Reclaiming Lesbian Pride

[ScandalAndy]

Originally Posted by Kobi

This is the second time today I have seen this. My brain is a little fried tonight but I am quite sure I did not get a memo on this. What is this about?

My understanding of it is that the individuals involved may not, for their own reasons, identify as lesbians. A bisexual female couple, for example.

Very interested to hear others' interpretations, though.

[Chazz]

Originally Posted by ScandalAndy

And, the nouveau construct that a female-bodied person partnered with another female-bodied person, may not be a lesbian.

Originally Posted by ScandalAndy

My understanding of it is that the individuals involved may not, for their own reasons, identify as lesbians. A bisexual female couple, for example.

Very interested to hear others' interpretations, though.

Yes ScandalAndy, you hit the nail on the head.

Earlier in this thread there was some back and forth about what being a "lesbian" actually means. It gave me pause for thought. I went down a certain path with it, which is not to imply there aren't different paths. Here's what I got on that.

There is a difference between being and doing.... Two straight/bisexual/...... women "doing it" with one another, does not qualify them as lesbians. A sex act and sexual orientation are not one and the same.

My sense of myself is about a great deal more than sex and gender identity.

I'm not an ally to women - I am a woman. A woman living in a sexist/homophobic/racist/ageist/patriarchal culture? I do not have the luxury of obsessively focusing on my gender to the exclusion of all else. Being a masculine woman does not confer protection.

For clarity sake: I'm a Lesbian Feminist, butch - not a Feminist. I have a different heritage than heterosexual Feminists. Something, I wish Feminism bashers would remember when they bring up the 2nd Wave gender wars. I, a butch, was the one getting bashed and marginalized by some Feminists. It was my war, not other people's war by proxy, or for the dubious purpose of dismissing all Feminists. Despite it all, I still find Feminism to be my way.

The "lesbian" designation is crucial to my Feminism because it says that my daily, lived life IS a political landscape. I've thrown my life open to political analysis. For me, the personal is political.

Gender theory has a different imperative. It's primarily about the personal - i.e. the political is (in service to the) personal.