June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives

Last updated
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives
June L Mazer Lesbian Archives.jpg
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives
34°04′54.4″N118°23′07.1″W / 34.081778°N 118.385306°W / 34.081778; -118.385306
Location626 N. Robertson Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069, United States
TypeArchive
Established1981 (1981)
Collection
Items collectedPrivate papers, personal artifacts, organizational records, photographs, artwork, manuscripts, books, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, music recordings, videotapes, posters, flyers, buttons, clothing.
Criteria for collectionMaterials about lesbian and feminist history and culture.
Access and use
Access requirementsVisits – free. Special events require registration.
Other information
DirectorBoard of Directors
Affiliation UCLA Center for the Study of Women
Website mazerlesbianarchives.org

The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives is a grass roots archive dedicated to collecting, protecting, and conserving lesbian and feminist women's history. The Archives was founded in 1981 as the West Coast Lesbian Collections (WCLC) by Lynn Fonfa and Cherrie Cox in Oakland, California. [1]

Contents

After establishing a board of directors, the WCLC was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. In 1985, WCLC relocated to Southern California with the help of Connexxus Women's Center, Jean Conger, [2] [3] and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the City of West Hollywood, [4] [1] [5] and was maintained in the home of June L. Mazer and her partner Nancy "Bunny" MacCulloch in Altadena, California. The two women were custodians of the WCLC until Mazer's death from cancer in 1987. MacCulloch thereafter changed its name to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives and continued to run the collection with the assistance of volunteers. [6] On November 28, 1988, the Mazer Archives moved from Altadena into the Werle Building, a space donated by the City of West Hollywood. [4] [1] The following year, it received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. [7]

In 1989, the Mazer Archives created an outreach and collection-building partnership with the UCLA Center for the Study of Women and the UCLA Library Department of Special Collections of the Charles E. Young Research Library. [7] [8] [9] In 2011, it co-hosted the 3rd LGBT Archives, Libraries, Museums & Special Collections Conference. [10] [11] [12] In 2015, Wolfe Video donated 100 lesbian movies to the Archives. [13] [14] [15]

The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives describes itself as "the only archive on this side of the continent that is dedicated exclusively to preserving lesbian history...The Archives is committed to gathering and preserving materials by and about lesbians and feminists of all classes, ethnicities, races and experiences." [16] It is supported by funding from private donors and the City of West Hollywood, and has been run strictly by volunteers since 1985.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Institute</span> American gay rights organization

Founded in 1952, One Institute, is the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the United States, dedicated to telling LGBTQ+ history and stories through education, arts, and social justice programs. Since its inception, the organization has been headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives</span> LGBT archive at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, US

ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries is the oldest existing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) organization in the United States and one of the largest repositories of LGBTQ materials in the world. Located in Los Angeles, California, ONE Archives has been a part of the University of Southern California Libraries since 2010. ONE Archives' collections contain over two million items including periodicals; books; film, video and audio recordings; photographs; artworks; ephemera, such as clothing, costumes, and buttons; organizational records; and personal papers. Use of the collections is free during regular business hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of lesbianism in the United States</span>

This article addresses the history of lesbianism in the United States. Unless otherwise noted, the members of same-sex female couples discussed here are not known to be lesbian, but they are mentioned as part of discussing the practice of lesbianism—that is, same-sex female sexual and romantic behavior.

<i>Desert Hearts</i> 1985 film by Donna Deitch

Desert Hearts is a 1985 American romantic drama film directed by Donna Deitch. The screenplay, written by Natalie Cooper, is an adaptation of the 1964 lesbian novel Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule. Set in Reno, Nevada in 1959, it tells the story of a university professor awaiting a divorce who finds her true self through a relationship with another, more self-confident woman. The film stars Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau with a supporting performance by Audra Lindley.

Wolfe Video is the oldest and largest exclusive producer and distributor of LGBT films in North America. Founded in 1985 in New Almaden by Kathy Wolfe, the company began as a consumer mail order distribution company for lesbian VHS videos but has evolved over the years to become a full-service distributor of LGBT films. Wolfe releases LGBT films on DVD in North America as well as doing film festival bookings, foreign sales, US digital delivery, and broadcast sales for its library of more than one hundred feature films and dozens of shorts and documentaries. Notable Wolfe releases over the years include the film Big Eden, the 20th Anniversary DVD release of Desert Hearts, Were the World Mine, and Thom Fitzgerald's AIDS drama 3 Needles. Significant Wolfe DVD releases in recent years include the Sundance Film Festival award-winner Undertow, the acclaimed French drama Tomboy, the praised Polish cyberthriller drama Suicide Room, the multiple award-winner Gayby, and Swedish lesbian romance Kiss Me. Wolfe has also released two films by the writer and director Stephen Cone, including The Wise Kids and Henry Gamble's Birthday Party. In June 2012 the company created a new worldwide LGBT movie-watching platform, WolfeOnDemand. In 2015, Wolfe Video donated its complete DVD library of lesbian movies to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.

Margaret Louise Cruikshank is an American lesbian feminist writer and academic. She was one of the first American academics to be out during a time when gay rights were an unfamiliar concept. Cruikshank played a central role in establishing the importance of lesbian studies within both women's studies and the academy through the publication of her edited anthologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Córdova</span> American writer

Jeanne Córdova was an American writer and supporter of the lesbian and gay rights movement, founder of The Lesbian Tide, and a founder of the West Coast LGBT movement. A former Catholic nun, Córdova was a second-wave feminist lesbian activist and self-described butch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesbian Herstory Archives</span> Archive, history museum in Brooklyn, New York

The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians.

