Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism - A Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism

Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism: A Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism
Author(s): Verta Taylor and Leila J. Rupp

Source: Signs, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 32-61
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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Women's Cultureand Lesbian Feminist

Activism:A Reconsideration
of CulturalFeminism
Verta
Taylor
T~ -1HE
and
Leila
J. Rupp
RISE OF culturalfeminism
withinthe U.S. women's
movement,
accordingto thecurrentfeminist
orthodoxy,spelled
the death of radical feminism.Because culturalfeminismis
viewofthedifferences
betweenwomen
based on an esssentialist
men
and
and
and advocatesseparatism
institution
building,ithas, say its
from
to
to retreat
Alice Echols,
critics,led feminists
politics "life-style."
the most prominentcriticof culturalfeminism,creditsRedstockings
memberBrookeWilliamswithintroducing
thetermculturalfeminismin
1975 to describethe depoliticizationof radical feminism(Echols 1989,
301). "Cultural feminismis the beliefthatwomen will be freedvia an
alternatewomen's culture.It ... has developedat the expenseof feminism,eventhoughit calls itself'radical feminist'" (Williams1975, 79).1
Since 1975, denunciationsof culturalfeminismhave become commonblack feminists,
postmodplace. Fromall sides-from socialistfeminists,
and especiallyfromradical feministswho rejectcultural
ern feminists,
feminismas a betrayalof theirearlyideas-come chargesthatcultural
feminismrepresentsthe deradicalizationand demobilizationof the woWe are fullcoauthorsand have listedour names in reversealphabeticalorder.We
would like to thankPhyllisGormanand KellyMcCormickforhelpfuldiscussionsof
whose
currentdevelopmentsin the Columbus lesbian community;Nancy Whittier,
contributions
to thisarticleare legion; Myra Marx Ferree,Mary MargaretFonow,
RobertaAsh Garner,Susan M. Hartmann,Joan Huber,Carol Mueller,Laurel
Richardson,Barbara Ryan, and Beth Schneider,whose commentson earlierdraftswere
extremelyhelpful;the participantsin the conference"New TheoreticalDirectionsin the
Studyof the Women's Movement,"Aarhus,Denmark,October28-November 1, 1990,
forfruitful
discussionsof thisresearch;the anonymousreviewersforSigns,whose
commentshelped us immeasurablyin the long processof revision;and Kate Tylerfor
herperceptiveeditorialwork.
1 Redstockings
was a radical feministaction group foundedin New York Cityin
see also Echols 1983a, 1983b,
1969. On culturalfeminismversusradical feminism,
1984.
[Signs:Journalof Womenin Cultureand Society1993, vol. 19, no. 1]
? 1993 byThe University
of Chicago.All rightsreserved.
0097-9740/94/1901-0001$01.00
32
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CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor and Rupp
men's movement.2In Echols's words,"radical feminismwas a political

thesex-classsystem,whereascultural
movementdedicatedto eliminating
movementaimedat reversing
thecultural
was a countercultural
feminism
valuationof the male and the devaluationof the female" (1989, 6).
Implicitin most discussionsof culturalfeminismis the centralityof
lesbianismto the process of depoliticization.The critiqueof cultural
feminismsometimesis a disguised-and withinthewomen's movement
we
more acceptable-attack on lesbian feminism.By lesbian feminism,
mean a varietyof beliefsand practicesbased on thecore assumptionthat
to
a connectionexistsbetweenan eroticand/oremotionalcommitment
womenand politicalresistanceto patriarchaldomination.Culturalfeminism'sthreegreatest"sins"-essentialism, separatism,and an emphasis
on buildingan alternativeculture-are stronglyassociatedwiththe lesbian feministcommunitiesthat grewup in U.S. citiesand towns in the
thedevelopmentof
1970s and 1980s. Williams,herselflesbian,identified
cultural feminismwith the growth of lesbianism; later critics have
this association.Echols sees culturalfeminismas growing
strengthened
out oflesbianfeminism
butmodifying
it,"so thatmale valuesratherthan
men were vilifiedand femalebondingratherthan lesbianismwas valorized" (1989, 244). In thecontextof the 1980s "sex wars"-the struggle
oversexual expressiveness
and regulationbetween,on one side,feminists
who emphasizedthe dangersof sexualityand the need to fightpornographyas a formof violenceagainstwomenand, on theotherside,those
who stresseditspleasures-cultural feminismcame to standforan "antisex" varietyof lesbian feminism.3
Althoughlesbian voices are among
2
For a critiqueof total separatismfroma socialistfeminist
see Jaggar
perspective,
see
1983; fora black feministcritiqueof the race and class bias of culturalfeminism,
hooks 1984; forpostmoderncritiques,see Alcoff1988-juxtaposing the cultural
feministand poststructuralist
answersto the problemof definingthe categoryof
women-and Young 1990-rejecting the ideal of "community"as unable to
For attackson culturalfeminismas a betrayalof radical feminism,
encompassdifference.
froma radical feminist
perspective,see Atkinson1984; Willis 1984; and Ringelheim
1985. Othercommentarieson culturalfeminismcan be foundin Eisenstein1983 (she
does not use the termculturalfeminismbut warns of reactionarytendenciesin what she
calls "the new essentialism"[xvii]); Donovan 1985 (she tracesculturalfeminismto its
culturalfeminismas a
roots); and Buechler1990 (he identifies
nineteenth-century
variantof radical feminism).
