Kidman, Cathy

Interviewer

Sadie McNish, University of Southern Maine

Files

Description

Cathy Kidman, is a 60-year-old lesbian activist who has been involved in LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS advocacy work in Maine since the 1990s. Kidman first became involved in activism through her work at The AIDS Project in Portland in the late 1980s, during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This led her to become an adult advisor for the LGBTQ youth organization Outright, which she helped build into a nonprofit organization. Kidman describes how the AIDS epidemic catalyzed LGBTQ activism, bringing together the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities that had previously been more separate. She talks about the importance of creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth, and how Outright provided a community and support system for many young people. Kidman discusses the challenges of doing HIV/AIDS education and prevention work in schools, navigating conservative backlash, and finding ways to make the content accessible. She also reflects on her changing understanding of the impact of the AIDS quilt and the power of political art. Throughout the interview, Cathy shares personal anecdotes and insights from her decades of experience as an LGBTQ organizer in Maine, highlighting the importance of empowering youth and creating sustainable community-based movements for social change.

Publication Date

11-29-2024

Publisher

University of Southern Maine

City

Portland, Maine

Keywords

Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer, Natick Massachusetts, Maine, Brunswick, Political Activism, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, The AIDS Project, Outright, LGBTQ Youth, Support Group, American Studies, Civil Rights Teams, Gay-Straight Alliances, HIV Prevention, Homeless Youth, AIDS Epidemic, Grief and Loss, AIDS Quilt, Portland Outright, Community Organizing Activism

Disciplines

History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Women's Studies

Comments

Citation

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries.

For more information about the Querying the Past: Maine LGBTQ Oral History Project, please contact Dr. Wendy Chapkis.

Recommended Citation

McNish, Sadie, "Kidman, Cathy" (2024). Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection. 133.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/133

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.