Oral History Interview with Lorraine Ironplow

The Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project collection consists of interviews of 83 people for the Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project, conducted by Professor Judith Raiskin and Curator Linda Long at the University of Oregon starting in the summer of 2018.; Lorraine was born in 1950 in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a Mormon family. Her family life was wrapped up in the Mormon Church. Her father was very patriarchal. Her mother didn’t like being a housewife. Her family moved to southern California. By age fifteen, Lorraine knew there was something different about herself but could not articulate it. She was at odds with the dating culture in high school. She went to Brigham Young University but her interest in studying mathematics was not supported because she was a woman. She dropped out, left the Mormon Church, and later moved to Eugene to attend the University of Oregon. After graduating from UO, she went to graduate school at Cornell University. She describes the extreme sexism there. She dropped out, became a lesbian, began reading feminist philosophy, and became a radical feminist political activist. At Ithaca College, she became Director of Academic Computer Services. In 1979, Lorraine moved back to Eugene. She describes lesbian counter-culture Eugene, Mother Kali’s Books, and Izzie Harbaugh. In 1979, Lorraine and Izzie became lovers. Lorraine discusses conflicts at the bookstore, and describes Izzie’s death. She continued to read feminist philosophy and discusses issues of class and race. She concludes her interview by discussing lesbians and aging and healthcare issues.