3 The "sex wars" became a nationalissue afterthe 1982 "Scholar and the Feminist
IX" conferenceat BarnardCollege, New York City.The conference,
whichfocusedon
women's sexual autonomy,choice,and pleasure,includedspeakerswho advocated
and pornography,
sadomasochism,sexual role-playing,
provokingan attackby Women
Women againstViolence againstWomen,and New York Radical
againstPornography,
Feminists.See the discussionand bibliographyin Vance 1984, 441-53; and see Segal
and McIntosh 1993. The two major feministanthologiesassociatedwiththe "pro-sex"
position(Snitow,Stansell,and Thompson 1983; Vance 1984) both includedessaysby
AliceEchols in whichshe looked criticallyat the developmentof culturalfeminism;see
Echols 1983b, 1984. See also Echols 1991.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
33
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
thoseraisedin condemnationof culturalfeminism,

theboundaryin common usage betweenculturalfeminismand lesbian feminismis highly
permeable,if it existsat all.
Our goal here is to repositionwhat has been called "culturalfeminism" as one tendencywithindynamicand contestedcontemporary
U.S.
lesbianfeminist
communities.By shifting
our focusfromtheideologyof
culturalfeminismto concretesocial movementcommunities,we make
called
explicitthecentralroleof lesbiansin what is ofteneuphemistically
the"women's community"and we emphasizethata movement'sculture
is more than a formalideologicalposition.4To understandthe culture
of any group requiresattentionto the contextsin whichit is produced,
so we turnour gaze to the communitiesthat give birthto "women's
culture."
Lesbian feministcommunitiesin the United States are made up of
women with diverseviews and experiences.They encompass "cultural
thisis not a label thatanywomen,as faras we
feminists"-significantly,
to
themselves-and
theircritics,as well as "antisex" and
know, apply
feminists
and
"pro-sex"
separatistsand antiseparatists.In contrastto
criticswho view lesbian feminist
communitiesas embodyingtheevilsof
culturalfeminism,
we see the debate over essentialism,separatism,sexuality,and so on takingplace withinthesecommunities.As JanClausen
has pointed out, even criticsof the racism and Eurocentrismof "the
women's community"remainidentified
withit (1992, 9).
Our intentis not to defendthe ideological position that has been
describedas "culturalfeminism"butto changethetermsofthedebateby
focusingon the consequencesfor feministactivismof lesbian feminist
cultureand communities.We identifyfourelementsof lesbian feminist
culturethatpromotesurvivalof the women's movementduringperiods
of waning activity:femalevalues, separatism,the primacyof women's
relationships,and feministritual.The cultureof lesbian feministcommunitiesboth servesas a base of mobilizationforwomen involvedin a
wide rangeofprotestactivitiesaimedat politicaland institutional
change
and providescontinuity
fromearlierstagesof thewomen'smovementto
the futurefloweringof feminism.Ratherthan depoliticizingthe radical
feministattack on the multipleroots of women's oppression,lesbian
feministcommunitiespreservethatimpulse.
Our argumentis shaped byhistoricalanalysesof women'scultureand
Froma historicalperspective,
by theoriesof social movementcontinuity.
of culturalfeminism
is curious,giventhat
Echols's and others'indictment
women's culture and intimatebonds betweenwomen have generally
4 Ourthinking
on movement
culture
is influenced
byRickFantasia'sstudyof
cultures
ofresistance
withinthelabormovement
(1988).
emergent
34
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CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
ofthewomen'smovement.5
roleinthedevelopment
playeda benevolent
in
classic
as Strather
article
As EstelleFreedman
"Separatism
explains
the
decline
of
the
U.S.
women's
movement
in
the
1920s
can be
egy,"
to
of
attributed
the
women's
culture
and
the
of
devaluation
decline
partly
And
women's
Cook
institutions
Blanche
(1979).
separate
arguespersuaof loveand supportwerevitalto women's
sivelythatfemalenetworks
(1977). Althoughno
century
politicalactivismin the earlytwentieth
monolithic
women'sculture
hasdeveloped
acrosslinesofrace,class,and
womeninvolvedin a wide arrayof collective
action-from
ethnicity,
to
foodriotsinimmigrant
labor
to
strikes, protests
neighborhoods,
against
of African-American
the lynching
demonstrationsmen,to suffrage
haveshapedoppositional
thatsustained
cultures
theirstruggles.6
These
womenweremotivated
what
as
Cott
has
by
Nancy
distinguished three
formsof consciousness:
feminist
female
consciousness,
consciousness,
and communalconsciousness
culturewe
(1989).7The lesbianfeminist
here
such
an
is
culture.
explore
oppositional
Recentworkon social movements
also pointsto a
by sociologists
the
culture
of
between
lesbian
feminist
communities
positive
relationship
andthepersistence
offeminist
activism.
on
the
scholars
sixties,
Focusing
havedocumented
therolethatpreexisting
and
netactivist
organizations
worksfromearlierroundsofprotest
in
of
all
the
of
the
played
emergence
so-callednewsocialmovements
suchas thecivilrights,
and
student, gay
to
5 The basic positionson the natureof women's cultureand its relationship
feminismare clearlystatedin an exchangebetweenEllen DuBois and Carroll
(DuBois et al. 1980). DuBois defineswomen's cultureas "the
Smith-Rosenberg
broad-basedcommonalityof values, institutions,
and methodsof
relationships,
and moralityand particularto late eighteenthcommunication,focusedon domesticity
and nineteenth-century
women" (29). For her,women's cultureand feminismstand in a
dialecticalrelationship.In contrast,Smith-Rosenberg
questionsthe use of the term
women's cultureto describethe acceptanceof mainstreamculturalvalues and insists
thata culturemusthave "its own autonomousvalues, identities,symbolicsystems,and
modes of communication"(58). Eschewingthe word culture,she arguesthatfeminism
cannot developoutsidea "femaleworld" in whichwomen createritualsand networks,
formprimarytieswithotherwomen,and developtheirown worldview(61).
