Out Down South Oral History Program

The Out Down South oral history collection includes audio and video histories of older lesbian and gay Floridians who either come from Florida or have chosen to make it their home. The oral histories were collected by graduate students in anthropology at the University of South Florida; Dr. Tara Deubel and Mr. Mark Canavera supported and supervised the graduate students as they collected these oral histories. Most of the individuals who shared their stories lived in the greater Tampa area at the time the first set of oral histories were collected in spring 2017.

The individuals interviewed share their stories of growing up lesbian or gay in the American South or, conversely, their experiences of moving to the American South from other parts of the country. Some themes that emerge in the collection include relationships with family members, the safety precautions that members of the lesbian and gay community were required to take in previous decades, romantic relationships, and relationships between the LGBT community and broader social norms. The first set of oral histories includes stories collected with both individuals and with couples, and media include audio recordings and video recordings.