W. Jo Moser is a mother, photographer, political activist, and lesbian. She has experience working in childcare and is passionate about child welfare. Moser has a unique perspective as a lesbian parent being in a romantic long-term relationship with her partner of several decades. She sheds light on what living in San Francisco was like as a queer-identifying person in the 60s, 70s, and early-80s. There were experiences of social isolation she shared. This isolation was due to the fact that she did not always feel accepted in lesbian communities, but also felt that she had to prove herself to straight parents that had never met lesbian parents.
Moser was involved in multiple political organizations, many of which were directly involved in the LGBTQ equal rights struggle. Throughout this involvement, she used photography as a tool to capture and express her activism. She has direct experience with lesbian discrimination, as she explains her terror surrounding being fired from her childcare position. At the time, people could be fired for being gay and working around children, as they were seen as unfit caretakers. She has had a life full of triumph and recreation, and goes into detail about the coming out process and lesbian motherhood.
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.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/1006/thumbnail.jp