6 Scholarsof African-American
and working-classwomen,in particular,have rejected
the notionof a universalwomen's culture.But theirevidencesuggeststhatvarious
women,millworkers,and working-class
groupsof women-enslaved African-American
housewives-did create"women's cultures,"albeitmultipleones thatoftensupported
men of theirgroups.See Hewitt 1985. See Pascoe 1990 fora recentwork thatattacks
the idea thatthereis a women'sculturebased on women'svalues.
the will to changeit,
7 Feministconsciousnessinvolvesa critiqueof male supremacy,
and the beliefthatchangeis possible. (Cott 1989 drawson Gordon 1986, 29, in
definingfeministconsciousness.)Female consciousness,whichCott bases on Kaplan's
(1982) explorationof working-classfood protestsand strikes,is rootedin women's
acceptanceof the divisionof labor by sex. Communalconsciousnessis based on
solidaritywithmen of the same group. Feministconsciousnessis necessarily
oppositional,while femaleand communalconsciousnesscan supportthe statusquo or
can lead women to engagein a varietyof kindsof protest.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
35
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
These studiesilluminatethe importanceof studying

rightsmovements.8
movementsin differing
stagesof mobilizationand in various organizational forms.To conceptualizeperiods of the U.S. women's movement
thatpreviouslyhave been overlooked,we drawon theconceptof "abeyance stages" in social movements(Taylor 1989b). The termabeyance
depictsa holdingprocess by which activistssustainprotestin a hostile
fromone stageof mobilizationto
politicalclimateand providecontinuity
another.Abeyancefunctionsthroughorganizationsthatallow members
to build theirlivesaround politicalactivity.Such groupsensurethe survival of a visionarycore of the movement,developa strategyor project
forrealizingthemovement's
vision,and allow activiststo claiman identity
thatopposes thedominantorder.We see lesbianfeminist
communities
as
in
for
radical
of
this
function
the
the
women's
movement
branch
fulfilling
the 1980s and early1990s.
The argumentwe develophereis based on preliminary
researchfora
of
and
on
our
own
lesbian
feminist
communities
extensive
largerstudy
in
feminist
the
lesbian
Columbus, Ohio,
community.Alparticipation
and
informalinterwe
use
movement
formal
writings,
published
though
and participantobservation
viewswithmembersofvariouscommunities,
in Columbusand at nationalevents,we see thisarticleas less an empirical
studythana conceptualpiece.9Our perspectiveis, of course,shaped by
our identitiesas white,middle-class,academic lesbiansimmersedin the
issues we discuss. But we tryto use our experienceto reproducefor
in a lesbian feministcommuthe flavorof involvement
nonparticipants
will
familiar
to otherparticipants,
Much
of
what
we
be
even
nity.
report
communities.Columbus is a noncoastal but
those fromquite different
urbancommunity
wheredevelopmentsin New York,Washington,D.C.,
San
Francisco,and Los Angelesare played out later and on a
Boston,
8 For a discussionof "new social movements,"
see Klandermansand Tarrow 1988.
On the civilrightsmovement,see Morris 1984; McAdam 1988. On the New Left,see
Gittlin1987; Isserman1987; Whalen and Flacks 1987; and Hayden 1988. On the gay
movement,see D'Emilio 1983.
rights
9 Writtensourcesinclude
books, periodicals,and narrativesby communitymembers,
and newsletters,
positionpapers,and otherdocumentsfromlesbian feminist
in-depth,open-endedinterviews
organizations.We also have made use of twenty-one
withinformants
fromProvincetown,
Boston,and the ruralBerkshireregionof western
Fla.;
Massachusetts;Portland,Maine; Washington,D.C.; New York City; St. Petersburg,
Columbus,Yellow Springs,Cleveland,and Cincinnati,Ohio; Minneapolis; Chicago;
Denver; and Atlanta,conductedbetween1987 and 1989, mostlyby Nancy E. Whittier
(1988) but also by VertaTaylor(Taylorand Whittier1992). In addition,we have both
been a part of the lesbian feministcommunityin Columbus sincethe late 1970s, have
culturalevents,and marchesin
attendednationaleventssuch as conferences,
lesbian
informally
yearsinterviewed
Washington,D.C., and have over the past fifteen
in a varietyof communitiesacross the country.All of theseinterviewswere
feminists
thatquotationswould not be attributedto named
conductedwiththe understanding
individuals.
36
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Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
nationaltrendsand
smallerscale.In thatsense,Columbusbothreflects
that
have
been
less
smaller
communities
studied
typifies
by feminist
scholars.1?
