Zoom 2021

End White Dominance—Topic: 2021 Review
Friday, December 24, 2021

General recap of the End White Dominance series for the last year and the ways in which the atrocities of white dominance affect all humans.
Discussion about which presentation(s) impacted you the most; did you learn anything from the series; did anything change within you; and did you implement any change in your life actions? This end of the year gathering will also talk about what you liked about the series and your thoughts for its future growth.
The 2021 presentations:

  • Housing
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Healthcare and Insurance
  • Prison Industrial Complex
  • The Margaret Garner Story
  • Transportation
  • Information Suppression
  • San Francisco Jails
  • Voter Suppression
  • Indigenous People
  • Thanksgiving

Which topic(s) impacted you the most; did you learn anything from the series; did anything change in you; and did you implement any change in your life actions? 

Read the full presentation
Liberation Starts with L: An Olivia Records Story
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Ginny Berson, 1946

Presented by Ginny Berson, 1946. Facilitated by Christine Pattee, 1941.
Olivia Records was not just a record company. Informed by the vision of Lesbian feminists in the 1970s, Olivia’s intention was to change the world, with music as one of, but not its only, means. Ginny Z. Berson was one of the founders of Olivia Records, as well as a member of The Furies collective. She will talk about the writing of her book, Olivia on the Record: A Radical Experiment in Women’s Music (Aunt Lute Books), the politics and music that Olivia championed, and the vision of liberation that inspired it.

Click here to download the transcript of the Q&A session (not on the recording) with the Chat Notes.

Landykes: Women’s Land Communities, Part 1
Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Since the 1970s, Lesbians have been starting women’s land communities all over the country, a form of “living feminism” in its various manifestations. In their gatherings and publications, many of them identify as “Landykes.” For the first panel, we have invited several Landykes to describe how and why they got involved in one or more women’s land communities, and some of their challenges and successes.

Facilitated by Rose Norman, 1949, and Janet Holstine, 1949.
Presenters include Alí Marrero-Calderón, 1948, Las Amazonas, Puerto Rico; Jenna Weston, 1949, Lake Annie Womonspace, North Central Florida; Susan Wiseheart, 1941, Hawk Hill, Missouri; Sabine Dyke, 1966, near Roseburg, Oregon, Lesbianland in Europe, and Shewolf’s Directory; Francis Eatherington, 1949, Rainbow’s End, west of Roseburg, Oregon; Lynn Hicks, 1946, Full Circle Farm, Siler City, North Carolina; Jae Haggard, 1947, Outland, Serafina, New Mexico; and Blanche Jackson, 1940, Maat Dompin, near Appomattox, Virginia.

Click here to download a Resources List of periodicals, directories, books, and articles.

End White Dominance—Topic: Racism and Indigenous People
Friday, October 29, 2021

Christopher Columbus did not “discover” America, he invaded, and what followed was genocide, stolen land, forced removal, boarding schools, family destruction, and assimilation that continues to the present time. To end racism against Indigenous peoples, we have to name it and speak up. Please join us for an interactive information sharing about Racism and Indigenous People. Come prepared to tell the group what ancestral, traditional, and present day tribal lands on which you live today. Here is one map to help and you can search for others.

Read the full presentation
The Power of Our Aging: Old/Elder Lesbians Confront Ageism
Tuesday, October 26, 2021.

Presenters: Katherine Wood, 1954; Matthea Little Smith, 1950; Mev Miller, 1955; Jacqui Lewis Miller, 1949; and Sally Tatnall, 1937.
For the past several months, a small group of OLOC members (Katherine, Matthea, Mev, and Sally) has been meeting regularly to update the 1992 OLOC Handbook on Confronting Ageism. In this presentation, we updated you on our progress. We discussed our personal experiences and gains as we participate in this process with each other of facing ageism. As part of the presentation, we encouraged participants to reflect on the first section of the Handbook: “Claiming Old! Aging and Ageism.”
Q&A followed.

Facing the Emotions of Death and Dying
Friday, September 17, 2021.
Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan

Presenters: Becky Bohan, 1952, and Nancy Manahan, 1946. Facilitated by Ruth Debra, 1944.
OLOC members Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan, death and dying educators and co-founders of the Minnesota Threshold Network, led a discussion on how to talk about and make end-of-life choices consistent with your values. Becky read a passage from her novel A Light on Altered Land describing the dying and death care of a Lesbian partner. Nancy read an excerpt from Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond, their memoir of the last years and intentional dying process of their sister-in-law, Diane Manahan, RN.

