maxville]], [[Ontario]] in 1933,<ref name=clga>[http://www.clga.ca/npc/subject/55 "Inductee: John Alan Lee 1933-2013"]. [[Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives]].</ref> he grew up as a ward of the provincial [[Children's Aid Society (Ontario)|Children's Aid Society]]<ref name=xtra /> after his father abandoned the family and his mother was financially and emotionally unable to care for Lee and his brother David on her own as a single mother.<ref name=lovesgayfool>John Alan Lee, ''Love's Gay Fool''.</ref>
Born in [[Maxville, Ontario|Maxville]], [[Ontario]] in 1933,<ref name=clga>[http://www.clga.ca/npc/subject/55 "Inductee: John Alan Lee 1933–2013"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321010217/http://clga.ca/npc/subject/55 |date=2017-03-21 }}. [[Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives]].</ref> he grew up as a ward of the provincial [[Children's Aid Society (Ontario)|Children's Aid Society]]<ref name=xtra /> after his father abandoned the family and his mother was financially and emotionally unable to care for Lee and his brother David on her own as a single mother.<ref name="lovesgayfool">John Alan Lee, ''[http://johnalanlee.com/author.htm Love's Gay Fool]''.</ref>


He was a factory worker and trade unionist in his youth, and ran as a [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] candidate in the electoral district of [[Broadview (electoral district)|Broadview]] in the [[Canadian federal election, 1958|1958 election]].
He was a factory worker and trade unionist in his youth, and ran as a [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] candidate in the electoral district of [[Broadview (federal electoral district)|Broadview]] in the [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958 election]].


==Education and academic career==
==Education and academic career==
He completed an undergraduate degree in sociology at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1956, and earned a [[Ph.D.]] from the [[University of Sussex]] in 1971. He then joined the University of Toronto as a faculty member in 1971.<ref name=xtra /> Teaching at the university until his retirement in 1999, he was the author of over 300 books and articles in [[sociology]], predominantly focusing on sociological study of the [[LGBT community]] and on the broader psychology of love and sexuality.<ref name=xtra />
He completed an undergraduate degree in sociology at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1956, and earned a [[Ph.D.]] from the [[University of Sussex]] in 1971. He then joined the University of Toronto as a faculty member in 1971.<ref name=xtra /> In the same year, his book Test Pattern: Instructional Television at Scarborough College, University of Toronto was published by the University of Toronto Press, a report on instructional television as medium at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Teaching at the university until his retirement in 1999, he was the author of over 300 books and articles in [[sociology]], predominantly focusing on sociological study of the [[LGBT community]] and on the broader psychology of love and sexuality.<ref name=xtra />


His articles appeared in publications including the ''Canadian Journal of Higher Education'', the ''[[Journal of Homosexuality]]'', ''[[Psychology Today]]'', ''[[The Body Politic (magazine)|The Body Politic]]'', ''[[Canadian Forum]]'' and ''[[Christopher Street (magazine)|Christopher Street]]''.<ref name=lovesgayfool/> His most noted books were ''The Colours of Love'' (1973), the first prominent work of research into the concept of [[love styles]],<ref>Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Weis, ''The New Psychology of Love''. [[Yale University Press]], 2006. ISBN 9780300116977. p. 149.</ref> and ''Getting Sex'' (1978), a study of gay [[cruising for sex|sexual cruising]].<ref name=xtra />
His articles appeared in publications including the ''Canadian Journal of Higher Education'', the ''[[Journal of Homosexuality]]'', ''[[Psychology Today]]'', ''[[The Body Politic (magazine)|The Body Politic]]'', ''[[Canadian Forum]]'' and ''[[Christopher Street (magazine)|Christopher Street]]''.<ref name=lovesgayfool/> His most noted books were ''The Colours of Love'' (1973), the first prominent work of research into the concept of [[love styles]],<ref>Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Weis, ''The New Psychology of Love''. [[Yale University Press]], 2006. {{ISBN|9780300116977}}. p. 149.</ref> and ''Getting Sex'' (1978), a study of gay [[cruising for sex|sexual cruising]].<ref name=xtra />