Lesbian feministcommunities: A movement in abeyance
Thelate1960sandearly1970sbrought
thefullflowering
ofboththe
liberalandradicalbranches
ofthewomen's
Radicalfeminismmovement.
whichis whatconcernsus here-emergedas womenwithinthe civil
movement
andtheNew Left(theantiwarandstudent
movements)
rights
to
a
began apply leftist
analysisto theirown situationas women.In
contrastto "politicos"who thoughtthata socialistrevolution
would
liberate
radical
feminists
blamed
both
women,
automatically
capitalism
andmalesupremacy
forwomen'soppression
andconceptualized
women
as a "sex class."Withitsuseofconsciousness-raising
anddramatic
"zap
actions"designed
to exposesexistpractices,
radicalfeminism
had a profoundeffect
on bothleftist
Butincreaspoliticosand liberalfeminists.
of
a
the
sex
class
on
foundered
differences
of
race,class,
ingly concept
and sexuality
amongwomen(Spelman1988; Gordon1991).
No issueprovedmorevolatilethansexuality.
The surfacing
of the
"lesbianquestion"in boththeliberaland radicalbranches
ofthewomen'smovement
inpartfromthegay/lesbian
resulted
liberation
movement
in
the
late
sixties
and
the
for
the
of
emerging
paved
way
emergence
lesbianfeminist
in
such
as
Radicalesbians
and
1970
The
in
Furies
groups
1971.As morewomencameoutas lesbianswithintheradicalbranchof
thewomen'smovement,
radicalfeminism
and lesbianfeminism
became
conflated.
Smallgroupsthatweremotivated
vision
bytheradicalfeminist
and composedprimarily
oflesbianssprangup in a variety
oflocations,
thosewithmabythe1980s,smallercommunities,
including,
especially
and
universities.
jor colleges
Sincethe1970s,feminists
whoviewfundamental
changeas necessary
to theeradication
of male domination
havefacedan increasingly
unsocialmilieu.The civilrightsmovement
and New Left,which
friendly
gavebirthto theradicalbranchofthewomen'smovement,
beganto ebb
in the 1970s, whilethe gay liberationmovement
was, like the other
sixtiesmovements,
morecongenialformenthanforwomen.As liberal
feminism
becamemoreinstitutionalized,
explicitantifeminism
emerged
10Columbus is the largestcityin Ohio, the statecapital,and the home of the largest
The lesbian feministcommunity
university
campus in the country,Ohio StateUniversity.
is overwhelmingly,
whiteand middleclass, witha large
althoughnot exclusively,
proportionof studentsand professionals.Most scholarshipon the women's movement
focuseson developmentsin large cities.See, e.g., Freeman1975; Cassell 1977; Wolf
1979; Echols 1989; Staggenborg1991; Ryan 1992. A notable exceptionis Krieger
1983.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
37
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
in the late 1970s as a major foundationof the ultraconservative

New
of
Ronald
the
election
President
reflected
the
of
influence
Right;
Reagan
that countermovement.
The early 1980s saw the failureof the Equal
RightsAmendmentto theU.S. Constitutionand increasingchallengesto
reproductivefreedom. That, and complacency among some young
women who saw no furtherneed for feminism,promptedthe media
The heydayof the congleefullyto proclaimthe death of feminism.11
women's
movement
the
gaveway,by
early1980s, to a period
temporary
of abeyance.Most recently,
on
themedia-fannedattackby conservatives
has
radical
correctness"
and
multiculturalism
femi"political
targeted
nism.Givenall this,what criticsof culturalfeminismhave portrayedas
deradicalizationcan be viewedinsteadas survivalin a climateof backlash and decliningopportunities.12
Since 1980, the women's rightsbranch of the women's movement,
formingpolicy networksat the national and local levels, has gained
influencein such traditionalarenas as electoralpolitics,academic institutions,and theprofessions(Boles 1991). At thesame time,the alternativeinstitutions
foundedbyearlyradicalfeminists-including
rape crisis
battered
women's
centers,
shelters,bookstores,newspapers,publishing
and recordingcompanies,recoverygroups,supportgroups concerned
withhealthand identityissues,spirituality
groups,restaurantsand cofcome
and
other
women-owned
businesses-have
feehouses,
increasingly
to be drivenby thecommitment
of lesbiansand womenin theprocessof
comingout. Women findin this world a social contextsupportiveof
lesbian relationshipsand identitythatwas unavailablein earlyfeminist
organizationsor in the predominantlymale gay liberationmovement.
This is not to say thatfeminist
counterinstitutions
are solelythepreserve
of lesbians.The commonlyused termwomen's communityemphasizes
failto includewomenof
access forall womeneveniffeminist
institutions
the base of mobilizaand
sexual
Nevertheless,
everyrace, class,
identity.
tion of the "women's community"stemsprimarilyfrominterpersonal
networksand organizationalties in the lesbian world.13
11See, e.g., Bolotin 1982; Friedan1985; Davis 1989; Ebeling 1990.
On the institutionalization
of liberalfeminism,
see Gelb and Palley 1982; Mueller
1987; Buechler1990; Katzenstein1990; Schlozman1990; Davis 1991. On the climate
of antifeminism,
see Luker 1984; Ferreeand Hess 1985; Mansbridge1986; Chafetzand
Dworkin 1987; Taylor1989a; Matthewsand De Hart 1990; Faludi 1991. For examples
of the attackon "politicalcorrectness,"
see Charon 1992, whichfocuseson what she
calls "rad-fems";D'Souza 1991; and Taylor1991. On the radical branch,see Hole and
Levine 1971; Freeman1975; Evans 1979; Ferreeand Hess 1985; Echols 1989; Ryan
1989; Buechler1990; Castro 1990; Davis 1991; Taylorand Whittier1993.
