The Press
Pink Triangle Press was incorporated in 1975 to give TBP formal existence as a not-for-profit company. The name was taken from the pink triangle used to identify gay inmates of Nazi concentration camps – an indication of the Press's interest in history and its commitment to gay resistance.

Until 1980 the Press also encompassed what is now the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, founded as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives in 1973, largely to house material gathered by
The Body Politic.

Trials
On January 5, 1978 Pink Triangle Press was charged with publishing "immoral, indecent and scurrilous material" - the 39th issue of The Body Politic, including the article Men Loving Boys Loving Men. It was charged again in May 1982 for an article on fist-fucking. We won both cases. But the first charge was retried after Crown appeal of the initial acquittal, and the case ended only with the lapse of a Crown appeal of the second acquittal, in October 1983.

These long court battles had two lasting effects on the Press and its values.

First, they reinforced our opposition to state censorship as a form of social control – even control of material that might be controversial within our own communities.

The second effect grew from the subject matter of the articles under charge, both about practices seen by some as beyond the bounds of conventional gay rights. Our trials confirmed our commitment to a wider struggle for liberation, and our refusal to marginalize others out of concern for "respectability."

Xtra
In an attempt to broaden the Press's Toronto readership, the collective launched Xtra in March 1984. Meant to be more upbeat and accessible than the often too-serious TBP, Xtra began as a four-page tabloid but soon grew. By 1985 it had taken over its parent publication's role of providing local entertainment and community event listings.

Xtra's circulation soon outpaced that of TBP, which was deep in financial trouble and losing direction. In order to save the Press and keep Xtra alive, the collective decided to cease publication of The Body Politic with its 135th issue, dated February 1987.

During the financial crisis of 1986 the collective broke with its non-hierarchical traditions and appointed one of its members, Ken Popert, as Interim Publisher. Ken carried Xtra through the crisis and into solvency. In December 1987 the collective dissolved itself, turning over formal governance of the Press to its
Board of Directors.

Cruiseline
Ken was assisted in rescuing the Press by Colin Brownlee, hired to sell ads and later responsible for setting up phone line services that became the Press's Audiotext division. Earnings from Audiotext soon became a major source of revenue for the Press.