==Activism==
==Activism==
In 1964, Lee began working as an "undercover gay activist",<ref name=xtra /> writing letters to various publications to protest unfair and biased depictions of LGBT people and writing more balanced pieces of his own.<ref name=clga/> Initially undertaking this work anonymously or under pseudonyms, in 1974 he officially [[coming out|came out]] on [[CBC Radio]]'s ''[[This Country in the Morning]]'', becoming one of Canada's first professionals ever to come out as gay in a national media platform.<ref name=xtra />
In 1964, Lee began working as an "undercover gay activist",<ref name=xtra /> writing letters to various publications to protest unfair and biased depictions of LGBT people and writing more balanced pieces of his own.<ref name=clga/> Initially undertaking this work anonymously or under pseudonyms, in 1974 he officially [[coming out|came out]] on [[TVOntario]]'s ''[[Judy LaMarsh|The Judy LaMarsh Show]]'', becoming one of Canada's first professional figures ever to come out as gay.<ref name=xtra />


In 1975, he was one of the founders of the University of Toronto's Gay Academic Union.<ref name=xtra /> In 1979, he was an organizer of an LGBT rights protest which consisted of a three-day sit-in in the offices of provincial [[Attorney-General of Ontario|Attorney General]] [[Roy McMurtry]].<ref name=xtra /> Following [[Operation Soap]] in 1981, he was one of the founders of the Right to Privacy Committee.<ref name=xtra />
In 1975, he was one of the founders of the University of Toronto's Gay Academic Union.<ref name=xtra /> In 1979, he was an organizer of an LGBT rights protest which consisted of a three-day sit-in in the offices of provincial [[Attorney-General of Ontario|Attorney General]] [[Roy McMurtry]].<ref name=xtra /> Following [[Operation Soap]] in 1981, he was one of the founders of the Right to Privacy Committee.<ref name=xtra />
Line 23: Line 67:


==Honours==
==Honours==
In honour of his role as a significant builder of LGBT culure and history in Canada, a portrait of Lee, by artist Norman Hatton, is held by the [[Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives]]' National Portrait Collection.<ref name=clga/> The archives also now hold many of his personal papers and records from throughout his career.<ref name=clga/>
In honour of his role as a significant builder of LGBT culture and history in Canada, a portrait of Lee, by artist Norman Hatton, is held by [[The ArQuives|The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives]]' National Portrait Collection.<ref name=clga/> The archives also now hold many of his personal papers and records from throughout his career.<ref name=clga/>

== See also ==
* [[The Lee Report]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.johnalanlee.ca/ John Alan Lee]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130607004131/http://www.johnalanlee.ca/ John Alan Lee] (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130424040333/http://www.johnalanlee.ca/chapters/publications.htm List of publications by Lee]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210506042233/https://collections.arquives.ca/en/permalink/descriptions17445 John Alan Lee fonds at The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives]

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, John Alan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, John Alan}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
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[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex]]
[[Category:Canadian sociologists]]
[[Category:Canadian sociologists]]
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[[Category:Canadian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Canadian Quakers]]
[[Category:Canadian Quakers]]
[[Category:Canadian trade unionists]]
[[Category:Trade unionists from Ontario]]
[[Category:LGBT writers from Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian gay politicians]]
[[Category:LGBT politicians from Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:LGBT rights activists from Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian gay writers]]
[[Category:Gay writers]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto]]
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[[Category:University of Toronto faculty]]
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[[Category:Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election]]
[[Category:Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament]]
[[Category:Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament]]
[[Category:Writers from Toronto]]
[[Category:Writers from Toronto]]
[[Category:People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry]]
[[Category:People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry]]
[[Category:Canadian autobiographers]]
[[Category:Canadian autobiographers]]
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[[Category:Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons]]
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[[Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people]]

Latest revision as of 03:18, 25 September 2024

For other people named John Lee, see John Lee (disambiguation).

