Seeking Stories of Queer California: A Hidden Histories Online Exhibit Main Menu Introduction Galleries A guide to each of the online galleries in this digital exhibit, grouped by topic or theme. Arts Asian & AAPI LGBTQ+ people Bisexual People Black LGBTQ+ People Communities Defying Expectations Gay men HIV/AIDS Latino/a/x LGBTQ+ people LGBTQ+ Activism LGBTQ+ Discrimination LGBTQ+ Life in California Marriage and Families Politics Pride Religion and Spirituality Transgender People

Lesbians

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Lesbians are women and gender non-conforming people who identify as lesbians and are romantically and/or sexually attracted to other women. Lesbians form an integral part of the LGBTQ+ community, contributing distinctive elements to queer culture. While lesbian identities and relationships have existed across cultures and centuries, the visibility and recognition of their history have often been marginalized, erased, or distorted by narratives that focus on heteronormativity and patriarchy. As such, lesbian history is intertwined with broader movements for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice.

Collection Information

For more information on the materials in this gallery, see their holding institutions.

California Historical Society
Hey Young Lesbians flyer

California History Section, California State Library
Gay & Lesbian L.A. History map

Center for the Study of Political Graphics
3a Marcha Lésbica
Lesbian Dyke March poster
Lesbian Libertys
Lesbian Visibility Week poster

Claremont Colleges Special Collections & Archives
Black Lesbian Newsletter

Gerth Archives & Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills
Aché: A Journal for Black Lesbians
Gay Sunshine

Historical Society of Long Beach
First Ladies Memorial Dance Marathon button
Gerrie Schipske for State Assembly button
Melissa Etheridge Gold Record
Profile of Ellen Ward
Profile of Vanessa Romain

The Huntington Library
Laura Aguilar series Plush Pony
Zoë Akins
Eloise Klein Healy, “There Are No Words for the Sexual Acts of Lesbians"
Connie Samaras series Edge of Twilight
Florence Yoch

Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Art & Sciences
The Children's Hour
Dracula's Daughter
The Killing of Sister George
Pandora's Box
Thirteen Women
The Word is Out

The Outwords Archive
Judy Abdo Oral History
Gwenn Craig Oral History

Philosophical Research Society
Marie Corelli and Bertha Vyer
Portrait of Marie Corelli

Santa Monica Public Library
Sheila Kuehl and Judy Abdo

University of California Riverside Special Collections & University Archives
Civil Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men: A Reference Manual for City and County Officials

The Workman & Temple Family Homestead Museum
Two women embracing and kissing

This page has paths:

  1. Seeking Stories in Queer California Beth McDonald

This page has tags:

  1. Galleries Beth McDonald

Contents of this tag:

  1. Portrait of Marie Corelli, 1908
  2. Aché: A Journal for Black Lesbians, Vol. 1, no. 1, February 1989
  3. Marie Corelli and Bertha Vyer, 1921
  4. Marie Cartier graduation celebration, 2010
  5. Robert Arthur, Ivy Bottini, Quentin Crisp, Morris Kight, and Patricia Nell Warren, 1994
  6. Aché: A Journal for Lesbians of African Descent, Vol. 3, no. 1, February/March 1991
  7. Sheila Kuehl (L) and Judy Abdo (R), December 14, 1997
  8. The Children's Hour, 1961
  9. A celebration of adult Bar and Bat Mitvahs at Congregation Kol Ami, 2000
  10. The Killing of Sister George
  11. Lesbian Wedding, 1987
  12. Lesbian Visibility Week poster, 1990
  13. Lesbian parents and their children at the March on Washington, 1993
  14. 3a Marcha Lésbica, 2006
  15. Sheila Kuehl for Supervisor, circa 2014
  16. Gwenn Craig Outwords profile
  17. Poster for Carolyn Weathers : shitkickers & other Texas stories
  18. Gold record for "Melissa Etheridge" album by Melissa Etheridge, 1988
  19. Connie Samaras, #11 from the series Edge of Twilight, 2013
  20. Black Lesbian Newsletter, December 1982
  21. Aché: A Journal for Black Lesbians, Vol. 1, no. 2, March 1989
  22. Profile of Ellen Ward, 2023
  23. Connie Samaras, #16 from the series Edge of Twilight, 2013
  24. Pandora's Box, 1929
  25. Home, circa 1982
  26. Profile of Vanessa Romain, 2023
  27. Unattributed photograph of Zoe Akins, circa 1930s
  28. Gay & Lesbian L.A. history map, 2000
  29. Tribal Connexions: A Celebration of 2 Years of Aché, 1991
  30. Laura Aguilar, #19, from the series Plush Pony, 1992
  31. Willa Cather, letter to Zoë Akins, May 4, 1918
  32. Lesbian Libertys, 2009
  33. Gay Sunshine, undated
  34. Laura Aguilar, #20, from the series Plush Pony, 1992
  35. Judy Abdo Outwords profile
  36. The Word is Out, 1977
  37. Two women embracing and kissing, 1923
  38. Laura Aguilar, #6, from the series Plush Pony, 1992
  39. Cover of manual for "Civil Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men: A Reference Manual for City and County Officials", 1990
  40. Dracula's Daughter, circa 1936
  41. Lesbian Dyke March poster, 1996
  42. First Ladies Memorial Dance Marathon button, 1978
  43. Photograph of Florence Yoch and her partner Lucile Council, circa 1940
  44. Thirteen Women, 1932
  45. Aché: A Journal for Black Lesbians, Vol. 2, no. 6, November/December 1990
  46. Gerrie Schipske for State Assembly button, 1996
  47. Florence Yoch, landscape design, “A Hillside Garden for Mr. George Cukor, West Hollywood,” 1936
  48. Eloise Klein Healy, typescript draft of poem, “There Are No Words for the Sexual Acts of Lesbians,” circa 1984
  49. Hey Young Lesbians, undated