Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: The Weekly

With the primaries in full swing, politics have been on the minds of all Americans. Concerns about the war in Iraq, health care and education take the spotlight in election season, but the kick-off of the Chicago History Museum's Out at CHM series reminds Chicagoans of another kind of politics: sexual politics.

Introduced in 2004, Out at CHM has explored the city's gay identity by shining a light on its forgotten past. "There was no type of platform at the time the series started that really culminated in having this kind of discussion," says Melissa Hayes, the museum's director of marketing.

Tonight, Northwestern University professor Lane Fenrich will be speaking at the event with historian David Johnson in a program titled "Sexual Politics: From the Lavender Scare to Larry Craig. " Their intent is to open the series with a discussion of homosexuality under the political spotlight.

Each year, the museum works with an advisory committee made up of staffers, university scholars and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community members to select the most provocative and relevant topics for the series. Hayes says this year's topics fall a little bit more on the national perspective, which is a break from the CHM's usual emphasis on Chicago-specific issues.

Jeffrey Masten, NU's director of the gender studies program, says he has excitedly attended segments at the museum in the past three years. "They're amazing," he gushes, recalling how hundreds of people showed up at each meeting, "the events offer a perspective on history that is unusual and unlike what you often get in (school) courses."

The program, which has sold out every year, has largely appealed to 35- to 45-year-old men. But Hayes says programming is geared toward people of all ages and sexual orientations. Despite the series' brevity - three programs a year typically from January through June - Hayes says the goal is to push discussions and informational outlets outside institutions. By partnering with organizations such as the Center on Halsted and the gender studies departments of city universities, including NU, the museum hopes to affirm this message. The program is leading up to 2010, when the museum will unveil a yearlong exhibit detailing the LGBT past in Chicago.

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