This archives capstone project chronicles the early years of lesbian feminist record label, Olivia Records. The digital exhibit offers a sense of the background and beginnings of Olivia, and creates a place for users to explore some of the influential early albums. Taken together, this selection of albums showcases the diversity of lesbian voices, sounds, and experiences.
The story of Olivia Records highlights the power of women-created music in giving voice to the underrepresented experiences and realities of lesbian women, and in contributing to the building of a movement. The music of Olivia strengthened, healed, and uplifted those who listened. It helped women feel connected to something bigger than themselves. Through the medium of music, Olivia formed and fostered a national network–a community that valued and supported women and the work of women.
The work they were doing mattered then and is still important today, nearly 50 years later. The struggles for women’s and LGBTQIA+ liberation are still ongoing. In a time when the rights of women and queer folks are increasingly coming under fire, the legacy of Olivia Records demonstrates how powerful music affirming queer and feminist ways of loving and being can be as a form of protest and movement building.
Outside of the lesbian and feminist communities of the 1970s and ’80s, Olivia Records and these albums are relatively unknown. I hope that this music and this history inspire you to explore the world of Olivia and women’s music further.
Created by Sophia Wollensak Terry, Spring 2022.
Meg Christian and Cris Williamson, c. 1976. Sophia Smith Collection, Joan E. Biren papers.
Olivia lives on today as a travel company for lesbians and LGBTQ+ women. See more here: https://www.olivia.com/