Nancy Manahan is a retired college English teacher whose books include Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence and On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience.

Becky Bohan is a retired small business owner whose latest novel, A Light on Altered Land, explores ageism, medicinal cannabis, and the erasure of Lesbian culture. Look for The Santorini Setup: A Novel of Suspense and Romance later this year.

Nancy and Becky have been together 27 years and co-authored the award-winning Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond. They’ve traveled widely, having left their native Minnesota for Carefree, a community of 500 women in North Fort Myers, Florida.

Ruth Debra

Ruth Debra is a member of the OLOC Steering Committee. She is a lifelong activist and former nurse and nursing home administrator. Ruth currently facilitates Death Cafés.

Nancy Manahan is a retired college English teacher whose books include Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence and On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience.

Becky Bohan is a retired small business owner whose latest novel, A Light on Altered Land, explores ageism, medicinal cannabis, and the erasure of Lesbian culture. Look for The Santorini Setup: A Novel of Suspense and Romance later this year.

Nancy and Becky have been together 27 years and co-authored the award-winning Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond. They’ve traveled widely, having left their native Minnesota for Carefree, a community of 500 women in North Fort Myers, Florida.

Ruth Debra is a member of the OLOC Steering Committee. She is a lifelong activist and former nurse and nursing home administrator. Ruth currently facilitates Death Cafés.

Download the resource list for A Discussion on Death and Dying.

A Conversation with Amy Cunningham
Thursday, August 26, 2021 

Would you like to know more??
Amy Cunningham, Research Coordinator from the University of Washington, presented information about dementia and caregiving in the LGBTQ community. She introduced Aging with Pride: IDEA (Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action), the first federally funded program designed to help those experiencing memory loss and their caregivers in the LGBTQ community.
Amy Cunningham has been a Research Coordinator at the University of Washington in both the School of Nursing and School of Social Work for 25 years. She has coordinated over 20 studies in the School of Nursing’s Northwest Research Group on Aging.Those studies have explored behavioral interventions designed to assist old adults with a multitude of issues such as insomnia, osteoarthritis pain, menopause, caregiving, memory loss, and dementia. Her current position is with the School of Social Work’s Aging with Pride IDEA Project, which seeks to help adults with memory loss and their care partners in the LGBTQ community.

Links to resources — Flyer | Newsletter | Chat Notes

OLOC Memorial Tribute for Alix Dobkin
A celebration of XXAlix on the occasion of her 81st birthday, August 16, 2021.

Lesbian friends of Alix paid tribute to her life and memory. They shared words and stories as well as played her most beloved songs featuring Lesbian life and culture. Speakers included: Adrian Hood, Bonnie Wagner, Lavender, Liza Cowan, Kathy Munzer, Mev Miller, Nedra Johnson, Susan Wisehart, and Retts Scauzillo.

Jim Crow, 1619 Project Critical Race Theory
July 23, 2021

Jim Crow Laws  Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states and was named after a Black minstrel show character. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens. There were many Christian ministers and theologians taught that white people were the Chosen people, that blacks were cursed to be servants, and that God supported racial segregation. 

Read the full presentation
Let’s Talk about S-E-X!
July 8, 2021

Sarah Pearlman, 1935, spoke on sex and the Old Lesbian, addressing such topics as the effect of menopause on desire and orgasm, how aging affects sexuality, sex and the long-term Lesbian couple, the sexual/relationship issues and challenges facing the Old single Lesbian, and the importance of masturbation. Included will be discussion on planning sex dates and concepts such as simmering, willingness, and sexual novelty. Sarah has also provided a longer version of her presentation. Download here…

About Sarah … In her past work life, Sarah Pearlman was a sex educator and therapist. Trained by Masters and Johnson and inspired by Betty Dodson, she has presented at numerous conferences on Lesbian sexuality. Now active in Boston’s LGBT elder organizations, Sarah was the coordinator of two Boston-based conferences: Sex and Gender in the City, and To Bed or Not to Bed: Sex and the Older Lesbian. Her interest in Old Lesbians and sex is not entirely intellectual.

