Sharon Raphael

Sharon M. Raphael was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1941. She attended Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio

as an undergraduate. After her B.A., Sharon went on to a M.A. & later received a Ph.D. from the Sociology Department at Case-Western Reserve University in 1974 located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sharon moved to So. Ca. In June of 1970. Her dissertation was pioneering titled Coming Out: The Emergence of the Movement Lesbian & the research for the study was based on taped discussion groups that occurred in a Lesbian group setting in 1971-72 in Echo Park section of Los Angeles.

Dr. Raphael is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University Dominguez Hills serving on the faculty from 1970 - 2010. She spent at least 30 of those years chairing a Master’s Degree in Social Gerontology under a Behavioral Science Department. And in last five years of her tenure offered a Master’s in Science ( MSG) in Gerontology under the School of Health and Human Services

Sharon has been a Lesbian Feminist & Gay activist in the Los Angeles area since 1971. She helped create the field of Lesbian & Gay Gerontology ( LGBTQ Aging Studies) by authoring research articles, sponsoring conference & creating & supporting organizations that focus on studying & supporting the lives of Lesbians , Gays, Bisexuals & Trans in later life. She has been an active supporter or member of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change ((OLOC) since its founding in 1989.

Sharon lives & works in Long Beach Ca with her spouse artist Jenny Wrenn & their dog Maxie & feral cat Ali Baba. Together they own an Etsy shop that sells lgbt memorabilia & literature from early movement days “ name is “ ComingOutPride”.