Category Archives: Oral History

Building a Radical Space: Inclusion, Fracture, and the Limits of Utopia

By Alisha Stranges and Elspeth H. Brown T’Hayla Ferguson, digital illustration by Ayo Tsalithaba for The Pussy Palace Oral History Project, LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. 2025. “I think the intention was to make women’s sexuality and women’s play just normal. Not such a sideshow. We want to have a place to go and get naked and fuck and play,… Read more »

How Do You Remember a Sex Party? Telling the History of the Pussy Palace

This is a black and white photograph showing four women smiling together in what appears to be a casual, friendly group portrait. They're wearing plaid or checkered shirts, giving the image a relaxed, informal feel. There's decorative artwork visible on the wall behind them - what looks like an ornate floral or scrollwork design. The photo has a vintage quality, likely from the 1970s based on the hairstyles and photographic style. The women appear to be enjoying each other's company, with genuine, warm smiles.

By Alisha Stranges and Elspeth H. Brown Ange Beever, digital illustration by Ayo Tsalithaba for The Pussy Palace Oral History Project, LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. 2025. “When they first came in, I was pissed off that they had crashed the party. […] like these stupid men tromping through this place. I’m just like, ‘You look like idiots. You’re stupid…. Read more »

The power of oral history in piecing together archival fragments documenting 2SLGBTQ+ community histories

Meredith J. Batt I have made an error. These are not words that come easily to a historian, when evidence is the backbone of our work. However, as Tim Lacy notes in his Society for U.S. Intellectual History blog post On the Failures of Historians, “There is no question that historians in their role as content experts experience failure.  All humans are… Read more »

The Sounds of Solidarity: An Oral History of Rhythm Activism’s Oka and Oka II

Sean Carleton  To mark the 30th anniversary of the siege of Kanehsatà:ke and Kahnawá:ke, commonly known as the 1990 “Oka Crisis,” I have been interviewing a number of non-Indigenous musicians about the music they made in solidarity with the Mohawk land struggle. I’ve spoken with Chris Hannah from the thrash punk band Propagandhi and hip hop artist Maestro Fresh-Wes about… Read more »