Remembering ‘The Archivettes’ During Pride

We may not be able to go out and march for Pride month, but we can take the time to educate ourselves and learn more about lesbian history through Megan Rossman‘s award-winning documentary “The Archivettes.”

Originally released in July 2019, the film explores the founding and development of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the largest collection of materials by and about lesbians. Rossman, a Princess Grace Award Winner, has received many accolades with the film, including selections in over 30 film festivals all over the world, in major cities Los Angeles, N.Y., Chicago, London, Glasgow, and Sydney.  The film won the Audience Award, Best Documentary Feature, Reeling 2019, The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Best Documentary at Stamped Film Festival, and Best Feature at Fargo-Moorehed Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Director, Megan Rossman (Getty Images – Princess Grace Awards) 

At times when Lesbian history was being destroyed or forgotten, the Herstory Archives collected stories, letters, and pieces of history from lesbians past and present, and Rossman is spreading their mission throughout her documentary.

Herstory Archives

Comprised of non-binary and LGBTQ+ crew, the team behind the documentary worked hard to piece together this empowering story by using the Archives, which was founded in 1974 by lesbian members of a Gay Academic Union. Founders Joan Nestle, Deborah Edel, Sahli Cavallo, Pamela Oline, and Julia Penelope Stanley wanted to ensure the preservation of lesbian stories.

Its first home was in the apartment of Nestle and Edel, who were romantic partners at the time. In the late ’80s, they decided to raise funds for its expansion, and it soon found its home in Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY.

(Deborah Edel, Co-Founder of Herstory)

When Rossman came across the “archivettes,” the members of the Herstory Archives, she felt that she had found an extended family. “ I love my family but they are far away,” she remarked.

“Filming this documentary was one of the greatest pleasures of my life,” said Rossman. “I came out in my mid 20s and now I’m 33. My friends call me a professional gay.”

Lori Scacco, the composer for “The Archivettes” who worked on the cover of “When the Dykes go marching in,” discussed how she loved working with so many people from different generations. “It’s a continuum of our stories throughout the ages and we are now claiming our space and our history.”

The Archivette Stories

Lori Scacco, composer for “The Archivettes” by Eric McNatt

Archivette Marge Macdonald kept diaries where she wrote meticulously about her life, and even when she was close to death, she typed out a diary entry.  In her last will and testament, she left her archives and memories to Herstory. “I wanted to ensure her legacy,” said Rossman.

Scacco spoke of Archivette Judith Schwarz, who recalls being in the gay bars and the cops coming in and questioning what the women were doing. This was in the late ’50s and according to Judith, “It was hell. You never knew who your friends were…you just keep it secret, keep it quiet, keep it safe. But when I found the archives, I saw a place where I finally belong.”

Soon after Rossman interviewed Judith for the film, Judith had a stroke. This is one reason the documentation of these women’s stories is vital, as it represents the voices which would have been lost or never heard.

Creating Impact and Education

The power behind Rossman’s documentary is to educate people about lesbian history, including how they survived and what thrived. “The larger opinion might not change, but if we equip our people with the knowledge to move forward by knowing our past, there is a strength to that.”

Scacco expounded on this and referred to how there is an ever-evolving relationship to one’s sexuality. “We carry a lot of baggage,” she said. “No matter how long you’ve been out or if you’re questioning, you have had to negotiate this part of yourself and you carry that weight of feeling different. When we see these strong women and hear their stories, we see that they survived.”

Nestle credits the Stonewall Inn riots in 1969 and later, the Gay Academic Union (GAU) for the creation of Herstory Archives. She said the archives spawned from the riots and “the courage it found in the streets.”

According to Nestle in explaining the reason for the archives, “the roots of the archives lie in the silent voices, the love letters destroyed, the pronouns changed, the diaries carefully edited, the pictures never taken, the euphemized distortions that patriarchy would let pass.”

Watch trailer: