Lesbians, Unite!
Honoring Twenty Years of Finding Each Other with ProSuzy Twenty years ago, ProSuzy (recently re-branded as ProSisters) existed as an email newsletter that alerted an audience of mainly lesbians of the definitely safe, absolutely gay events in Tampa Bay. Two decades later, gay marriage is legal and the web is cluttered with dating apps and meet-up groups, many of them gay-centric or gay-friendly. Still, ProSisters exists with more than 10,000 members as a nostalgic, still-useful concept for the queer community. Originally the organization got its name from creator Suzanne Noe, a lesbian who was a professional handywoman in St. Petersburg – hence the “pro.” Noe started ProSuzy with the intent on meeting and connecting with other gay women. She’s since retired, but her legacy lives on. It wasn’t until 2015 that longtime members and Gulfportians Amy Oatley and Lynn DiVenuti bought the site and made some changes in a changing world – including the name. “Suzanne Noe was married to a man and had children, but she wanted to figure out a way to meet women without going to bars,” said DiVenuti, who did advertising for ProSuzy 20 years ago. “It all started
VIA LYNN DIVENUTI
By Abby Baker
Amy Oatley and Lynn DiVenuti run ProSisters, an LGBTQ website, meet-up group and radio station geared toward lesbians.
with the email list. There were mingles, meets in restaurants, that sort of thing.” DiVenuti remembers when the website and email list was just a word-of-mouth operation and when some dances were held with view-blocking pieces of paper taped to the windows. “I was like, ‘Wow, look at all of us out here,” DiVenuti said. “I was wild and crazy at the time, in my 20s... You could be put in the psychiatric ward for being gay. People were
closeted.” Though things have improved for the LGBTQ community, discrimination is far from over. ProSisters aims to continuously provide a safe space, even in the digital world. “When you go into rural communities, we still get looks,” Oatley said. “Especially with the last administration.” Today, the ProSisters still operates an email newsletter, but the website has a classified section, LGBTQ news and lists female art-
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT
IF EVERY HEAD OF STATE WERE A WOMAN WOULD THERE BE A. MORE WARS B. THE SAME NUMBER OF WARS C. FEWER WARS EMPOWERED WOMEN OUR ONLY HOPE 8
theGabber.com | November 18, 2021 - November 24, 2021
