Political lesbianism

Short description: Movement in lesbian feminism

Political lesbianism is a phenomenon within feminism, primarily second-wave feminism and radical feminism; it includes, but is not limited to, lesbian separatism. Political lesbianism asserts that sexual orientation is a political and feminist choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for women[1] as part of the struggle against sexism.[2]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Shared interest
* 3 Lesbian separatism
* 4 Social constructs of sexuality and criticism
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading

## History

Political lesbianism originated in the late 1960s among second wave radical feminists as a way to fight sexism and compulsory heterosexuality. Sheila Jeffreys helped to develop the concept when she co-wrote in 1981 "Love Your Enemy? The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism"[3] with the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group. They argued that women should abandon support of heterosexuality and stop sleeping with men, while encouraging women to rid men "from your beds and your heads".[4] While the main idea of political lesbianism is to be separate from men, this does not necessarily mean that political lesbians have to sleep with women; some choose to be celibate or identify as asexual.[citation needed] The Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group definition of a political lesbian is "a woman identified woman who does not fuck men". They proclaimed men the enemy and women who were in relationships with them collaborators and complicit in their own oppression.[citation needed] Heterosexual behavior is seen as the basic unit of the patriarchy's political structure, lesbians who reject heterosexual behavior therefore disrupt the established political system.[5]

Ti-Grace Atkinson, a radical feminist who helped to found the group The Feminists, is credited with the phrase that came to embody the movement: 'Feminism is the theory; lesbianism is the practice.'[6][7]

## Shared interest

New wave feminism provided a platform for some women to come out of a perceived suffocating shell of heterosexual norms, traditional sexuality, marriage and family life, a life viewed by some feminists as one of hard labor with little consideration and a system that subordinates women. By coming out of dominating heterosexual relationships, women are given an opportunity to declare themselves as lesbians with shared interests. As a result, feminism would be able to provide an environment in which lesbianism was less about personal pain or anguish but an important political issue.

In a broad sense, political lesbianism entails the political identification of women with women, it encompasses a role beyond sexuality but supports eschewing forming relationships with men. It is partly based on the idea that women sharing and promoting a common interest creates a positive and needed energy which is necessary to enhance and elevate the role of women in the society, a development which will be curtailed by the institutions of heterosexuality and sexism if women choose the traditional norms.

Though there was some discrimination against lesbians within the feminist movement, it ended up providing a needed political platform for them. In its wake, it also expanded and introduced divergent views of sexuality.[8]

## Lesbian separatism

Separatist feminism is a form of radical feminism that holds that opposition to patriarchy is best done through focusing exclusively on women and girls.[9] Some separatist feminists do not believe that men can make positive contributions to the feminist movement and that even well-intentioned men replicate the dynamics of patriarchy.[10]

Charlotte Bunch, an early member of The Furies Collective, viewed separatist feminism as a strategy, a "first step" period, or temporary withdrawal from mainstream activism to accomplish specific goals or enhance personal growth.[11] The Furies recommended that Lesbian Separatists relate "only (with) women who cut their ties to male privilege"[12] and suggest that "as long as women still benefit from heterosexuality, receive its privileges and security, they will at some point have to betray their sisters, especially Lesbian sisters who do not receive those benefits".[12]

## Social constructs of sexuality and criticism

Some feminist theory on sexuality evaded biological fixation and embraced social construction as the basis of sexuality. However, this idea posed further questions on the subject of sexuality and lesbianism, and the long term sustainability of a purely lesbian society without men or children. If sexuality could be a construction of human nature then little room is given to understanding the nature of the historical formation of human nature, especially, if the historical nature of man or woman enhanced heterosexuality.[8] A lack of theoretical clarity of lesbianism and sexuality becomes more profound as sexuality is viewed as much more than choice.[13][14] Also, if lesbianism becomes a social institution, the avenue for a dominant persona in the relationships may also pose challenge to the original intention of political lesbianism.

