Description
Michelle Patrick is a 60-year-old lesbian woman born in Bethesda Maryland, but who mostly grew up in Washington D.C. Metro area. Patrick came out as a lesbian at age 15 in the late 1970s. Her mother initially reacted negatively but later became an advocate for her after a tragic accident. Patrick, who was openly gay in high school and college, faced some challenges but also found support from teachers and peers. She discusses the bar scene in Washington D.C and her experiences sneaking into some of them underage. She was involved in political activism from a young age. Moving to Maine in 2005/ 2006 as an adult, Patrick has been involved in various LGBTQ organizations and causes, including serving as a key organizer for Pride Portland in the 2010s. She describes the challenges of that work, including dealing with infighting in a diverse community. Michelle Patrick, who works as a massage therapist, discusses volunteering at hospitals during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, witnessing the devastating impact on the LGBTQ community firsthand. She was involved in ACT UP and other activist groups fighting for faster action and access to treatment. She also reflects on the progress made in LGBTQ representation and acceptance, but also the ongoing challenges, especially for younger generations. She emphasizes the importance of remembering history and staying united as a community.
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.
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Publication Date
11-22-2024
Publisher
University of Southern Maine
City
Portalnd, Maine
Keywords
Bethesda Maryland, Washington D.C, North Carolina, Georgia, San Francisco, New York, Lesbian, Equal Rights, Equal Rights Amendment, Equality Community Center, Pride, Pride Portland, Racial Inequalities, Coming Out, Gay, The Washington Blade, Baltimore, Being gay in the South, Marriage Equality, Voting, Title Nine, Animal Rights, Women’s Rights, AIDS/HIV epidemic, Jill Barkley, Chris O’Connor, African American LGBTQ+ people, AIDS awareness, AIDS, death and dying, Anti-lesbian discrimination, Anti-lesbian violence, Anti-LGBTQ+ violence, Anti-queer discrimination, Anti-queer violence, Black LGBTQ+ people, Bullying, Closeted queer people, Family members of LGBTQ+ people, Gay bars, Gay bookshops, Gay films, Gay history, Gay newspapers, HIV-undetectable people, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Lesbian couples, Lesbian culture, Lesbian History, Lesbian political activists, Lesbian political groups, Lesbian Protestants, Lesbian Relationships, Lesbian Rights, LGBTQ+ action campaigns, LGBTQ+ activism, LGBTQ+ activists, LGBTQ+ actors, LGBTQ+ bars, LGBTQ+ bookshops, LGBTQ+ Civil Rights, LGBTQ+ communities, LGBTQ+ community centers, LGBTQ+ film festivals, LGBTQ+ films, LGBTQ+ historical terms, LGBTQ+ history, LGBTQ+ newspapers, LGBTQ+ pride flags, GBTQ+ siblings, LGBTQ+ weddings, Marriage, Married People, Medical Care, No Police at Pride, Police interactions with LGBTQ+ people, Performative LGBTQ+ activism by police, Partners of lesbians, Partners of LGBTQ+ people, Women's marriages, Women's movement
Disciplines
History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Women's Studies
Recommended Citation
Scavello, Julia, "Patrick, Michelle" (2024). Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection. 138.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/138
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
History of Gender Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Oral History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
