Butch-Femme Oral History Project

[LesbianOralHistory]

I am a Ph.D. candidate in history at Rutgers University. My dissertation looks at lesbian cultures, identities, and experiences in New York City from the 1940s to the 1960s, with an emphasis on butch-femme. I am conducting oral history interviews with lesbians who were either living in or visited NYC during this period. Help contribute to our shared history!

Please contact Alix Genter with any questions or to set up an interview. And feel free to spread the word!

YOUR NAME CAN BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL!

Alix Genter
LesbianOralHistory@gmail.com
(646) 470-2549

[Chancie]

Are you connected to The Lesbian Herstory Archives (http://www.lesbianherstoryarchives.org/)?

[LesbianOralHistory]

Absolutely! I love that archive and all the women involved. They've pointed me toward some wonderful interview subjects and friends. Thanks :)

[Greyson]

I realize you had to restrict your area in terms of time and geographical area but I wish Los Angeles and/or San Francisco were included. I bet there would be greater representation of POC if the West was included. Latino/Mexican/Chicano and African American to be exact. There is a strong his/herstory of the Butch-Femme culture in POC communities.

[LesbianOralHistory]

Greyson-- I wish the study could be more expansive than it is, but I am a grad student and I live on the east coast so that's really all I can do right now. Maybe when I'm (hopefully) turning it into a book someday I can expand it. But I totally agree that POC need to be represented, and one of the reasons I chose NYC was for its diversity. It is extremely important to me that this not be a white-only story, so please send any lesbians of color from this time and place my way!

By the way, there is a wonderful book on queer San Francisco by Nan Alamilla Boyd called "Wide-open town: a history of queer San Francisco to 1965."