End White Dominance—Topic: Transportation and Racism
June 25, 2021 

Presented by Patty O’Donnell, 1956
TRANSPORTATION AND RACISM  Through the years the voices of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color have largely gone unheard or ignored as cities and regions considered investments in traffic, safety, and transit. The struggle for racial desegregation of transportation has a long history, as powerful whites controlled the movement of people of color.

Read the full presentation
Behind the Scenes in Women’s Music and Culture, The Early Years, Part 1: Production
Thursday, May 27, 2021

Do you remember your first women’s music concert? These presenters are remarkable Lesbians who were involved in various festivals and events… as we all built and sustained a network dedicated to woman-loving music and culture.
Panel Discussion facilitated by Margie Adam, 1947, and Melanie DeMore, 1954. 

Download Behind the Scenes Chat Notes and Report

Facing Death and Dying with Dignity
Monday, May 3, 2021

Death and dying – two words we don’t talk about and prefer not to think about. But they are a part of all of our lives and since none of us is immortal, let’s talk. We hope this OLOC Zoom demystifies the topic. Join your OLOC sisters to share thoughts, ideas, options and fears about the end of life. Facilitated by Sue Reamer, 1942, and Ruth Debra, 1944.
Download Death and Dying Resources

Still Here: Lesbian Writers Continuing on from the 70s OLOC Zoom Presentation Recorded April 26, 2021

Enjoy the inspiration of several gifted Lesbian writers reading their own words. Curated and introduced by Elana Dykewomon, 1949, and Jewelle Gomez, 1948. Readers Include:Cheryl Clark, 1947; Dorothy Allison, 1949; Kitty Tsui, 1952; Irena Klepfisz, 1941; Terry Baum, 1946; Jewelle Gomez, and Elana Dykewomon.
Download the book list and author bios
Download the Still Here Report 

Keeping the “L” Relevant: Archiving Our Lesbian Herstories
Sunday, March 21, 2021

In this panel presentation, Lesbians with experience talked about how they archive and share relevant herstories of Lesbian lives. Presenters included: Sharon Raphael, 1941; Deb Edel, 1944; Krü Maekdo; Bonnie Morris, 1961; and Alí Marrero Calderón, 1948; with Facilitator, Mev Miller, 1955.
Download the Resources List for Keeping the “L” Relevant

NOTE: Due to privacy issues, ONLY the panelists are included and NOT the Q&A. 

Women of the Harlem Renaissance
A Multimedia Presentation
Thursday, February 18, 2021

After World War I, Black people flocked to New York City from the American South and the Caribbean Islands. Many settled in Harlem, and from 1918 to the mid-1930s, they created a cultural, artistic, and intellectual revolution that influenced other artists around the world. At the time, it was called The New Negro Movement, and many brilliant women were a part of it. Who were they, and what did they do? In this presentation we’ll talk about the experiences and unique talents of a number of these women — many of them Lesbian or bisexual, all of them groundbreaking. Join us for a glimpse into this historic, dynamic era and into the lives of the amazing Black women who shaped it. Presented by Jorjet Harper.
Download the Zoom Report

Book Club Possibilities
Friday, February  5, 2021

These are recommended titles from the chat participants for the whole group and Breakout Group One. Many thanks to Christine Pattee, 1941, for compiling this list.

  1. Olivia on the Record, by Ginny Z. Berson, recently released by Aunt Lute Press, auntlute.com/olivia-on-the-record
  2. Cantoras, by Carolina De Robertis (novel set in Uruguay and totally about Lesbians). Great.
  3. Val McDermid is a Scottish Lesbian author with Lesbian characters. I love her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series! Dark and gritty murder mysteries, though, so beware, LOL!
  4. A Light on Altered Land, by Becky Bohan. OLOC member. Novel about Lesbians.
  5. All of Marti Bellinger’s about Ruth.
  6. Anything by Elana Dykewoman
  7. Beyond the Pale, by Elana Dykewoman
  8. Wildfire: She/volution, by Sonia Johnson
  9. Never Anyone But You, by Rupert Thomson
  10. Poppy Jenkins, by Clare Ashton
  11. Pull of the Stars, by Emma Donahue
  12. Anything by Sarah Waters
  13. Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left Bank, by Andrea Weiss
  14. Juliana, by Vanda. Set in New York in the 1940s and 1950s.
  15. Film: Vita and Virginia on YouTube.
  16. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
  17. Patience and Sarah, by Isabel Miller
  18. Paris Was a Woman, by Shari Bentock
  19. Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties, by Noel Riley Fitch
  20. The Sixty-fourth Day, by Rowena Winik
  21. Anything by Jane Rule or Jeanette Winterson
  22. Lillian in Love, by Sue Katz
  23. A Raison in my Cleavage, by Sue Katz
  24. Alix Dobkin, My Red Blood, story of her red diaper baby life before she came out [mentioned by two participants]
  25. Djuna Barnes’s collection of her newspaper articles
  26. This Bridge Called My Back
  27. Tribe of Dina
  28. Fiction: Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo
  29. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
  30. “Literary Ladies Guide,” an email list with stories about famous women authors
  31. The Lions of Fifth Avenue, by Fiona Davis (Lesbian content. Heterodoxy)
  32. ebookwoman.com – Highly recommend.
“Where Do We March from Here?”
Thursday, January 21, 2021