## See also

* Lesbian erasure
* Lesbian feminism
* Lesbophobia
* Fourth-wave feminism
* Radical lesbians
* Separatist feminism
* Womyn's land

Proponents

* Adrienne Rich
* Gloria E. Anzaldúa
* Julie Bindel
* Yvonne Rainer

## References

1. ↑ Bindel, Julie (27 March 2004). "Location, location, orientation". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,3605,1177708,00.html.
2. ↑ Krebs, Paula. Lesbianism as a Political Strategy. Off Our Backs 17.6. ProQuest 197156630.
3. ↑ Jeffreys, Sheila. "Love Your Enemy? The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism". https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3dD4VR6trTUMzYzZTExNmMtY2FlMC00MjlhLTg1ZjItYjFhNGMzMWNlMGIx/edit?hl=en&authkey=CN6ixb8C&pli=1.
4. ↑ Bindel, Julie (30 January 2009). "My sexual revolution". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/30/women-gayrights.
5. ↑ Bunch, Charlotte. "Lesbians in Revolt". The Furies: Lesbian/Feminist Monthly. http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/wlm/furies/.
6. ↑ Koedt, Anne. "Lesbianism and Feminism". http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/lesbianfeminism.html.
7. ↑ "Feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice." (Chicago Women's Liberation Union pamphlet, Lesbianism and Feminism, 1971; Stevi Jackson, Sue Scott, Feminism and Sexuality: A Reader, Columbia University Press, 1996, p. 282)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ramazanoglu; Routledge, Feminism and the Contradictions of Oppression, Routledge, 1989. pp 84–86
9. ↑ Christine Skelton, Becky Francis, Feminism and the Schooling Scandal, Taylor & Francis, 2009 ISBN 0-415-45510-3, ISBN 978-0-415-45510-7 p. 104.
10. ↑ Sarah Hoagland, Lesbian Ethics: toward new value, p. 60, 154, 294.
11. ↑ Davis, Flora. Moving the Mountain: The Women's Movement in America since 1960, University of Illinois Press, 1999, ISBN 0-252-06782-7, p271
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bunch, Charlotte/The Furies Collective, "Lesbians in Revolt", in The Furies: Lesbian/Feminist Monthly, vol. 1, January 1972, pp.8–9
13. ↑ "Answers to Your Questions For a Better Understanding of sexual orientation & Homosexuality". American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx#.
14. ↑ "Psychiatry and LGB People". Royal College of Psychiatrists. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/specialinterestgroups/gaylesbian/submissiontothecofe/psychiatryandlgbpeople.aspx#history.

## Further reading

* Allison, Ruth (1967). "Lesbian by choice". Lesbianism: Its Secrets and Practices. Los Angeles: Medco Books. OCLC 7965371.
* Baderoon, Gabeba (December 2015). Jain, Andrea R.. ed. ""I Compose Myself": Lesbian Muslim Autobiographies and the Craft of Self-Writing in South Africa". Journal of the American Academy of Religion (Oxford: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Religion) 83 (4): 897–915. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfv075. ISSN 0002-7189. OCLC 1479270.
* Barnes, J.J. (July 8, 2017). "Lesbianism is under attack, though not by the usual suspects". https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/07/08/lesbianism-attack-though-not-usual-suspects/.
* Gottschalk, Lorene (1999). Genderations of Women Choosing to Become Lesbian: Questioning the Essentialist Link. [S.I. : s.n.]. OCLC 320880086.
* Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group; Onlywomen Press (1981). "Afterwords From Leeds Revolutionary Feminists". Love Your Enemy? The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism. London: Onlywomen Press. p. 66. ISBN 0906500087. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3dD4VR6trTUMzYzZTExNmMtY2FlMC00MjlhLTg1ZjItYjFhNGMzMWNlMGIx/edit?hl=en&authkey=CN6ixb8C&pli=1.
* Kitzinger, Celia; Wilkinson, Sue (1987). The Social Construction of Lesbianism. London; Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-8039-8116-3. OCLC 18388282.
* Morris, Bonnie J. (2016). The Disappearing L: Erasure of Lesbian Spaces and Culture (1st ed.). SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-6177-9. http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6263-the-disappearing-l.aspx.
* Rich, Adrienne (1986). "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence (1980)". Blood, Bread, and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979-1985. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-393-31162-4. https://archive.org/details/bloodbreadpoetry00adri. (Originally published in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Summer 1980, 5, no. 4, pp. 631–660.)
* Robertson, Michelle (1984). The Politics of Sexual Identity: The Case of Political Lesbianism. Nathan, Qld.: Griffith University. OCLC 222860038.
* Thompson, Denise (1991). Reading Between the Lines: a Lesbian Feminist Critique of Feminist Accounts of Sexuality. Chicago: Spinifex Press. ISBN 978-1-74219-457-8. OCLC 782877206.

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