Sirens M.C. Herstories

Jerry and Gigi Foster-Julian

Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the Sirens Women’s+ Motorcycle Club of New York City [https://sirensnyc.org/]. Created by Siren members, the Herstories series is an ongoing oral history project created for archival purposes — preserving the voices, memories, and lived experiences of our community for future generations. These conversations are intentionally unfiltered and largely uncut in order to honor the authenticity of each storyteller. Any edits made have been done only at the request of the interviewee. In this deeply personal and powerful oral herstory, we sit down with Jerry and Gigi Foster-Julian — longtime members of the Sirens Women's+ Motorcycle Club of New York City who share over 80 years of combined riding experience. Through stories spanning from the streets of Brooklyn and Long Island to global adventures in South Africa, Morocco, and New Zealand , Jerry and Gigi reflect on a lifetime of queer community, the sisterhood of the Sirens, and the profound connection that led them to get married three different times as laws and social acceptance evolved. This interview is part oral herstory, part love story, and part celebration of a lifetime spent on the road, honoring the "once a Siren, always a Siren" bond. Topics include: -Early experiences discovering motorcycling and learning to ride -Building community and finding belonging through shared interests -Long-term partnership and shared life journeys -Travel, adventure, and riding across different places and cultures -Identity, family, and evolving acceptance over time -Leadership, participation, and history within a community organization -Lessons learned from decades of riding, growth, and change -Visibility and representation in public spaces and riding culture Trigger Warnings / Content Notes: -Mental health challenges and suicide attempts -Grief and loss of family members -Experiences of discrimination and social stigma -Motorcycle accidents and injury -Substance use (alcohol) If you would like to find out more about our club, please visit sirensnyc.org [https://sirensnyc.org/]. To support the preservation of queer motorcycle history, community programming, and oral herstory projects like this one, please consider making a donation via Venmo [https://account.venmo.com/u/sirensmc]. You can also find the filmed interview on Youtube [https://youtu.be/s0qt7i1xn1A]. Credits: Producer: Alex “T-Rex” Hsie, Siren Member and Siren Media Coordinator Interviewer: Caro Caden, Sirens Volunteer Archivist; Coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives Sound Designer: MJ Phillips, Siren Pledge Thank you to Jerry and Gigi for trusting us with your story and allowing future generations to learn from your journey. If this conversation resonates with you, please like, comment, and subscribe to support the preservation of queer motorcycle history, women riders, and oral herstory projects like this one.

Juanita "Poet" Kirton

In this powerful and deeply moving oral herstory, we sit down with Juanita "Poet" Kirton — Army veteran, educator, poet, rider, activist, mother, and longtime member of the Sirens Women's Motorcycle Club of New York City. Juanita reflects on nearly eight decades of life experience: growing up in Brooklyn as the daughter of Barbadian immigrants, navigating identity as a Black lesbian woman during the civil rights era, serving in the military under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” discovering freedom through motorcycles, and finding chosen family through the Sirens and queer community spaces. From cross-country rides through the Rockies and Nova Scotia to secret queer relationships in the 1960s, Juanita shares stories of resilience, danger, joy, love, spirituality, protest, survival, and liberation. Her voice carries the wisdom of someone who has lived through seismic cultural shifts — and never stopped riding forward. This interview is part oral herstory, part love letter to queer survival, and part road map for younger generations searching for belonging. Topics include: -The early years of the Sirens Women's Motorcycle Club of New York City -Riding motorcycles across the United States and Canada -Black women in motorcycle culture -LGBTQ+ identity in the 1960s–1990s -“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and military life -Chosen family and queer community -Spirituality, activism, and survival -Pride parades, protest rides, and women riders -Love, aging, and freedom on the road Trigger Warnings / Content Notes: This interview contains discussions of: -Homophobia and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination -Racism and racial violence-Religious trauma and rejection -Military discrimination under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” -Threats of violence and personal safety concerns -Historical references to hate crimes and cross burnings -Sexism and misogyny -Mentions of political oppression and systemic discrimination If you would like to find out more about our club, please visit Sirens.nyc.org [https://sirensnyc.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]To support the preservation of queer motorcycle history, community programming, and oral herstory projects like this one, please consider making a donation: https://account.venmo.com/u/sirensmc [To support the preservation of queer motorcycle history, community programming, and oral herstory projects like this one, please consider making a donation: https://account.venmo.com/u/sirensmc ] Credits: Interviewer: Caro Caden, Sirens Volunteer Archivist; Coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives Producer: Alex “T-Rex” Hsie, Siren Member and Siren Media Coordinator Sound Designer: MJ Phillips, Siren Pledge Thank you to Poet for trusting us with her story and allowing future generations to learn from her journey. If this conversation resonates with you, please like, comment, and subscribe to support the preservation of queer motorcycle history, women riders, and oral herstory projects like this one.