13 The
conceptof "social movementcommunity"comes fromBuechler1990;
literaturedocumentingthe natureof lesbian feminist
communitiesincludesBarnhart
1975; Ponse 1978; Lewis 1979; Wolf 1979; Krieger1983; Lockard 1986; Phelan 1989;
Cavin 1990; Esterberg1990; Zimmerman1990; Penelope 1992.
12
38
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Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
The historyof the Columbus communityillustratesdevelopmentsat

the national level and provides a model of the kinds of institutions,
organizations,and eventsthat undergirdthe lesbian feministcommunity.14The radical branch of the women's movementin Columbus
emergedin 1970 out of Women's Liberationat Ohio State University,
made up of women fromthe civilrightsand New Leftmovements.This
group foughtforchangeson campus, includingthe establishmentof a
women'sstudiesprogram.In 1971, it sponsoreda consciousness-raising
group thatgave birthto the Women's ActionCollective,an off-campus
umbrellaorganizationthatbecametheheartof thewomen'scommunity.
The collectivesheltereda varietyof groups,includingWomen Against
Rape, theWomen'sCo-op Garage,LesbianPeerSupport,SingleMothers'
Support Group, Womansongnewspaper,and Fan the Flames Feminist
Book Collective.A largeproportionof earlyWomen'sActionCollective
memberswere lesbian; more memberscame out throughoutthe 1970s
until the collectivewas almost entirelylesbian. Outside the Women's
Action Collective,women in Columbus formedCentralOhio Lesbians;
theWomen'sMusic Union,whichproducedfeminist
concerts;and Feministsin Self-Defense
which
in
out
of theself-defense
Training,
grew part
Women
Heterosexual
women
workshopssponsored by
AgainstRape.
foundthelocal chapterof theNational OrganizationforWomen(NOW)
a havenforradicalfeminist
activity;in whatbecamea local cause celebre,
fiveNOW memberswere arrestedin 1979 for spray-painting
antirape
slogans on a freewaysound barriercoveredwithmisogynistgraffiti.
By the late 1970s, Women AgainstRape had come to dominatethe
Women'sActionCollective,largelyas a resultof a major grantfromthe
National InstituteforMental Health fora communityrape prevention
project.This grant,whichpaid indirectcosts to the collective,fundeda
area for offices,
paid staffand the rentalof a house in the university
meetingrooms,and a bookstore.As WomenAgainstRape expanded its
operationsand grewin size, a numberof otheroriginalcollectivegroups
dissolved.At thesame time,thelate seventiesand earlyeightieswitnessed
the startof a varietyof short-livedfeministorganizationsand two enduringones, the Child Assault Preventionproject(spawned by Women
AgainstRape) and Women'sOutreachto Women,a twelve-step
recovery
climateof the early 1980s,
group. But in the increasinglyantifeminist
both membersand fundsbegan to disappear.The end of the grantthat
14 Thisdiscussion
is heavily
indebted
to Whittier
1991.In addition,
we drawon
otherunpublished
research
on Columbus,
Haller1984; Matteson1989; Dill
including
1992.Finally,
ouraccountis shapedby
1991; Wilkey1991; Gorman1992; McCormick
ourowninvolvement,
sincebothofus wereperipheral
members
oftheWomen'sAction
andhaveattended
Collective
and
marches,
demonstrations,
concerts,
meetings,
forthepastfifteen
conferences
community
years.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
39
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
had catapultedWomenAgainstRape to local (and national)prominence

had dire effectson the entirecommunity.When the Women's Action
Collectivefounditselfdevotingmoretimeto maintainingthehouse than
to engagingin political activity,its remainingmembersmoved to a
smallerspace in 1983 and a yearlaterdisbandedthe collective.
But thesechangesmeantabeyanceand not death forthelesbianfeminist community.Women Against Rape and Fan the Flames Feminist
Book Collective(whichmovedfromtheOhio Statecampusarea to a downtownlocationand, in early1993, to a neighborhood
witha relatively
high
lesbian population)survivedthe death of theirparentorganizationand
continueto thrive,as has Women'sOutreachto Women,whichsponsors
as wellas forwomenrecovering
fromsubstance
groupsforincestsurvivors
into
the National
abuse. The Child AssaultPrevention
projectdeveloped
in
AssaultPrevention
and
the
Women's
Music
based
Center,
Columbus,
Unioncontinuedto producefeminist
concertsuntil1990. In 1990, a revived
Take Back theNightmarchto protestviolenceagainstwomen(an annual
eventin thelate 1970s) led to theestablishment
of an on-goingTake Back
theNightorganization.A lesbiansupportgroup,Sistersof Lavender,continues;a LesbianBusinessAssociationpublishesa local lesbiannewsletter
titledThe WordIs Out!; lesbianmothersand lesbianshopingto bearchildrenhaveformeda groupcalled Momazons thathas launcheda national
and membersof the lesbianfeminist
have moved
newsletter;
community
intopro-choiceand lesbian/gay
Stonewall
Union,
community
organizations.
forexample,centralOhio's gay/lesbian
advocacygroup,has had lesbian
and headofitsantiviolence
feminists
as president,
executivedirector,
project
in the 1990s.