In this Post-Inauguration Zoom, we considered the challenges we face as we move along with a new President and the many on-going challenges still with us: COVID-19, inadequate healthcare, institutional racism, financial/housing/food insecurities, Trumpism, voter suppression, ageism, etc.

This video features Mandy Carter, who introduced our Post-Inauguration Discussion. In the first 17 minutes, she shares her reflections about the Biden/Harris inauguration and other current events. The participants then went to small group discussions. The last part of the video shares Mandy’s thoughts following the small groups and what she heard. 

By Marie Emee, 1962
The OLOC Zoom meeting [Where Do We March from Here? on January 21] started with Mandy Carter’s informative walk through history, as seen through the eyes of an African American Lesbian educator and survivor who forged a strong backbone as she navigated the child welfare system as an orphan. The 1964 Freedom Summer, the Poor People’s Campaign that went on despite the slaying of MLK in 1968, the building of Resurrection City on the National Mall in DC … all of these events came alive as seen through Carter’s eyes.

Black men won the vote in 1870, and here is a Black woman standing proud in her herstory, reminding us that she could not vote until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That’s real. History comes alive when you have a strong elder who takes the time to tell her story. Sister Carter, thank you for a walk in your shoes.

Mandy asked us: What is the seed we will plant in the future? What drives us? What is the thing deep within us that we will shelter, tend, and grow from seedling roots into leaves, flowers, and fruits? Where do we go from here? Our answers: social justice, ending racism and sexism, destroying the illusion of white supremacy, protecting our land, water, air, and animals…

Some of us tend to the preservation and protection of our Lesbian culture and our hard-won sex-based rights.

From this point in the Zoom meeting, questions came: “Is this an emergency?”, one sister asked. Another question: can Lesbians tell our stories without anger, to elicit empathy, while we are pinioned with threats and hateful slurs for protecting our culture and our spaces? Can we move forward with mutual respect, love, and compassion for others? And can that happen with folks who do not seem to respect our culture and our safe spaces? Where is the compassion for Lesbians? Where is the understanding? And what can we do to foster these?

Is there a way to show the world that the Lesbian community, especially the feminists among us, cannot be reduced to a slur? How do we define ourselves as Lesbians, and how can that definition protect our Lesbian culture and prevent the appropriation of the Lesbian moniker by people who do not fit that definition? How do we protect and nurture young Lesbians, especially young butch Lesbians?

How do we create a brand for ourselves, and is that needed? How can we foster understanding for the righteous rage of those who lament the attack on our community by people who have no understanding of us, and show no compassion for us? If we were understood, would there be compassion and respect, and if so, how do we build bridges to that understanding?

Sheila Jeffreys

The Lesbian image has been hypersexualized and misappropriated in what our sister Sheila Jeffreys, 1948 [pictured], calls the “malestream media.” How do we counter this? Can we hate the acts of the perpetrators and still respect their humanity, even as they deny our very existence?

How do we foster unrelenting compassion for ourselves that is steel-strong, so that when we reach out in compassion to others, we do not lose compassion and respect for our Lesbian culture and for ourselves? How do we resist erasure into the gullet of Queerness? How do we preserve and protect the L? We are a culture, not just a sexual orientation. How do we project that culture out of the archives and into the world? The answers to these questions are, I suspect, as diverse as the sacred seeds we carry within us.

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