Bill Lewis was a gay activist and epidemiologist. He was one of Winnipeg’s earliest gay activists and founding member of Gays For Equality at the University of Manitoba. In 1977, Lewis was recognized by Manitoba Gay Conference for his long and untiring career as a gay activist and for his efforts to further gay liberation in the province. When the New York Times published an article entitled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals” on July 3, 1981, Lewis wrote an article with Randy Coates for the Body Politic entitled “Moral Lessons; Fatal Cancer” that dismissed the Times article as biased and riddled with errors. The Times article was actually the first mainstream newspaper publication to address what would grow to become the AIDS pandemic. Lewis continued to write articles in the Body Politic countering misinformation being spread about AIDS into the mid-1980s. In his 1983 article “AIDS: Discounting the Promiscuity Theory” he wrote: “We should not be concerned with developing a new sexual ethic. Rather we need to seek ways to make sex as healthy and risk-free as possible.”
| Names | Bill Lewis (Main) BE [n72.25] |
|---|---|
| Related Pages | Bill Lewis on LGLC |
| Birth Date | 1950 |
| Death Date | 1987/09/17 |
| Identities |
Gay
BG [http://www.walnet.org/csis/news/toronto_77/ottjourn-771217.html(http://goo.gl/h71YSS)] |
| Occupations |
Journalist
1973/04 - 1975 https://lglc.ca/event/n72.25 http://www.projectremember.ca/DisplayPerson.aspx?o_id=40(http://goo.gl/Jp9gF5) Professor of Surgery and Microbiology at University of Toronto HigherEducation“Moral Lesson; Fatal Cancer,” Body Politic, no. 77 (1981), p. 43 |
| Associated People |
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| Associated Places |
University of Toronto (Employee)
“Moral Lesson; Fatal Cancer,” Body Politic, no. 77 (1981), p. 43 |
| Associated Organizations |
(Founder)
http://www.projectremember.ca/DisplayPerson.aspx?o_id=40(http://goo.gl/Jp9gF5) (Founder)http://www.projectremember.ca/DisplayPerson.aspx?o_id=40(http://goo.gl/Jp9gF5) (Member)“Bill Lewis: The Shy and Stubborn Activist,” Body Politic, no. 36 (1977), p. 22 (Spokesperson)BE[“Forcing the Issue,” Body Politic, no. 17 (1975), |
| Associated Periodicals |
(Writer)
1973/04 BCE [n72.25] (Journalist)1975 BCE [n74.127] (Journalist)notAfter(1973/03) BCE [n72.25] (Journalist)notAfter(1977) BCE [n76.214] |