What thishistorysuggestsis that the lesbian feministcommunityis
characterizedby a shiftingcore. In Columbus, the nucleusof the communitymoved fromthe universitywomen's liberationgroup, to the
Women'sActionCollective,to themorefocusedWomen
university-area
and
Women'sOutreachto Women;perhapsTake Back the
AgainstRape
in
is
the
Night
processof becominga new core. The organizationsand
the personnelhave changed,but the basic characterof lesbian feminist
culturehas remained.Thus thedemiseof a radical feminist
organization
may representless the "death" of radical feminismthan a movementof
membersand resourcesto a new local movementcore.
In a climateof increasingpoliticalopposition,decreasingfunding,and
neverlost sightof
lowerlevelsof mobilization,theColumbuscommunity
which
itspoliticalgoals. Rape prevention
workshops,
mighthavebecome
a depoliticizedcommunity
service,continuedto interpret
rape as a "pillar
of patriarchy"and to advocate strategiesto preventrape as a means of
knockingout one supportof thesystem(CommunityActionStrategiesto
Stop Rape 1978). Even thegrowthof therecoverymovementand a turn
40
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor and Rupp
to feminist
associatedbycriticsof culturalfeminism
witha
spirituality,
did not depoliticize
sacrifice
of politicsforlife-style,
the community.
Lesbianfeminists
devotedto recovery
fromincestor substance
abuse,for
of
work
ramifications
their
the
(Direen1991).
example,argued political
AndwhentheWomen'sActionCollective
newsletter
appearedinthefall
of 1982 witha newtitle,WomoonRising,whoseexplanation
was sufandspirituality,
fusedwithreferences
to matriarchy
thechangemetwith
fromcollective
resistance
who insistedthata "Womoon...
members
doesn't
sound
a
like
certainly
politicalactivist"(WomoonRising1982).
The newsletter
ceasedpublication
soonafteritschangeoftitle;feminist
have
heated
debates,butit neverreplacedpolspirituality
may
sparked
iticsin theColumbuscommunity.
The cultureof lesbianfeminist
communities
Lesbianfeminist
do showsignsoftheessentialism,
communities
sepand
that
culturalfeminism's
criticsviewas
aratism, "life-style
politics"
anathemato radicalfeminism.
But a closerexamination
of theideas,
and
separatiststrategies,
relationships, symbolicpracticesof
primary
members
oflesbianfeminist
reveals
that
theseelements
culcommunity
turearewhatsustainand nourishfeminist
activism.
Femalevalues
Thequestionofwhether
womenarefundamentally
frommen
different
is centralthroughout
the women'smovement.
a
Although varietyof
and groupsasserttheexistence
individuals
of "femalevalues,"thispositionis closelyassociatedwithcontemporary
lesbianfeminists,
whoare
moreforthright
thanearlierfeminists
in proclaiming
thesuperiority
of
women'svaluesovermen's.Thisis also theaspectofculturalfeminism
thatis mostdisputed,in partbecausethenotionof universal
female
valuessitsuneasilywiththerecognition
ofdifferences
amongwomen.
Criticsofcultural
feminism
denouncebeliefinfemalevaluesas essento LindaAltialist,thatis, basedon biologicaldeterminism.
According
"cultural
feminism
the
of
is
a
female
natureor female
coff,
ideology
essencereappropriated
inan effort
torevalidate
undervalued
byfeminists
femaleattributes"
do see female
(1988, 408). Some lesbianfeminists
valuesas linkedto women'sbiologicalcapacityto reproduce,
butothers
takea socialconstructionist
differences
between
positionand attribute
femaleandmalevaluestodifferences
inwomen'sandmen'ssocialization
and prescribed
roles.Explanations
differaside,beliefin fundamental
encesbetweenfemaleand malevaluespermeates
lesbianfeminist
communities.
this
on
difference
serves
to
the
existIndeed, emphasis
justify
enceof a "women'scommunity."
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
41
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Lesbianfeminists
findsupportforthebeliefin femalevalues in a large
colof
and
popular writingthatvalorizesegalitarianism,
body scholarly
lectivism,an ethicof care, respectforknowledgederivedfromexperience,pacifism,and cooperationas femaletraits.In contrast,an emphasis
on hierarchy,
oppressiveindividualism,an ethicof individualrights,abstraction,violence,and competitionare denouncedas male. Not all such
worksare writtenby lesbian women or by women who would identify
but theyset forthpositionsemwith the lesbian feministcommunity,
braced by lesbian feminists.15
On one end of the femalevalues continuumlies Mary Daly's later
work,which dismissesmen as death-dealingnecrophiliacsdrainingfeand literally,in orderto stay alive (Daly
male energy,both figuratively
1978, 1984; Daly and Caputi 1987). Audre Lorde, in an open letterto
Daly, criticizeswhat she sees as Daly's assumptionthatall womensuffer
the same oppressionand calls forrecognitionof thecreativefunctionof
differences
among women (Lorde 1984a). In a spoof of argumentssuch
as Daly's, Margot Sims's On the Necessityof Bestializingthe Human
Femalepurportsto provethatwomenand menbelongto different
species
of Daly's work, or of Adrienne
(1982). The biological underpinnings
Rich's earlyworkon motherhood,fuelthechargeof essentialismhurled
by culturalfeminism'scritics(Rich 1976).
