Born in Los Angeles in 1921, Elaine Mikels spent her early life in California attending UCLA, UC Berkeley, and USC later receiving a Master's in Social Work. During this time, Mikels' struggles with expressing and living out her lesbian identity began as she grappled with forming healthy relationships and finding queer community amid the conformist atmosphere of the 1940's, 1950's, and early 1960's. Documented by over two-hundred photographs in the collection, Mikel's political activism on a national scale began in the late 1960's and continued throughout her life as she organized demonstrations for the anti-war movement, created lesbian-feminist communities, and participated in pacifist and civil disobedience actions. The collection includes materials related to the publication of Elaine Mikels' autobiography, as well as a copy of the final published version. Also included are personal papers, journals, correspondence, and various personal materials.

Elaine Mikels was born in 1921 in Los Angeles, and she spent much of her early life in California. Although raised Jewish, she attended Flintridge, a Catholic boarding school. As a closested lesbian, Mikels's spoke about her early relationships with women, who identified as straight and later went on to get married. Similarly to other closeted women living in the 1940's, she had little concept of how to deal with her own relationships much less build community though shared interests. During this period she suffered from depression and was hospitalized.

1.6 Linear Feet (4 document boxes)

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