Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective, most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s (primarily in North America and Western Europe) that questions the position of women and homosexuals in society. Key thinkers and activists are Rita Mae Brown, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Marilyn Frye, Mary Daly, Sheila Jeffreys and Monique Wittig (although the latter is more commonly associated with the emergence of queer theory). The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is a prolific American writer and social activist, notable for novels, poetry, and screenwriting. ... Image:AdrienneRich. ... Audre Geraldine Lorde (February 18, 1934 in Harlem, New York City - November 17, 1992) was a writer and an activist. ... Marilyn Frye is a philosophy professor and feminist theorist. ... Mary Daly (born October 16, 1928 in Schenectady, New York) is a radical feminist theologian and mother of modern feminist thealogy. ... Sheila Jeffreys (born 1948) is a well-known and controversial radical lesbian feminist. ... Monique Wittig (July 13, 1935 in Haut-Rhin, France – January 3, 2003 in Tucson, Arizona) was a French author and feminist theorist, particularly interested in overcoming gender. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Whilst historically lesbianism has perhaps always enjoyed an intricate relationship with feminism and feminist projects, going back at least to the 1890s, "lesbian feminism" is best contextualised as a branch movement, coming together, out of dissatisfaction with (second wave) feminist and gay liberation movements respectively, in the early 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, lesbian feminism constituted a field within academic institutions, although it was mostly confined to feminist disciplines. A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

Like feminism, lesbian and gay studies and queer theory, lesbian feminism is characterised by contestation and revision. Neverthless, if one key theme could be isolated it would be an analysis of heterosexuality as an institution. This draws on and deploys a historical focus on "homosexuality" as a site for scrutiny, especially where there is a focus on origins. Correlatively, lesbian feminist texts worked to denaturalise heterosexuality, and once removed, hypothesise its "roots" in institutions such as patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism. Additionally lesbian feminism advocates lesbianism as a rational result of alienation and dissatisfaction with these institutions. Feminism is a collection of social theories, political movements and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerned with the liberation of women. ... The term Queer studies refers to scholarly study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, particulary at the university level. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Institutions are structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual and romantic attraction between two individuals of the same sex. ... Roots is: The plural of Root Roots (album) Roots (TV miniseries), a mini-series based on a novel by Alex Haley Roots: The Saga of an American Family, a novel by Alex Haley Roots Canada Ltd. ... Patriarchy (from Greek: pater (genitive form patris, showing the root patr-), meaning father and arché meaning rule) is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominate in positions of power; with the more powerful the position, the more likely it... Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned and in which prices of capital and commodities are determined in a largely free market which operates in the pursuit of profit, with investments being determined by private decision. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ...

Key ideas

It is worth distinguishing between lesbian feminism as a critical perspective, and lesbian feminism as a cultural movement. Both question the position of lesbians, gay men and women in society but put forward different strategies. The latter is also much more specific. Sheila Jeffreys (2003:19) for example defines lesbian feminism as having seven key themes:

• An emphasis on women's love for one another
• Separatist organisations
• Community and ideas
• Idea that lesbianism is about choice and resistance
• Idea that the personal is the political
• A rejection of hierarchy in the form of role-playing and sadomasochism
• A critique of male supremacy which eroticises inequality

It is worth noting however that Jeffreys is a highly controversial figure not just outside, but within lesbian feminism. Others have critiqued her, amongst other things, for being too specific in this criteria. Nevertheless it is a useful starting point. For the various types of hierarchy, see hierarchy (disambiguation) A hierarchy (in Greek: , it is derived from -hieros, sacred, and -arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ...

Biology, choice and social constructivism

As outlined above, lesbian feminism typically situates lesbianism as a form of resistance to "man-made" institutions. Sexual orientation is posited here as a choice, or at least a conscious response to a situation. (See also queer by choice). Indeed, it could be argued that lesbian feminism pre-empted if not laid the ground work for queer theory to posit sexuality as culturally specific. A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... Sexual orientation describes the direction of an individuals sexuality, often in relation to their own sex or gender. ... Choice consists of that mental process of thinking involved with the process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one for action. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... One does not simply choose to be gay or straight. ...

Furthermore lesbianism is posited as a feminist strategy, that enables women to invest their energies in other women, creating new space and dialogue about women's relationships, and typically, spend more time avoiding men. Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... This article concerns how a man differs from women. ...