But an essentialistview of femalevalues is only one perspective.To
move to the otherend of the continuum,PatriciaHill Collins, whose
commuin theacademicsectorof thelesbianfeminist
workis influential
and
African-American
of
the
between
draws
standpoints
parallels
nity,
are
different
that
both
share
values
that
whitefeminists,
from,
suggesting
and superiorto, thoseof thedominantwhitemale culture(1989, 1990).
argument,to criticsof cultural
Althoughthisis a social constructionist
feminismit mightstillsmackof an unwarrantedemphasison difference
betweenwomen and men,or at least betweenwomen and whitemen.
Exposed to theseintellectualdebatesthroughbooks, periodicals,and
women's studiesclasses, lesbian feministsoftenfindsupportfor their
beliefin superiorfemalevalues. As one communitymemberexplained,
"We've been acculturatedinto two cultures,the male and the female
culture.And luckilywe've been able to preservetheways of nurturing
by
culture."16Evenwomenwho intellectually
reject
beingin thisalternative
are apt to use male as a termof
thenotionof male and femaledifference
derision.It is commonin the Columbus communityto hear everything
and
fromcontrollingand aggressivebehaviorto impersonalrelationships
15See, e.g., Walker1974; Rich 1976; Chodorow 1978; Daly 1978, 1984; Dworkin
1981; Gilligan1982; Cavin 1985; Johnson1987; MacKinnon 1987.
16
Mass.
Interviewconductedby Nancy Whittier,
August1987, Stockbridge,
42
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
in casual conversahierarchical
structures
characterized
organizational
tionas "male."Ourpointhereis thatwhilemostlesbianfeminists
do not
embrace
of
sex
such
of
bounddifferences, drawing
biological
explanations
ariesbetween
maleand femalevaluespromotes
thekindof oppositional
consciousness
for
life
one's
around
feminism.
necessary organizing
Separatism
Lesbianfeminist
communities
advocatebothseparatism
as strategy
and separatism
as goal,butitis totalseparation
frommenas an endin
itselfthathas provenmostcontroversial
and thathas giventheimpressionthatradicalfeminism
has evolvedintoa politicsofidentity.17
Some
to withdraw
fromall aspectsofmalecontrolby
groupshaveattempted
ruralself-sufficient
butthesearetheexception.
communes,
forming
Sally
Gearhart
suchcommunities
in herpopularfiction,
whichporglorifies
ofwomenfighting
communities
thedeath-dealing
traysseparatist
patriand distinctively
femalementaland physical
archywithextraordinary
powers(1978, 1991). Criticsof suchtotalseparatism
pointto therace
and classbias inherent
in theassumption
thatwomenwantto and can
1983; hooks1984).
separatefrommenin thisway(Jaggar
In general,
thelesbianfeminist
endorsestempohowever,
community
The ColumbusWomen'sAction
rallyand spatiallylimitedseparatism.
Collective
statement
ofphilosophy
asserted
plainlythat"theworkofthe
women'smovement
mustbe donebywomen.Ourowngrowth
can only
be fostered
Oftenmen,and
bysolvingourproblems
amongwomen."18
evenmalechildren
overa veryyoungage,are explicitly
excludedfrom
in groupsand events.Some earlylesbianfeminist
comparticipation
munesincluded
malechildren
butbarredthemfromdecisionmaking
and
social eventson the groundsthat "male energy"violateswomen's
continues
attheannualMichigan
Music
space.19Thistradition
Womyn's
inHart,Michigan,
Festival
wheremalechildren
overtheageofthreeare
inthefestival
notpermitted
areabutmuststayat a separatecamp.Men
werenotpermitted
to attendanysessionsat theNationalLesbianConinAtlantain 1991 (Stevens
ference
theannualTake
1991).In Columbus,
BacktheNightmarchwelcomes
menat thekickoff
rallybutpermits
only
womento march,a sourceof ongoingcontroversy.
of this
Supporters
thatwomengaina liberating
senseofpowerspecifically
policymaintain
fromseparating
frommenforthemarch,
theright
towalkthe
reclaiming
streets
at nightwithno vestiges
ofmale"protection."
On separatism,see Frye1983; Hoagland and Penelope 1988.
Women's ActionCollective"Statementof Philosophy,"adopted by consensus
May1921, 1974, in the personalpapers of TeriWehausen,Columbus,Ohio.
Interviewconductedby VertaTaylor,April 1989, Columbus,Ohio.
17
18
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
43
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
The importanceof suchlimitedseparatismis assertedevenbycriticsof

total separationfrommen and boys. Lesbianwomenof color,workingclass lesbianwomen,and Jewishlesbianwomenwithan interestin working politicallywithintheirown racial, class, and ethniccommunities
argue for separatespace to organizeand expresssolidarityapart both
frommen and fromlesbian women who are white or middle-classor
Christian.20The verystructureof the National Women's StudiesAssociation embodies separatismas strategy:caucuses forwomen of color,
lesbian women,Jewishwomen,and working-classand poor women reflectwomen'sdifferent
and competinginterests.
The need forthiskindof
within
the
lesbian
feminist
organizing
communitywas illustratedat the
National Lesbian Conferencein Atlanta,at whichwomen of color caucused separatelyin an attemptto make theconferencedeal moredirectly
withissuesof racism(Sharon,Elliott,and Latham 1991). Separatismin
the lesbian feministcommunityhas come to mean organizingaround
one's identity.
