Who we are
South Jersey Lesbians who came of age in the “bad old days” of the 1970s and 1980s remember a time of deep isolation, followed by the hard-won move into visibility. We started the South Jersey Lesbian Oral History Project with one mission: to preserve the stories of our collective past, before they fade and are lost forever. By gathering and archiving these stories, we will trace the profound changes that occurred within one lifetime, changes that paved the way for lesbians of succeeding generations to marry, have children, raise families, and work openly as lesbians in the 21st century.
About the Co-Founders
Joan Buehler
Graduated from Cherry Hill High School East in 1980 and came out as a lesbian in college. Returning to the area for work, and not knowing any fellow lesbians, she joined a South Jersey women’s recreational softball league and hit the motherlode!
In the 1990s, she worked on the New Jersey Lesbian and Gay Coalition Task Force, lobbying the Legislature to add the phrase “sexual orientation” to existing anti-discrimination laws. She helped open Rainbow Place of South Jersey in Woodbury, the region’s first bricks-and-mortar LGBT community center, and served on its board of directors.
After years of advocating for same-sex couples’ right to marry in New Jersey, she and longtime partner Susan (whom she met on the softball field) were married October 21, 2013, the historic first day the right was granted. The couple now lives in Mount Laurel.
Contact: JBuehler814@gmail.com
Michelle Ayers
Grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and left the area in 1979 to live and work in Philadelphia, where she found greater opportunities to connect with other lesbians than were available in the suburbs at the time. In 1999, she and her then partner returned to South Jersey, settling in Collingswood for its affordable housing and its emerging gay and lesbian community.
In 2003, Michelle founded the Lesbian Social Network of South Jersey, which operated for seven years and brought together more than 1,000 lesbians from across South Jersey through potlucks, a book club, coffee nights, an Annual Cooper River picnic and other social gatherings. She has also served on the boards of Collingswood Pride and Out in the Neighborhood. Michelle currently lives in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Contact: michelleayers54@gmail.com