This lesbian archive is preserving LGBTQ+ history as it's erased: 'Proof of our existence'

This lesbian archive is preserving LGBTQ+ history as it's erased: 'Proof of our existence'

This lesbian archive is preserving LGBTQ+ history as it's erased: 'Proof of our existence' This story was originally published by The 19th and was republished with permission. ‍ The Ohio Lesbian Archives in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood started with a friendship. Phebe Beiser said that when she and co-founder Victoria “Vic” Ramstetter met in the 1970s, they bonded over being “hidden, secret, teenage lesbians,” growing up in what was then a conservative city and region where there were few gay role models. For a time in their 20s, they shared group houses in Clifton, where they now joke that they “survived the lesbian commune together.” They were young and idealistic. They wanted to “turn being an activist lesbian into something fun and interesting, and maybe help change the world.” Beiser, now in her mid 70s, told The 19th that they had a mantra: “We never wanted to be invisible again.” When the Crazy Ladies Bookstore, named for the women who history brushed off as …