Lawyer, Linda A. (Linda Ann), 1947-

McGruder, Brianna

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections & University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2019-01-02

1 audio file (1:15:05) : Digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Linda Lawyer was a 71-year-old woman at the time of the interview, which took place in her home in the Overlook neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1947. Mrs. Lawyer graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. Mrs. Lawyer was employed at Duke Energy as a computer programmer, systems analyst, and requirements analyst.

As a lesbian coming of age in the late 1960s and 1970s, Linda Lawyer shares her early experiences with socialization and marginalization in this second of a series of interviews. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she discusses her Catholic upbringing and how she realized her potential in computer programming. As a computer programmer, Mrs. Lawyer recounts her daily experiences with sexism and misogyny in this male-dominated work field. Mrs. Lawyer reveals that her estrangement from her parents after coming out of the closet in 1975 prompted her to move to Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition she recalls her challenges in finding gay friendship and love within the pervasive culture of heteronormativity in the 1970s.

Business analysts
Computer programmers

Lawyer, Linda A. (Linda Ann), 1947-

St. Francis Academy
Pittsburgh Computer Systems Institute
Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company

Lesbians
Computer Programming
Gay Community
Lesbians' writings
Sex discrimination in employment
Sex discrimination against women
Women in computer science

North Carolina--Charlotte
Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh

Interviews
Oral histories

1940-2020

Charlotte LGBTQ+ oral histories

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Use of this resource is governed by the terms of the Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike" license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Copyright is held by Linda Ann Lawyer.

audio/mpeg

Linda Lawyer oral history interview 1, 2018 April 6 (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/index/render/object/pid/uncc:2314/parentPID/un...), J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte;

Linda Lawyer writings and memorabilia, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Pride Publishing and Typesetting, Inc., records, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

QH-LA0059