Separatism

Separatism is a key lesbian feminist strategy, and perhaps its most controversial one. At its most extreme, male genocide has been put forward as a strategy for achieving women's emancipation. This is certainly a small and isolated view but nevertheless there was a specific flourish of scholarship and literature dealing with whether men are really necessary. Some of this looks at issues of reproduction, for example parts of Mary Daly's classic text Gyn/Ecology. Other canons explore histories of male violence and still others reference the historic genocides perpetrated upon groups of women. Witchcraft is the most obvious example, but one might also cite a general if variegated preference for male offspring, throughout human history. Separatism is a term usually applied to describe the attitudes or motivations of those seeking independence or separation of their land or region from the country that governs them. ... A controversy is a contentious dispute, a disagreement over which parties are actively arguing. ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Political freedom is the right, or the capacity, of self-determination as an expression of the individual will. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Reproduction (disambiguation) Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. ... Violence is any act of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause injury, in some cases criminal, or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals or property. ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Witchcraft, in various historical, religious and mythical contexts, is the use of certain kinds of alleged supernatural or magical powers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (known as the great apes). ... HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I (or simply HIStory) is a double-disc album by Michael Jackson released in 1995 by the Epic Records devision of Sony Music. ...

Elsewhere, lesbian feminists have situated female separatism as quite a mainstream thing and have explored the mythology surrounding it. Marilyn Frye's (1978) essay "Notes on Separatism and Power" is one such example. She posits female separatism as a strategy practiced by all women, at some point, and present in many feminist projects (one might cite women's refuges, electoral quotas or women's studies programmes). She argues that it is only when women practice it, self-consciously as separation from men, that it is treated with controversy (or as she suggests hysteria). Male separatism on the other hand (one might cite gentleman's clubs, labour unions, sports teams, the military and, more arguably, decision-making positions in general) is seen as quite a normal, even expedient phenomenon. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Still other lesbian feminists put forward a notion of "tactical separatism" from men, arguing for and investing in things like women's sanctuaries and consciousness-raising groups, but also exploring everyday practices to which women may temporarily retreat or practice solitude from [men] and [masculinity].

The Woman-Identified Woman

If the founding of the lesbian feminist movement could be pinpointed at a specific moment, it would probably be May 1970, when Radicalesbians, an activist group of 20 lesbians led by lesbian novelist Rita Mae Brown, took over a women's conference in New York City, the Congress to Unite Women, uninvited; they lined up on stage wearing matching T-shirts inscribed with the words "Lavender Menace", and demanded the microphone to read aloud to an audience of 400 their essay The Woman-Identified Woman, which laid out the main precepts of their movement. Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is a prolific American writer and social activist, notable for novels, poetry, and screenwriting. ... The Lavender Menace is a group of radical lesbians formed in New York in 1970. ... The Woman-Identified Woman was a ten-paragraph manifesto, written by the Radicalesbians in 1970. ...

Interestingly (and contrary to popular belief about "man-hating butch dykes"), lesbian feminism actually rejected female masculinity outright. It was seen - and this is demonstrated by some (as queer scholars have argued) quite outlandish, certainly patronising writing - as men via the back door. At best a question of gender duping and at worst consciously shoring up support for some of the most violent forms of male masculinity, Jeffreys (2003:13) puts it bluntly in arguing that "all forms of masculinity are problematic." Misandry (IPA ) is the hatred of men. ... Butch is a common nickname, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries for boys. ... Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ...

This is one of the principal areas in which lesbian feminism differs from queer theory, perhaps best summarised by Judith Halberstam's quip that "If Sheila Jeffreys didn't exist, Camille Paglia would have had to invent her." Judith Halberstam is Professor of English and Director of The Center for Feminist Research at University of Southern California. ... Camille Paglia. ...

Womyn's culture?

