Karen Thompson Interviews, c. 1988-1989

Collection Items

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  Karen Thompson Interview - Tape 2

  This tape is part of a 5-part series interviewing Karen Thompson regarding her legal struggles to secure guardianship of her comatose partner, Sharon Kowalski. (Note: Tape 1 is missing)
  
  In Tape 2, Karen begins to describe her legal dispute with Sharon’s parents over guardianship and the emotions she felt during the process. Karen recounts the difficulties of coming out to her own family and Sharon’s parents, as well as her fear of a legal dispute over Sharon's guardianship outing her to the public.

  Tags Activism, Civil Rights, Coming Out, Disability Rights
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  Karen Thompson Interview - Tape 3

  This tape is part of a 5-part series interviewing Karen Thompson regarding her legal struggles to secure guardianship of her comatose partner, Sharon Kowalski. (Note: Tape 1 is missing)
  
  Tape 3 primarily consists of Karen recounting her legal struggles with Sharon’s parents regarding Sharon’s guardianship. Karen also discusses how it felt coming out to her parents.

  Tags Activism, Civil Rights, Coming Out, Disability Rights
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  Karen Thompson Interview - Tape 4

  This tape is part of a 5-part series interviewing Karen Thompson regarding her legal struggles to secure guardianship of her comatose partner, Sharon Kowalski. (Note: Tape 1 is missing)
  
  In Tape 4, Karen talks about her relationship with religion and her church, her belief that coming out is an important step in normalizing homosexuality, and her struggles against homophobia from medical professionals.
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  Karen Thompson Interview - Tape 5

  This tape is part of a 5-part series interviewing Karen Thompson regarding her legal struggles to secure guardianship of her comatose partner, Sharon Kowalski. (Note: Tape 1 is missing)
  
  In Tape 5, Karen discusses the physical and mental toll her legal battles have had on her, including the struggles she has experienced with Kowalski's family, particularly the pressure to be "perfect" to prevent the courts from using any mistakes against her.
  
  Karen also talks about her relationship with Sharon before the incident, as well as the distance she felt that she needed to create between herself and her colleagues and students to prevent her outing, which could lead to the loss of her job.

  Tags Activism, Civil Rights, Coming Out, Disability Rights

• Audio and Video Collections
  • Karen Thompson Interviews, c. 1988-1989