The Body Politic was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada. Many members of the collective had been associated with the underground publication Guerilla, which had been relatively gay-friendly but alienated some of its LGBT contributors when it altered Moldenhauer's article about the We Demand Rally of August 28, 1971. The magazine was ultimately acquitted in both trials,

In 1982, Toronto City Councillor Joe Piccininni failed in an attempt to have the magazine barred from the city council's press gallery, following a cover story on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence which Piccininni deemed disrespectful to Roman Catholicism.

Body Politic, a historical play by Nick Green about the magazine and its role in the early gay liberation movement, premiered at Buddies in Bad Times in May 2016, and won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2017, as well as a performance nomination for Diane Flacks.

The magazine's launch is profiled as a key moment in Canadian LGBTQ history in Noam Gonick's 2025 documentary film Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance.

Contributors

Writers associated with the magazine included Gerald Hannon, Rick Bébout, Chris Bearchell, Hugh Brewster, Stan Persky, Michael Lynch, Stephen O. Murray, John Greyson, David Rayside, Herbert Spiers, Ian Young, Ed Jackson, Sue Golding, Robin Hardy, Richard Summerbell, Thomas Waugh, John Alan Lee, Tim McCaskell, and Gary Kinsman.

References

  • Detailed book on the history of The Body Politic (online book)
  • the body politic issues on Internet Archive, as uploaded by the Canadian Museum of Human Rights
  • The Body Politic fonds - Archival records at The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives
  • History of "The Body Politic" and the police raid of its headquarters (video)