A Living Archive: Joan Nestle, DAAFT, and the Queer Histories That Shape Us

Meeting Joan Nestle at the Letters From Ger exhibition felt like stepping into living queer history. Everything I’d learned about the 1950s, Stonewall, and the early days of lesbian activism had always come from books or documentaries. Hearing Joan speak — a woman who has been out since the 1950s and founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives — awakened a hunger in me for real, tangible stories from elders in our community. What began as a chance encounter quickly became a friendship that reshaped my understanding of queer lineage, activism, and love.