Labrys symbol

"[Womyn]" along with "wimin", "womin" were terms produced by parts of the lesbian feminist movement to distinguish it from men and masculine (or "phallogocentric") language. The term "women" was seen as derivative of men and ultimately symbolised the prescriptive nature of women's oppression. A new vocabulary emerged more generally, sometimes referencing lost or unspoken matriarchal civilisations, Amazonian warriors, ancient - especially Greek - goddesses, sometimes parts of the female anatomy and often references to the natural world. It was frequently remarked that the movement had nothing to go on, no knowledge of its roots, nor histories of lesbianism to draw on. Hence the emphasis on consciousness-raising and carving out new (arguably) "gynocentric" cultures. (Esther Newton's classic (1984) text "Radclyffe Hall and the Mythic Mannish Lesbian", although she was certainly not a lesbian feminist, is interesting here in exploring the substance of, and debates around lesbian histories prior to the 1950s in particular). Image File history File links Labrys-symbol. ... Image File history File links Labrys-symbol. ... In critical theory and deconstruction, phallogocentrism (or, originally and more narrowly, logocentrism) is a neologism coined by Jacques Derrida, which refers to the perceived tendency of Western thought to locate the center of any text or discourse within the logos (a Greek word meaning word, reason, or spirit) and the... Gynocentrism (Greek γυνο, gyno-, woman, χεντρον, kentron, center) is the practice, often consciously adopted, of placing female human beings or the female point of view at the center of ones view of the world and its culture and history. ...

Bonnie Zimmerman is perhaps the best known lesbian feminist literary critic, and talks quite a bit about the language used by writers from within the movement. (See her 1978 text) Often drawing on autobiographical narratives and the use of personal testimony. Lesbian feminist texts are often expressly non-linear, poetic and (more arguably) evasive.

Tensions with feminism

As a critical perspective lesbian feminism is perhaps best defined in opposition to feminism and queer theory. It has certainly been argued that feminism has been guilty of homophobia in its failure to integrate sexuality as a fundamental category of gendered inquiry, and its treatment of lesbianism as a separate issue. Adrienne Rich's (1980) classic text "Compulsory Heterosexualilty and Lesbian Existence" is instructive, but one might also cite the ambiguously reflexive Signs (Summer 1980) issue "The Lesbian Issue." This article is about the Signs Signs, see Signs (disambiguation). ...

Nevertheless, it is worth surmising that since lesbian feminism was often confined to feminist disciplines, and arguably, seemed quite happy with this arrangement.

Tensions with queer theory

Yet it is certainly arguable that lesbian feminist projects continue within queer studies and theory (that it has, where critique still surfaces, been a rebranding strategy), after all many of the central scholars (Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, Gayle Rubin) if not "lesbian feminists" are certainly lesbians, feminists and looking at questions of gender and sexuality. Image:J Butler. ... Judith Halberstam is Professor of English and Director of The Center for Feminist Research at University of Southern California. ... Gayle Rubin is best known as an activist and influential theorist of sex and gender politics. ...

Barry (2002) suggests that in choosing between these possible alignments (lesbian feminism and/or queer theory) one must answer whether it is gender or sexuality that is the more "fundamental in personal identity."

Views on BDSM, sexual violence and pornography

Because of its focus on complete equality in sexual relationships, lesbian feminism has traditionally been opposed to all forms of BDSM. A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ...

Views on transgenderism

Views vary, but there is a specific lesbian feminist canon which rejects transgenderism, transsexualism and transvestism, positing trans people as at best gender dupes (or functions of a discourse on mutilation); at worst shoring up support for traditional (and it would say violent) gender norms. Obviously, this is a position marked by intense controversy. Transgenderism is a grassroots political movement seeking transgender rights and affirming transgender pride. ... Look up Transsexualism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term transvestism has undergone several changes of meaning since it was coined in the 1910s, and it is still used in all of these meanings except the very first one. ...

Lesbian feminism is sometimes associated with opposition to sex reassignment surgery; some lesbian feminist analyses see SRS as a form of violence akin to S&M. Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a persons physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. ...

For a useful summary of these arguments see Sheila Jeffreys' (2003) book, "Unpacking Queer Politics." Sheila Jeffreys (born 1948) is a well-known and controversial radical lesbian feminist. ...

See also

• Lesbian science fiction
• Guardian interview with Sheila Jeffreys, July 5, 2005.[1]

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Gay science fiction. ...

External links

• Lesbian Feminism at the GLBTQ encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer culture.
• 1970s Lesbian Feminism: An Overview, History, Bibliography & Guide
• Sarah Lucia Hoagland lesbianfeminist and author of Lesbian Ethics.