Where have all the cowgirls gone?

“Through the modern queer movement’s history, there have been moments where lesbians have felt the need to challenge something that seems to inevitably happen to dykes—our invisibility. The Lesbian Avengers and the Dyke March emerged as grassroots strategies to assert the presence of lesbians and to claim an anti-corporate politics within an increasingly corporatized and bought-and-sold LGBT movement (We’re Dykes, Don’t Touch Us, We’ll Hurt You 135).” 

One of the injustices (not necessarily what I think is the biggest issue, but an important one that connects to others) that sticks with me is the lack of representation of lesbians that we see today, and how their contribution to LGBTQ activism in the past has been overlooked and replaced with the homo-normative idea that the white, gay man is the face of the group now.  In class, when asked about any well-known lesbians, no one really named any. The mayor of Houston was mentioned, as was Ellen DeGeneres, but no one else was named. When I tried to think of others myself I couldn’t think of anyone other than some in the entertainment industry such as Ellen Page, Melissa Etheridge, Sarah Gilbert, and Rosie O’Donnell. It troubled me that I couldn’t name many others, lesbian erasure was occurring at the height of what some might say was progress in the LGBTQ community with marriage equality occurring recently. It is an injustice that notable lesbians are left out or overlooked, and in Urvashi Vaid’s essays she tells stories of the history of lesbians creating and developing many movements of activism that have led to the acknowledgement of the intersectionality of issues such as criminalization and violence in the queer communities, especially at the hands of the legal systems, racism, and poverty. She attributes ideas about accountability and transparency in organizing and critiquing structures of institutions to lesbian movements from the 70’s (Ending Patriarchy 149). The lack of diversity in the movement and the issues is a disservice to the population of young LGBTQ growing up without the historical knowledge and leadership and without giving them the tools to move forward in a critical informed way. 

The lack of community togetherness is something that is presently lacking in the tech world of today. We see it in many aspects, the lack of shared human experiences in place of quick and easy. “Culture helped us get together and build a shared set of values (153).” Vaid cites her experiences through a time when lesbian activism was at a high. She tells about her encounters in the building of community and placing importance on culture and politics (153). I can see this lack of community increasing the separation and cross exposure that is need to illustrate how the needs of many affect the needs of the few, so to speak. It is easy to sit at home and like something someone did on social media or to blog about an issue, but with this there is an apathy and remoteness that doesn’t seem to stir feelings of righting the injustices towards marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ population. Do we need to bring back the presence and determination of radical feminist lesbians to stir the pot and to keep the movement moving forward? YES. 

Altering the structures in place that colonialism and patriarchy have glued in societal norms is not easy to upheave. Yet maybe if we look to the fore-woman that saw fit to stand up and challenge the world around them, together with solidarity. We too can use their experiences as models to look at the structures in place, band with others and re-expose lesbians and lesbian activism in a way that sets motion to new movements that include larger groups of disenfranchised individuals that need allies working for their human rights.  So I tried to find other lesbians that work in other arenas such as news and politics to learn their names, so that maybe I can look to them to find my own queer ally voice to draw visibility to injustices that need to be addresses.

Here are some women I found notable, sorry there aren’t many representations of POC & I acknowledge this list may not be from the best source but it’s a start. (all copy and pictures from site)

1.  Jane Addams: Born in 1860, Jane Addams  is known as the mother of social work. She founded the famous Hull House Chicago, which revolutionized the field of social work. She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

2.    Tammy Baldwin is an out elected representative in Congress from Wisconsin. She is a fierce advocate for LGBT and is considering a run for US Senate in 2012.

 

3.    Kate Brown: Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown is the highest ranking openly bisexual elected politician in the United States. Kate Brown has sponsored several gay rights bills in her terms in the Oregon legislation, including Oregon's domestic partnership and civil rights ordinances.

 

 4.    Brittney Griner stands out on a basketball court and now this skilled player is "out" in other ways. Shortly after being picked as the #1 WNBA draft pick out of Baylor, Brittney Griner came out.

5.    Sherri Murrell is the head coach of Portland State University. As far as we know, she is the only out lesbian or bisexual coach in NCAA Division One Women’s Basketball.

     

 6.    Barbara Jordan was an accomplished politician from Texas. Although she was in a long-term relationship with another woman for more than 20 years, she never publicly came out. It was only after her death in 1996 that the press reported about her sexual orientation.