Marlene Massey Oral History Interview, 2017

Partial Transcript: Today's date is May 24, 2017 and I am Angela Dunham. This is an oral history interview with Marlene Massey in Corvallis, Oregon...

Segment Synopsis: Massey briefly talks about her childhood, family, and educational background.

Keywords: childhood; education; family

Partial Transcript: So, talking about LGBT issues, were they ever discussed in your family growing up?

Segment Synopsis: Massey talks about the lack of discussion surrounding LGBTQ issues with her family

Keywords: LGBTQ; coming out; family

Partial Transcript: Do you remember your first reaction or exposure to LGBT issues?

Segment Synopsis: Massey talks about her growing awareness of her own sexuality and her interactions with other women. She also talks about attempting to speak to her parents about her sexuality.

Keywords: Greenwich Village; LGBTQ; coming out; sexuality

Partial Transcript: Do you remember, was there an attitude toward LGBT issues in your school and your community?

Segment Synopsis: Massey briefly describes the climate surrounding LGBT issues in her community

Keywords: LGBTQ; community; sexuality

Partial Transcript: Moving on to your move to Oregon. What motivated you to move to Oregon?

Segment Synopsis: Massey briefly describes her move to Oregon and how the social environment differed from New Jersey.

Keywords: Oregon; sexuality

Partial Transcript: What was your first exposure to LGBT activism?

Segment Synopsis: Massey describes her experiences with discrimination working at a school that constituted her first experiences with LGBT activism

Keywords: Oregon Citizens' Alliance; activism; discrimination; homophobia

Partial Transcript: So, when did you first hear about After 8 and what made you want to join?

Segment Synopsis: Massey talks about her first experiences with After 8 and her involvement as a member of the organization. She includes several props from her time involved with the organization.

Keywords: After 8; Harvey Milk Dinner; LGBTQ; Oregon Citizens' Alliance; activism; sexuality

Partial Transcript: Relating to this project and in general, what kind of reaction did the group receive from the community?

Segment Synopsis: Massey talks briefly about some of the community backlash against After 8 as well as against her as a lesbian.

Keywords: After 8; death threats; harassment

Partial Transcript: So, when did you stop being involved with After 8?

Segment Synopsis: Massey describes her experiences in he hospital following her brain injury as well as some of her other experiences with medical professionals relating to her sexuality.

Keywords: After 8; brain injury; hospitalization; medical problems; sexuality

Partial Transcript: So, what is your experience as both a member of the LGBT community as well as a disabled person? Do you have examples of that intersection? Can you talk a little bit about that?

Segment Synopsis: Massey briefly talks about the intersection of her identity as a member of the LGBT commnunity and having a disability.

Keywords: LGBTQ; disability; sexuality

Partial Transcript: Do you consider this an activist role or how have you perceived your role in activism change over time?

Segment Synopsis: Massey briefly discussed how her activism has changed over time as well as the similarities she sees between LGBT rights and disabled rights activism.

Keywords: After 8; LGBT; activism; disability; marginalization

Partial Transcript: I was gonna ask about finding community in Corvallis. You mentioned the co-op, how you saw a shift in finding gay meeting places...

Segment Synopsis: Massey talks about the options for finding community in Corvallis

Keywords: LGBTQ; community

Partial Transcript: So, can you talk a little bit about why advocacy is important to you?

Segment Synopsis: Massey describes why advocacy is so important to her. She also talks about her involvement with the Unitarian Fellowship.

Keywords: LGBTQ:disability; Unitarian Fellowship; advocacy; education; teaching

Partial Transcript: Can you talk a little bit about the shift in attitudes you've seen since you've grown up to now surround the LGBT community?

Segment Synopsis: Massey describes the growing acceptance for non-heterosexuality she has seen since her childhood as well as a knitting group she is involved with through the Unitarian Fellowship

Keywords: LGBTQ; sexuality

Partial Transcript: Is there anything else you would like to share with the archive?

Segment Synopsis: Massey offer some final comments about acceptance, marriage, and volunteering at the public library.

Keywords: acceptance; lesbian; marriage