John Alan Lee
Born(1933-08-24)August 24, 1933
Maxville, Ontario
DiedDecember 5, 2013(2013-12-05) (aged 80)
Toronto, Ontario
Occupationsociologist, activist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityCanadian
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (B.A.), University of Sussex (Ph.D.)
Period1970s–2000s
Subjectpsychology and sociology of love and sexuality
Notable worksThe Colours of Love, Getting Sex

John Alan Lee (August 24, 1933 – December 5, 2013) was a Canadian writer, academic and political activist, best known as an early advocate for LGBT rights in Canada,[1] for his academic research into sociological and psychological aspects of love and sexuality, and for his later-life advocacy of assisted suicide and the right to die.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Born in Maxville, Ontario in 1933,[3] he grew up as a ward of the provincial Children's Aid Society[1] after his father abandoned the family and his mother was financially and emotionally unable to care for Lee and his brother David on her own as a single mother.[4]

He was a factory worker and trade unionist in his youth, and ran as a Cooperative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the electoral district of Broadview in the 1958 election.

Education and academic career

[edit]

He completed an undergraduate degree in sociology at the University of Toronto in 1956, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in 1971. He then joined the University of Toronto as a faculty member in 1971.[1] In the same year, his book Test Pattern: Instructional Television at Scarborough College, University of Toronto was published by the University of Toronto Press, a report on instructional television as medium at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Teaching at the university until his retirement in 1999, he was the author of over 300 books and articles in sociology, predominantly focusing on sociological study of the LGBT community and on the broader psychology of love and sexuality.[1]

His articles appeared in publications including the Canadian Journal of Higher Education, the Journal of Homosexuality, Psychology Today, The Body Politic, Canadian Forum and Christopher Street.[4] His most noted books were The Colours of Love (1973), the first prominent work of research into the concept of love styles,[5] and Getting Sex (1978), a study of gay sexual cruising.[1]

Activism

[edit]

In 1964, Lee began working as an "undercover gay activist",[1] writing letters to various publications to protest unfair and biased depictions of LGBT people and writing more balanced pieces of his own.[3] Initially undertaking this work anonymously or under pseudonyms, in 1974 he officially came out on TVOntario's The Judy LaMarsh Show, becoming one of Canada's first professional figures ever to come out as gay.[1]

In 1975, he was one of the founders of the University of Toronto's Gay Academic Union.[1] In 1979, he was an organizer of an LGBT rights protest which consisted of a three-day sit-in in the offices of provincial Attorney General Roy McMurtry.[1] Following Operation Soap in 1981, he was one of the founders of the Right to Privacy Committee.[1]

He was also active in other organizations, including the Sierra Club, Amnesty International and the Religious Society of Friends.[3]

Late in life he was active in Dying with Dignity, a Canadian right to die activist group.[2] Although in poor health he was not terminally ill,[2] but advocated that he should have the right to die on the grounds that his life was complete and he no longer had anything new he wanted to accomplish or achieve.[2] During this era, he also published his autobiography, Love's Gay Fool, as a free document on his own website.[4]

He ended his life on December 5, 2013.[2]

Honours

[edit]

In honour of his role as a significant builder of LGBT culture and history in Canada, a portrait of Lee, by artist Norman Hatton, is held by The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives' National Portrait Collection.[3] The archives also now hold many of his personal papers and records from throughout his career.[3]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Proud Life: Activist and rebel John Alan Lee". Xtra!, December 18, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "John Alan Lee pushes limits of Canada's assisted suicide debate". CBC News, May 5, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Inductee: John Alan Lee 1933–2013" Archived 2017-03-21 at the Wayback Machine. Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.
  4. ^ a b c John Alan Lee, Love's Gay Fool.
  5. ^ Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Weis, The New Psychology of Love. Yale University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780300116977. p. 149.
[edit]
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