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Lesbian Nation, March 21, 197[?]
A recording of Judy Grahn who briefly discusses publishing and two independent presses run by women, the Women’s Press Collective & Mama’s Press in the California bay area. The majority of airtime is dedicated to Grahn’s reading of works from the aforementioned presses. She reads chapter 17 from Sharon Isabel’s autobiographical novel “Yesterday’s Lessons” as well as poetry from “Lesbians Speak Out” & poems of Susan Griffin. -
Lesbian Nation, August 25, 1972
An interview with Julie Lee about her background, work and ongoings with New York City & New Jersey branches of Daughters of Bilitis. This recording also includes a discussion of the book “Lesbian Woman” by Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon, the topics it addresses and Julie Lee’s efforts on east coast distribution of the book. -
Women Against Rape (Part 3)
This recording of the “Women’s Showcase” is the third part of three from the NYU hosted event, Women Against Rape. Ellyn Joyce the author of the poetry book “Instinct for Survival” reads selected poems from her own work. Before each reading Ellyn offers a little insight into what inspired her. At the end of the recording she discusses her work at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and advocates for better treatment of the women imprisoned there. -
Judith Schwarz Interview, 1992
Judith Schwarz discusses how grateful she is the DOB exists, the way that societal attitudes towards lesbianism has changed since the founding of DOB, how many women were afraid to have mail mailed to them or used pseudonyms or “bar names” to hide their identity.
She discusses her first lesbian relationship, which happened shortly after she moved to San Franciso, and how this introduced her to lesbian culture, specifically survival literature. She talks about how she was at first intimidated by certain aspects of lesbian culture, like powerful butch lesbians, frequent drinking in the community, and lesbian literature.
She talks about the impact of DOB, and how there was harassment from police as well as other lesbians or women. She also talks about sharing The Ladder around her workplace in secret, and shares the story about how The Ladder was “stolen” from the DOB San Franciso offices. She says that diversity was always lacking in the DOB, and talks about some reasons why.
DOB meetings sometimes consisted of potluck dinners and Gab and Javas, sometimes taking place at Schwarz’s house. She talks about how lesbians dressed at the time.
Finally she discusses the differences between the DOB and the Lesbian Herstory Archives and how they met different needs for lesbians, and finally some of the special collections in the archive. Joan Nestle jumps in at the end to discuss radical politics and the FBI surveillance of the DOB. -
Nikki Nichols Interview, May 14, 1987
Nikki Nichols describes her coming out process, and experiences with older lesbian women as a teenager. Discusses changing views on butch/fem issue. Laments the lack of lesbian groups in Sacramento, as well as describing issues with and fears of gay bars. Talks about how the discovery of DOB saved her life – socially and otherwise. Describes first DOB convention in 1960. Discusses her research into Native American attitudes towards homosexuality, as well as Native American rights movement.
On tape 2, she talks about The Ladder and its role in lesbian history, and gives her thoughts about which leaders loomed large in the DOB. She brings up the Act or Teach “controversy” of the early 60s. She mentions problems with drug culture in San Francisco during the 60s. She also talks about her enthusiasm for active protest/picketing, and the difficulties of getting gay activists and rallies in California outside of San Francisco. -
![[2014SP]Morgan G_A.mp3](/omeka/application/views/scripts/images/fallback-audio.png "[2014SP]Morgan G_A.mp3")
To Morgan Gwenwald from Stella Rush June 19, 1987, Side A
Stella Rush records her thoughts while on a road trip and talks about a car accident she had in the past and what it was like to travel through Central City, L.A. -
Jean Ko Stewart Interview, April 11, 1989
Jean Ko Stewart is interviewed in Boston in 1989. She discusses her early relationships with women and coming out. She speaks about her role as the Vice President of the Boston chapter, which involved organizing dances and concerts and a focus on providing a community space for lesbians. She compares the political and social climate of California and Boston, and considers Boston’s racial climate at the time. Jean explains that she moved to California because she heard that women wore slacks to work, which was considered unacceptable in Boston in the 1960s.
Accompanied by an abridged version where Jean Ko Stewart speaks about meeting with the Daughters of Bilitis community. -
Lois Johnson and Sheri Barden Interview, April 1, 1989
The interview begins with Lois Johnson, who discusses when she realized that she was a lesbian, which caused her to move out to California and take a job in journalism. It was there that she met a woman who eventually became her lover, and they used to play music together. Sheri Barden talks about her social life after she met Lois Johnson, though she did like to party with her landlord, who was also a lesbian, though these social affairs pretty much came to an end when her relationship began with Lois.
On tape 2, Lois Johnson discusses expressing herself emotionally, and how she repressed her anger initially, unlike Sheri, who would often explode, leading to a lot of crying in the early part of their relationship. However, she continues to believe in love and commitment, and credits Sheri for having a great sense of humor. Sheri Barden also talks about her businesses, including a bed and breakfast that houses many lesbians. The two then reminisce on what they have in common, including their love of cats.