Our Impact
OUTWORDS records, preserves, and shares the stories of LGBTQ+ elders across the U.S. to build community and catalyze social change. We are the only national organization performing this work, and our impact is tangible and powerful.
Record:
As of November 2024, OUTWORDS has recorded nearly 350 interviews in 46 states and Washington, D.C. 41% of our interviewees are BIPOC individuals; 28% identify as TGI (transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex). In July 2023, OUTWORDS made the commitment in perpetuity to devote 60% of all new interviews to BIPOC, and 50% to TGI interviewees. Our goal is not only to not repeat past erasure and devaluation of minority voices in the LGBTQ+ community and society at large, but to actively rectify and repair those mistakes.
Preserve:
OUTWORDS has a dedicated team of professional archivists ensuring that our priceless assets will be impeccably preserved for generations to come. In 2022, we engaged external consultants to create a three-year Digital Preservation Plan. Our digital assets are backed up on mirrored hard drives in three geographically distinct physical locations. Our interview transcripts are printed on acid-free paper and stored in a purpose-built archival facility. Future storage options include cloud storage and LTO tape. In many ways, preservation is the least sexy, most expensive, and most important part of our mission!
Share:
From the beginning, OUTWORDS has recognized the life-saving and life-changing power of the stories it records. To date, we’ve shared our stories in book form; via social media and our website; through DEI events for major companies and institutions including Disney, Google, Capital One, and AARP; through museum exhibits and podcasts; and through a broad array of partnerships with other organizations.
In 2019, excerpts from the first 75 OUTWORDS interviews were published in The Book of Pride to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Press called it “a significant tribute to dozens of social justice heroes,” “an essential addition to LGBTQ+ history,” and “A 2019 Activist Must-Read.”
In 2023, OUTWORDS collaborated with the Santa Monica History Museum to create Coming Out West: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Stories, OUTWORDS’ first-ever museum exhibit. Press called it “remarkable” and “the triumph of community, solidarity, and yes, decades of activism.”
OUTWORDS’ other collaborations include:
Online Reach: Quick Facts
Social Media Love for OUTWORDS Elders
“Love your work! Keep going, it is making a big difference!”
“To all you beautiful ladies, nay, beautiful mothers, THANK YOU! For making way for those of us coming behind. I hope the lives we live every day are worthy of your sacrifice. All the Love ❤️”
Build COMMUNITY
OUTWORDS facilitates community connection, both locally in Los Angeles and nationally, through the following programs:
We also prioritize intergenerational connection in our community-building:
“Goosebumps. I have nothing but respect, admiration, and thanks to give to the amazing queens, daddys, lesbians, and all members of the older LGBTQ community who fought for the rights we have now, and remind us as the newer generation to stay in the fight.”
“I’m so proud of the older queers who paved the way for us. Thank you for being there for us when the rest of the world was against us.”
Catalyze Change
Catalyzing change takes years. Measuring that change is hard. Here’s what we know:
Social media comments confirm we are affecting countless people’s hearts and minds in tangible ways:
“Faith in humanity restored.”
“This makes me happy and proud of my native heritage.”
“I’ve never even thought about pronouns in this way. This is awesome.”