WOMS200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Rita Mae Brown, Chirlane Mccray, Lesbian Feminist Liberation
24 May 2018
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Lecture 20
When We Rise Part 2
Lesbian Feminists
• Lesbians should not be 2nd class homosexuals
• Radical feminist movements made their way into the Gay Liberation Front
• I hae et ay feiists ho are ot lesias, ut I hae eer et a lesia ho is
ot a feiist. – Martha Shelley
• Gay Activist Alliance (GAA) was less than 10% female
• Formed a Lesbian Liberation Committee in the GAA
o Eventually became known as the Lesbian Feminist Liberation (independent of
the GAA)
• 1970: Rita Mae Brown founded a radical socialist group called the Red Stockings
• National Organization for Women (NOW) founded by Betty Friedan
• Rita Mae Bro ad others rote a aifesto, The Woa-Idetified Woa
• Lesbianism is a political strategy/choice
• Believed heterosexuals were complicit with the male power structure and that the
structure oppressed women
• Started a newspaper called the Furies
• Black lesbian feminist group called the Combahee River Collective (1974)
o Included Chirlane McCray and Audre Lorde
o Active 1974-1980
o Wrote Combahee River Collective statement
• 1979: McCray published an article for Essence magazine – first article published by an
openly black lesbian
• Rita Mae Brown wrote Ruby Fruit Jungle (1973)
o Popular book about lesbianism
o Explicit in its portrayal
1970s: Anita Bryant
• Singer – sang for presidents and was a national spokesperson for the Florida orange
growers
• Miss Oklahoma and in the Miss America contest
• Deeply religious
• I 1, lauhed the “ae our Childre apaig
o Organized a movement to prevent homosexuals from becoming teachers
o Worked to repeal anti-discrimination laws
o Became a symbol of the condemnation of the gay lifestyle
• Famously took a pie in the face by a gay activist
o Career declined as a result
o One of the most famous Zaps of all time
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