Lesbian Testimony Podcast Lesbian Testimony Podcast

“I came out when I was 40. So a lot of the period that we were covering which is about 1970 to 99, I came out in 1990 so I missed a lot of it. And it was invisible to me, the whole lesbian culture, completely invisible to me. Turned out half my friends were lesbian and I didn’t know it.” - Rose Norman

For this bonus episode we talked to Rose Norman, the editor of the Southern Lesbian-Feminist Activist Herstory Project which puts on the annual Womonwrites conference to produce and collect Southern lesbian feminist activist writers’ stories. The project collective came out of the Women’s Movement of the 60’s and is in it’s 39th year of operation. Her academic research focused on American women’s autobiography and she is now a retired professor of English and women’s studies who grew up in rural Alabama and now lives in Huntsville, Alabama.

We talk about the history of the conference, Southern lesbian feminist activist representation, the exploratory process of collecting interviews to document these women’s stories, and lesbian culture in the South.

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“First I was a freak, then I was a queer, then I was a femme, then I was a lesbian feminist, I still am all these things, and then a queer femme lesbian feminist, I don't know if it's clear but maybe it's good that it's not clear. My primary definition is as a 50s femme.” - Joan Nestle

For episode 25 we talked to Joan Nestle, Lauren Hortie, Mary Woo Sims, Nadine Boulay and Selly Chiam about lesbian identification and identity formation surrounding the word lesbian. Then afterwards we had a discussion with the archives director Elise Chenier and our archivist Meghan Walley of the clips and our take on the question what does the word lesbian mean?

Thank you for a great year!

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“Cultures of dissemblance refers to a culture of practice within African American communities, specifically that black women practice. It’s about dissembling– hiding or shielding what your own interior feelings are, your own personal perspectives, when you are interacting specifically within a white atmosphere.” - Dalena Hunter

For episode 24 we talked to Dalena Hunter. a Librarian at UCLA Bunche Center for African American Studies who is currently working on her thesis which explores how archives capture Black lesbian experiences and how these materials are used by researchers. We discuss record keeping culture, the racial bias in archival silences, cultures of dissemblance, and the power of memory and history in community.

Look out for our next special episode where we ask our past guests “What does the term lesbian mean to you?”

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“To see her here now with us in this space of joy and laughter… It really worked for her life. It was exactly what she needed and she’s known that all along which I thought was so special. I don’t think you see that in many lives: people who have this core sense of truth and then can follow it through anything.” - Linds Tattersall

For episode 23 we talked to Azra Poe and Lindsay Tattersall about their interview with Gretchen, a trans woman living in Nelson. We discuss Gretchen's experience surrounding trans surgery, identity, the language surrounding queerness, and what it looks like to pursue inner truth.

Look out for our next episode where we talk to Dalena Hunter, a Librarian at UCLA Bunche Center for African American Studies who is currently working on her thesis which explores how archives capture Black lesbian experiences and how these materials are used by researchers. We discuss record keeping culture, cultures of dissemblance, and more!

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“Something broke down a few years ago and we moved to really hard and confusing times. We are still in the EU and we are still a democratic country but at some point everything started collapsing.” - Lena Bielska

For episode 22 we talked to Lena Bielska and Liliana Piskorska about their new project called Lesbian Herstory Project in Poland implemented by their Herstory Foundation. HerStory Foundation includes oral history projects, workshops, self-defense seminars, and publishing ventures. Lesbian Herstory Project in Poland is the name of their new project that they are trying to start, all about lesbian women from 1945-1989. We also discuss the current status of queer politics in Poland.

Look out for our next episode where we talk to Azra Poe and Lindsay Tattersall about their interview with Gretchen, a trans woman living in Nelson.

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