Take a swim through history: readers are discovering Dia Huizinga’s portrait and story in a new Amsterdam series, a vivid reminder of how queer community, memory and visibility have changed , and why older queer voices still matter in the city’s social life.
Essential Takeaways
- Subject: Dia Huizinga, seventy‑plus Amsterdam queer activist and swim‑club regular, featured in a photo series displayed at Amsterdam City Hall.
- Setting: Photos by Martijn Gijsbertsen appear with portraits of a dozen other queer Amsterdammers; the exhibition runs through the end of September.
- Tone: Huizinga mixes warmth and sharpness , she calls herself “your favourite lesbian grandma” and speaks frankly about activism, separation from men, and changing queer scenes.
- History: She was active in the radical lesbian movement in Amsterdam, socialised in women’s cafés like Saarein, and helped build feminist safe spaces.
- Practical cue: Younger queer people often meet elders at festivals and clubs now; visiting the show or joining communal activities keeps those oral histories alive.
A vivid portrait that makes history feel immediate
The photograph of Dia Huizinga swimming in the Nieuwe Meer looks deceptively calm, but it carries a lifetime of stories and a soft, salty sense of belonging. According to reports in Trouw, the portrait is part of a larger project by Martijn Gijsbertsen that pairs striking images with interviews, and those visuals pull you straight into the era Huizinga describes. Seeing her in water, smiling, makes the past tactile , you can almost hear the slap of skin and the quiet of an early morning swim.
From Hilversum to Amsterdam: why she had to leave home
Huizinga’s move from Hilversum to Amsterdam reads like a classic escape to possibility; she knew from age ten that she was a lesbian, but there was nobody around who could reflect that back to her. She has told interviewers she felt stifled at home and that the capital offered the chance to find people like her. That backstory helps explain the fierce energy she brought to feminist and lesbian organising in the 1970s and beyond, and why these archive‑rich portraits matter today.
Women’s cafés and the politics of separate spaces
The story highlights venues such as Saarein , a women’s café that became a hub for lesbians and feminist organising , and explains why activists like Huizinga and her circle consciously separated their social lives from men’s worlds. Those choices were political, practical and emotional: safe spaces enabled collective learning, sexual freedom and the building of campaigns. Today, many of those cafés are celebrated as heritage sites, and their histories are preserved through crowdfunding and cultural listings that show how crucial local gathering places were.
On ageing, visibility and the joys of queer festivals
Huizinga’s experience of being looked at differently as she got older is striking and relatable: she describes moments when she felt out of place in queer nightlife, then contrasts that with recent joy at events like Milkshake. According to the interview, younger festivalgoers now often greet older participants with warmth, which is a small but meaningful shift in intergenerational visibility. If you want to meet older queers, go where communities gather , clubs, pools, festivals , and expect sincere curiosity rather than awkwardness.
Why exhibitions like this one matter right now
The photo series at Amsterdam City Hall does more than celebrate individuals; it plugs the gap between lived memory and the city’s rapidly changing queer culture. As marriage equality and mainstream acceptance have shifted the landscape, these portraits remind us of the organising and separations that made today possible. They’re also a prompt: if you care about queer history, seek out elders, listen, and support community archives so stories aren’t lost as venues change or close.
It's a small change that can make every encounter with queer history feel more human , and more alive.
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