DVD – Our Stories, Our Voices: The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project

Download a PDF for the DVD-Guide and Handouts

dvd-companion_guide.pdf
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dvd_handout.pdf
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dvd_discussion_questions.pdf
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dvd_eval_form.pdf
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We'd be glad to share a PDF for the DVD-Companion Guide that is laid out in booklet fashion as well… let us know if you'd like a copy. 

In addition to the DVD itself…
A DVD-Companion Guide and several handouts are also available to go along with the DVD, Our Stories, Our Voices. The Guide and handouts were designed to facilitate use of the DVD in group settings. The Guide and handouts are available in print, or you can download free PDFs.

Several Options…
  • Order the DVD only
  • Order the DVD with a print copy of the DVD-Companion Guide and handouts
  • Download PDFs of the Guide and handouts (free)
  • Order a print copy of the DVD-Companion Guide and Handouts
  • Order it all: A copy of the DVD, the DVD-Companion Guide and handouts
     and both books, all at a great package price!

About the DVD

The Project is excited about having a DVD that shares what we are doing! Thanks to the Puget Sound chapter of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (PS OLOC) for taking on production of this informative, moving and delightful film. It's filled with dramatic readings of excerpts from stories in the OLOHP collection and narrated by the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project Founder, Director, and Guiding Force, Arden Eversmeyer!

Whether you are new to the Project, are already familiar, have shared your own story, or work with the OLOHP as an interviewer, Our Stories, Our Voices: The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project is well worth an hour of your time. In fact, once it's over, you'll find yourself thinking about some of the women whose words you've heard, wondering what happened next.

Arden Eversmeyer narrates the DVD, sharing with you what motivated her to start the Project and how it has developed and grown over the past two decades. Six women lend their voices by reading forty excerpts taken directly from the Herstories of 37 Old Lesbians. The DVD shares excerpts covering a wide range of topics about early experiences, finding other women who were like you, seeking professional help, experiences in the military, and much more. Our Stories, Our Voices is many things at once: it's informative and insightful, readings touch you deeply, and sometimes make you laugh. There are stories that are very hard to hear, but there are also stories that are deeply touching and affirming.

Who is our audience?

We hope Our Stories, Our Voices will be viewed by other old lesbians, younger lesbians, LGBTQ groups, women's and gender study programs, PFLAG chapters, open and affirming church groups, care providers of LGBTQ people, and more. We hope groups will use the DVD to start discussions. We have developed a Companion Guide for the DVD as well as several handouts that will be useful tools for group discussions. Supplementary materials for Our Stories, Our Voices will be listed below as soon as the DVD is released. You will be able to either download a free PDF, or order print copies of the supplemental materials.

Why produce a DVD about the OLOHP?

The DVD and Companion Guide are designed and presented by old lesbians from PS OLOC in efforts to develop a cost-effective mechanism of outreach to improve the lives of old lesbians, particularly those who are isolated/invisible/vulnerable. As female, sexual minorities, often disabled by age and low-income, old lesbians have survived many decades of discrimination. Vast numbers still dare not come out as lesbian/gay, or they go back into the closet for safety’s sake when they must live in homophobic environments. This project aims to increase self-esteem and community engagement of old lesbians; improve mental and physical well-being; and increase likelihood of aging in place, reducing risks of early institutionalization and significantly higher health care costs.

How did the DVD come about?

Puget Sound OLOC is a chapter of the national organization OLOC, Old Lesbians Organizing for Change. They work on various efforts to improve the lives of old lesbians, including playing a key role in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project. It was the PS OLOC women who developed and have honed the concept of sharing pieces of the Herstories through dramatic readings. They applied for and received a grant from the Pride Foundation to help produce this DVD, taking the dramatic readings beyond their own area. PS OLOC also was fortunate to have the invaluable technical assistance of Dr. David Coon, University of Washington Tacoma, who donated untold hours to producing the DVD.

More than a dozen PS OLOC women are trained interviewers and they have, collectively, conducted more 50 interviews in their area, and while they travel. PS OLOC women have also helped in other stages of the processing the interviews, doing some transcribing, helping with scanning and printing, and assembling final Herstories. They also offer presentations, often including  dramatic readings, to various groups throughout the Puget Sound.