Julia Penelope was an American linguist, author, and philosopher. She was part of an international movement of critical thinkers on lesbian and feminist issues. A self-described "white, working-class, fat butch dyke who never passed," she started what she called "rabble rousing" when she was a young woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yolanda Retter</span> American activist

Yolanda Retter was an American lesbian activist, librarian, archivist, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in Los Angeles</span>

Although often characterized as apolitical, “Los Angeles has provided the setting for many important chapters in the struggle for gay and lesbian community, visibility, and civil rights." Moreover, Los Angeles' LGBTQ community has historically played a significant role in the development of the entertainment industry.

Honey Lee Cottrell was a lesbian photographer and filmmaker who lived most of her life in San Francisco, California. Her papers are part of the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University Library.

The Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections (ALMS) Conference is an international event focussed on the work by public, private, academic, and grassroots organisations which are collecting, capture and preserving archives of LGBTQ+ experiences, to ensure their histories continue to be documented and share

Womyn's land is an intentional community organised by lesbian separatists to establish counter-cultural, women-centred space, without the presence of men. These lands were the result of a social movement of the same name that developed in the 1970s in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and western Europe. Many still exist today. Womyn's land-based communities and residents are loosely networked through social media; print publications such as newsletters; Maize: A Lesbian Country Magazine; Lesbian Natural Resources, a not-for-profit organisation that offers grants and resources; and regional and local gatherings.

<i>Queens at Heart</i> 1967 American short film

Queens at Heart is an American short film described as both a documentary and an exploitation film in which four trans women are interviewed about their lives. It was produced in the mid-1960s. The film was digitally preserved in 2009 by the UCLA Film and Television Archive as part of the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation. Andrea James and Jenni Olson were among those who worked on its restoration.

Connexxus Women's Center/Centro de Mujeres was a non-profit community organization established in January 1985 in West Hollywood, California. The organization was co-founded by Adel Martinez and Lauren Jardine in 1984 as a women-run center in Los Angeles, and provided services that catered to women, particularly lesbians and a space in which lesbians could thrive professionally, personally, and socially. In January 1988, it opened an additional facility in East Los Angeles named Connexxus East/Centro de Mujeres made for outreach to the Latina and Chicana communities. The new facility provided services primarily to lesbians in Los Angeles County, and facilitated information about and access to various human service agencies. It also provided counseling in developing and operating small businesses. The facility also sponsored and hosted cultural and educational activities. The 1,400 square-foot center contained space for a library, workshops, rap groups, counseling meetings, and social activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Legion of Lesbians</span> Lesbian feminist collective in Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln Legion of Lesbians (LLL) was a lesbian feminist collective in Lincoln, Nebraska, that sought to destigmatize lesbianism and build lesbian community. The collective sponsored community events open exclusively to women and girls, advocating feminist separatism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jinx Beers</span> American activist and editor (1933–2018)

Jinx Beers, born Clara Jean Beers, was an American activist and editor. She was founder of The Lesbian News, the longest-running newspaper for the lesbian community in the United States. She was also a United States Air Force veteran, a scientist studying driver impairment, an art gallery director, and a mystery writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Mikels</span> American activist

Elaine Mikels was an American activist and social worker. In 1960 she opened Conard House, the first psychiatric halfway house in San Francisco. She wrote an autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess: From Closet Lesbian to Radical Dyke (1993). Her papers are held in the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sheffield, Rebecka Taves (2015). The Emergence, Development and Survival of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives (PDF) (PhD). University of Toronto . Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  2. Love, Barbara J., ed. (2006). "Conger, Jean Tastrom". Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975 (1st ed.). Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 92. ISBN   978-0252031892. LCCN   2006020759.
  3. "Jean Conger". UCLA Library Digital Collections. University of California, Los Angeles.
  4. 1 2 "Minutes: City Council Meeting". City of West Hollywood. November 21, 1988. p. 8.
  5. Carmichael, James Vinson Jr., ed. (1998). Daring to Find Our Names: The Search for Lesbigay Library History. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 168. ISBN   0-313-29963-3.
  6. Schroeder, Stephanie; Schenden, Laurie K (2008). "Lesbian Libraries". Curve . pp. 50–51. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Setzer, Dawn (November 5, 2009). "UCLA Library and Mazer Archives launch partnership". UCLA Newsroom. University of California, Los Angeles . Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. "UCLA Library welcomes the Mazer Archive at UCLA" on YouTube. Published December 2, 2009.
  9. "UCLA Digital Collections". UCLA Library . University of California, Los Angeles Library . Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  10. "LGBT ALMS 2011 Conference". San Francisco Public Library . 2011. OCLC   911189669 . Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  11. Vecoli, Lisa (May 23, 2016). "Guest post: ALMS conference 2006 – 2016 and beyond..." LGBTQ+ Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  12. emily (October 11, 2010). "June Mazer Lesbian Archives Conference – CFP". Center for Positive Sexuality. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  13. "Wolfe Video Donates Complete Lesbian DVD Library to June Mazer Lesbian Archives". Curve . August 3, 2015. Archived from the original on August 4, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  14. Kang, Inkoo (August 4, 2015). "Wolfe Video Donates 100 Lesbian Films to June Mazer Lesbian Archives". IndieWire . Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  15. "Wolfe Video Donates 100 Lesbian Films to June Mazer Lesbian Archives". Women and Hollywood. August 4, 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. "Herstory". June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives. Retrieved 17 June 2019.