Telling the Stories of Eugene's Lesbian History

In the 1960s-90s hundreds of lesbian-identified women moved to Eugene to build a community in which they could flourish as full human beings in their work lives, social spaces, and families. They founded cornerstone organizations central to Eugene’s history and influenced Oregon’s political landscape and the national LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. Outliers and Outlaws is a documentary film that explores this significant aspect of LGBTQ+ history that took place in Eugene and at the University of Oregon. 

Outliers and Outlaws builds on an oral history archive of 83 interviews with lesbians who built this community, most of whom are now in their 70s and 80s. UO Professor Judith Raiskin and Linda Long, Curator of Manuscripts in Special Collections (UO Libraries) collected the stories of these narrators who started innovative collective businesses, ran printing presses, were the leaders of Eugene community service agencies, worked in City and State government positions, and produced and disseminated lesbian magazines, photographs, music, films, theater, and art.   

Professor Raiskin and the filmmaking company Boxcar Assembly are making the documentary film Outliers and Outlaws which focuses on 8 creators of the Eugene lesbian community and traces their inspiring life stories over the last 50 years. They are all dynamic innovators and adventurers. Included in their accomplishments was climbing Mt. Everest with the first all-woman team, running the first all-woman construction company registered in Oregon, advocating nationally and internationally for people with disabilities, working on the front lines of abortion access, performing and promoting women’s and LGBTQ+ culture, leading diplomacy exchange trips between Eugene and the USSR, running nonprofit agencies, and fighting for LGBTQ+ civil rights. The film captures these adventures and draws a line connecting their origins as world builders in Eugene to their current investment and involvement in their communities. 

All young people, and especially UO LGBTQ+ students, need to know the rich and joyous lives of this generation of lesbians who made Eugene and the world a better place to be. We need your help to preserve this history and inspire younger people to face their generation’s challenges with optimism and pride. 

All of the footage for this film has been recorded and much has been edited. We are seeking funds to reach the finish line. Your contribution will be used for the final phases of picture editing, sound mixing, color grading, narration recording, archival photo treatment, film festival submission, and distribution efforts.

To view a ten-minute preview of the film, click here.

For more information about the accompanying oral history exhibit at the Museum of Natural Cultural History, on view through December 2023, click here.