Moving Lesbians contains excerpts from the life stories of five lesbians who contributed greatly to the visibility and gender equality of lesbian women in the Netherlands, from the 1960s onwards. The pieces come from five long video interviews included in Atria's oral history collection Moving Women's Interviews.
Moving Lesbians contains excerpts from the life stories of five lesbians who contributed greatly to the visibility and gender equality of lesbian women in the Netherlands, from the 1960s onwards. The pieces come from five long video interviews included in Atria's oral history collection Moving Women's Interviews.
One of the interviewees is Ligya Wachter, who received the Bob Angelo Medal from the COC on 26 January 2025:
"Ligya Wachter is an absolute pioneer in the gender equality of lhbti+ people of colour and with migrant backgrounds. Back in the early 1990s, she and others founded Black Orchid, for black and migrant women who love women. With others, she formed a national network for the black lhbti+ community. She is co-founder of Mil Colores and president of Rainbow The Hague."
Portraits of lesbian women
Watch the 5 short videos with fragments of life stories below.
Ligya Wachter - co-founder of Black Orchid and Mil Colores:
Gon Buurman - photographer:
Evelien Eshuis - politician, Schorer Foundation board member:
Anja van Kooten Niekerk - first female director COC Netherlands:
Ditte Wessels - artist and participant of Lesbian ConneXions:
Oral History
Oral histories contribute to a more complete picture of history from those directly involved. In the form of audio recordings and filmed interviews. Atria has several hundred oral history interviews on screen in the archive, including transcripts.
