Difference between revisions of "328 2010--Week 11 Questions/Comments"
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(→A Letter to the Editor of ''The Ladder'' from an African American Lesbian, 1957) |
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'''The issue of appearance and whether or not minority groups should dress according to the standards of “the dominant social group” was interesting here.''' Conforming to their standards might be a way for a lesbian (or an African American or any other minority group) to prove that she was “normal” and that her sexuality should not be a determining factor of her standing in society. On the other hand, not conforming to these standards would be a way to say “I don’t care what you think.” The writer seems to think it shouldn’t matter either way, as she expresses the hope that “someday…the ‘discreet’ Lesbian will not turn her head on the streets at the sight of the ‘butch’ strolling hand in hand with her friend in their trousers and definitive haircuts” (422). It’s something modern lesbians could identify with, as there are many women for whom appearance is still a big concern, as they do not want the stereotype of the “manly” lesbian to be the only thing others think of. - Alice W | '''The issue of appearance and whether or not minority groups should dress according to the standards of “the dominant social group” was interesting here.''' Conforming to their standards might be a way for a lesbian (or an African American or any other minority group) to prove that she was “normal” and that her sexuality should not be a determining factor of her standing in society. On the other hand, not conforming to these standards would be a way to say “I don’t care what you think.” The writer seems to think it shouldn’t matter either way, as she expresses the hope that “someday…the ‘discreet’ Lesbian will not turn her head on the streets at the sight of the ‘butch’ strolling hand in hand with her friend in their trousers and definitive haircuts” (422). It’s something modern lesbians could identify with, as there are many women for whom appearance is still a big concern, as they do not want the stereotype of the “manly” lesbian to be the only thing others think of. - Alice W | ||
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| + | The Letter to the editor of The Ladder was very interesting. I agree with Alice on many points. I was also intrigued by her account of the struggle that women faced in general, whether they were homosexual or not. She explains “Women, like other oppressed groups of one kind or another, have particularly had to pay a price for the intellectual impoverishment that the second class status imposed on us for centuries” (421). It must have been comforting for lesbian women to have these publications out there. As MP explained in the preface to the chapter, The Ladder was the first American lesbian publication. Upon further research, I found that The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States and was edited by Phyllis Lyon, co founder of Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian organization. As the writer of the letter noted, this publication was “a fine elementary step in a rewarding direction” (421). It seems like a publication such as The Ladder was a step forward in bringing the lesbian community together while portraying a positive image of lesbian women to the public, something that was beyond taboo at the time. -Caryn | ||
==African American Pauli Murray Explains Why Negro Girls Stay Single, 1947== | ==African American Pauli Murray Explains Why Negro Girls Stay Single, 1947== | ||
