[soc.feminism] Are feminists Lesbians

elee628@jetson.uh.edu (09/17/90)

Is it true that majority of the hardcore feminists are lesbians?

I would like to make it clear that this question should not be taken
as a discriminatory remark against any group of people. What I want is
the truth about a myth that exists among my group of friends.


K.I

jet@karazm.math.uh.edu (J. Eric Townsend) (09/17/90)

In article <6908.26ee9694@jetson.uh.edu> elee628@jetson.uh.edu writes:
>Is it true that majority of the hardcore feminists are lesbians?

Hm.  I'm not hardcore, but i'm pretty staunch*.  However, I don't
think it's technically possible for me to be a lesbian (even though I
prefer sexual relations with persons of the female gender).

I prefer to call myself an "egalitarian" rather than a "feminist",
but that's an issue of semantics.

(*) -- ie: offended by sexist language and willing to confront the source,
give money and time to several egalitarian and women's rights groups.
--
J. Eric Townsend -- University of Houston Dept. of Mathematics (713) 749-2120
Internet: jet@uh.edu
Bitnet: jet@UHOU
Skate UNIX(r)

colm@mathcs.emory.edu (Colm Mulcahy) (09/17/90)

In article <6908.26ee9694@jetson.uh.edu> elee628@jetson.uh.edu writes:
>Is it true that majority of the hardcore feminists are lesbians?

speaking personally, i must admit that i've been attracted to women for so
long (and hardly at all to men) that - yes - i guess i must be a lesbian.

but then there are a lot of male lesbians around :-)

-- 
Colm Mulcahy           | email address:                 |   still seeing   
Dept. of Math & CS,    | colm@mathcs.emory.edu          |   peace 
Spelman College,       | colm@emory.bitnet              |   as poison ?
Atlanta, GA 30314      | {sun!sunatl,gatech}!emory!colm |

falk%peregrine@Sun.COM (Ed Falk) (09/17/90)

In article <6908.26ee9694@jetson.uh.edu> elee628@jetson.uh.edu writes:
>Is it true that majority of the hardcore feminists are lesbians?
>
>I would like to make it clear that this question should not be taken
>as a discriminatory remark against any group of people. What I want is
>the truth about a myth that exists among my group of friends.

I think it's regional.  When I lived in upstate N.Y. and was on the
periphery of the movement, I'd say it was about 2/3 lesbian.  A friend
of mine once went to the local women's center, with the intent of
checking it out and maybe joining, and two women tried to pick her up
in half an hour.  It completely turned her off of feminism.  My SO at
the time was the local N.O.W. chapter president, and we had to keep our
relationship quiet because it would hurt her politcally if it found out
she was in a relationship with a man.

In other places, I don't think there's such a concentration of gay
women.  Your mileage may vary.

I'm talking about the inner circle hard-core feminists of course.  I
think in general, most of the women who call themselves feminists are
pretty much regular people and have the same gay component as the
general population.


		-ed falk, sun microsystems
		 sun!falk, falk@sun.com
		 card-carrying ACLU member.

pr0z+@andrew.cmu.EDU (Phyllis Reuther) (10/10/90)

from: elee628@jetson.uh.edu
>Is it true that majority of the hardcore feminists are lesbians?

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not a lesbian. Most of my 'hard-core
feminist' friends are not lesbians. As a matter of fact, many of my
'hard-core feminist' friends are not even female, and so by definition,
are not lesbians.


What difference would it make anyway?