About the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project

The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project seeks to document the lives of old lesbians who were born in the first half of the last century, with a focus on lesbians 70 years of age and older. The lives that they led were difficult and, in many ways, are difficult for us to understand today. There were no LGBTQ publications or organizations. Often, these women didn't even have any role models to help guide their lives. They had to make it up as they went along. The OLOHP seeks to record their histories as told in their own words, not filtered and interpreted by others. We are working to preserve stories that would be lost when these women are gone.
Anonymous, born 1932
I was dismissed by the gym teachers and all as "You're just having typical girlhood crushes." The same thing with my college roommate. You know, I would have followed her anywhere at that time. I just didn't have a clue.

Arden Eversmeyer, born 1931 – Founder and Guiding Force for the OLOHP

Overview of the OLOHP

  • The Project was conceived in 1996, and began its work with its first interview in 1998.
  • Arden Eversmeyer is the Founder and Director of the OLOHP.
  • Herstories are gathered in one-on-one interviews conducted by other old lesbians.
  • Arden conducted almost every one of the first 100 interviews.
  • Interviews are later transcribed and put together with photos and other supporting documents.
  • By mid-2017, the Project will have gathered and preserved more than 600 life stories.
  • More than 90% of the women interviewed were 70 years of age or older. Nine of those women were in their 90s and 73 of them were in their 80s when interviewed.
  • Interviewers range from age 62 to 85.
  • Stories have been gathered from women of all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. They represent stories from 39 states as well as a few of women living in Japan, Australia, Canada and Costa Rica.
  • The OLOHP is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-proift organization, allowing for tax-deductible donations.

Mission Statement

The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project is designed to capture the Herstories of old lesbians in order to:
  1. preserve our personal and cultural history.
  2. educate lesbians of all ages about the lives that women led in the years before coming out was a safe and viable option.
  3. remind us all of the relative freedom we now enjoy because of the women who were strong enough to live their lives and love whom they wanted in a hostile society.
  4. to provide an archival resource for scholars.
  5. to help younger generations understand the variety of experiences of old lesbians in areas of work, love, relationships, coming out, activism, and more.

Goals of the Project

The goals of the OLOHP are:
  1. to collect the life stories of a generation of amazing, mostly invisible, lesbians over age 70 who are rapidly disappearing.
  2. to train lesbians in different parts of the country to conduct interviews on behalf of the OLOHP.
  3. to create an archival resource on the experiences of old lesbians.