Carol Anne Philipps (February 5, 1965 – February 27, 2009) was a

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journalist and activist, most prominent as the original editor of '' Swerve'', the first

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

community magazine in

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. Kaj Hasselriis
"Carol Philipps: 1965-2009"
. ''Xtra!'', March 16, 2009. Philipps first came out in high school, at a time when Winnipeg did not yet have a gay and lesbian community centre or a

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, and eventually moved in with her first partner, Noreen Stevens. Although Philipps and Stevens eventually ended their relationship, they remained close friends and collaborators. She studied at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

and joined the university's student newspaper, ''

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'', where she helped to coordinate a controversial LGBT issue in 1991. She later moved to

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, where she campaigned for Betty Baxter, an openly lesbian

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candidate in

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in the 1993 federal election, and returned to Winnipeg in 1994. The LGBT community in Winnipeg was facing tough battles when Philipps returned to the city. Mayor

Susan Thompson Susan Ann Thompson was the 40th mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was born on 12 April 1947. She was the first and first to date only woman to serve as mayor of Winnipeg, serving two terms from 1992 to 1998. Thompson graduated with a BA from ...

had refused a request to proclaim the city's Pride Day, the

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had voted against an anti-

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curriculum and a man had recently been murdered in an anti-gay

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."Editor helped start gay paper in Winnipeg". ''

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'', March 16, 2009. Against this backdrop, a small group of community activists, including Philipps, met to discuss launching what would become ''Swerve'', and Philipps became the magazine's first editor. While editing ''Swerve'', she met her partner Virginia McKee in 1995. Philipps and McKee married in 2007. She stepped down as editor of ''Swerve'' in 1997 for health reasons, but continued to contribute to the magazine, as well as to publications such as ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

'' in

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, as an occasional freelance writer. She also worked at Viewpoints Research. According to Stephen Lawson, another member of ''Swerves editorial board, She died on February 27, 2009, due to a congenital heart condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipps, Carol 1965 births 2009 deaths Canadian magazine editors Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Canadian lesbian writers Writers from Winnipeg University of Winnipeg alumni Canadian women magazine editors 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people