Separatelyorganizedcaucuses or groupsmay,then,work politically
withwomen of different
interestsor with men. Althoughsome lesbian
feminist
refusedto
groups,especiallyin theearlyyearsof thecommunity,
workat all withheterosexualwomen,coalitionsacross thelinesof both
sexual identityand genderare increasinglycommon. Barbara Epstein
role in mixedargues that lesbian feministshave played a significant
nonviolent
direct
action
since
the
mid-1970s
because
thelesbian
gender
feministmovementhas maturedand succeeded in creatingspace for
lesbianismwithinthe broaderradical community(1991).21 Many participantsin lesbian communitiesconsiderthe women's movementtheir
primaryallegiancebut work activelyin movementsforgay and lesbian
rights,AIDS education and advocacy,Latin Americansolidarity,environmentalcauses,peace, animalrights,reproductive
freedom,and labor
and
and
movements
nuclearweapons.
unions,
againstracism,apartheid,
and
events
caucuses
remain
forwomen
Nevertheless,
separatist
important
who are disenchanted
withthepoliticsof themainstream;
separatismis a
meansof bothdrawingsustenanceand maintaining
feminist
identity.
The primacyof women's relationships
communities
viewheterosexuality
Lesbianfeminist
as an institution
of
control
and
lesbian
as
a
of
means
patriarchal
relationships
subverting
male domination.Relationshipsbetweenwomenare considerednot only
personalaffairsbut also politicalacts, as capturedin the often-repeated
20
Beck 1980; Moraga and Anzaldua 1981; Hull,

See, fora varietyof perspectives,
Scott,and Smith1982; Smith1983; Bulkin,Pratt,and Smith1984; Lorde 1984a,
1984b; Anzaldua 1990; Trujillo1991.
21
See also Cavin 1990; Whittier1991; and Gorman 1992.
44
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
slogan, "Feminismis the theoryand lesbianismis the practice."22The

statement
ofphilosophyof theColumbusWomen'sActionCollective,for
defined
lesbianismas a challengeto male domination.23It was
example,
no accidentthatthecomingout of a largenumberof radical feminists
in
Columbuscoincidedwiththefoundingof theWomen'sActionCollective
and Women AgainstRape. That lesbian women were centralin the antirapemovementundoubtedlyshaped thefeministanalysisof rape as an
act representing
one end of the continuumof what Susan Cavin calls
"heterosex"(1985).
For some communitymembers,lesbianismis definedby overriding
identification
withwomenand by resistanceto patriarchy
ratherthanby
sexual attractionto or involvement
withwomen.As one woman put it,
lesbianismis "an attemptto stop doing what you were taught-hating
women."24Rich's classic article"CompulsoryHeterosexualityand Lesbian Existence"introducedthenotionof the"lesbian continuum,"which
embraceswomenwho resistmale controlbut are not sexual withwomen
(1980). Earlierwritershad also acceptedwhat wereoriginallyknownin
the movementas "political lesbians." Ti-Grace Atkinson,forexample,
denouncedmarriedwomenwho engagedin sexual relationswithwomen
as "collaborators" and praised women who had never had sex with
womenbut who liveda total commitment
to thewomen's movementas
"lesbians in thepoliticalsense" (1973, 12). More recently,
MarilynFrye,
in an address to the 1990 National Women's StudiesAssociationconferencetitled"Do You Have to Be a Lesbian to Be a Feminist?"equated
lesbianismwithrebellionagainstpatriarchalinstitutions.
Fryewas willto
radical
feminist
women-what
she
called
ing imaginetruly
"Virgins"
in thearchaicsenseof autonomouswomen-in eroticrelationships
with
but
she
insisted
that
would
be
men,
they
exceptional(1990).
Lesbian feministcommunitiesindeed include some women who are
orientedtoward women emotionallyand politicallybut not sexually;
theyare sometimesreferredto as "political dykes" or "heterodykes"
(Clausen 1990; Smeller1992; Bart 1993). Some are women in the process of comingout, and some are "going in," or movingfromlesbian
to heterosexualrelationships.For example, singerand political activistHolly Near explainsin her autobiographythatshe continuesto call
herselflesbian even though she is sometimesheterosexuallyactive
22
This statementis attributedto Ti-GraceAtkinsonin Koedt 1973. Echols points

out thatSidneyAbbottand Barbara Love recordthe originalversionof thisremark
in 1970, Atkinsonaddressedthe lesbiangroup Daughtersof Bilitisin
quite differently:
New York and commentedthat"Feminismis a theory;but Lesbianismis a practice"
(Abbottand Love 1972, 117; Echols 1989, 238). In any case, the phrasehas been
widely
quoted withinlesbian feministcommunities.
23
Women's ActionCollective"Statementof Philosophy."
24
Interviewconductedby Nancy Whittier,September1987, Washington,D.C.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
45
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
because of the importanceof lesbian feminismas a political identity

(1990). In thesame vein,a feminist
supportgroupsprangup in 1989 at
for"LesbiansWho JustHappen to Be in RelationOhio StateUniversity
is that lesbian
ships with PoliticallyCorrectMen." What is significant
in
to
involvement
the
women's
thateven
is
so
salient
community
identity
womenwho are not, or no longer,involvedsexuallywithwomenclaim
such an identity.
Most lesbiansare, of course,eroticallyattractedto otherwomen,and
a strongcurrentwithinthe communitycriticizesthose who downplay
sexuality.The popularityof lesbiansex expertJoAnnLoulan, who spoke
audiencein Columbusin 1991, signalsthatthe
to a largeand enthusiastic
erotic aspects of lesbian relationshipshave not been completelysubmerged(Loulan 1990). The "sex wars" of theearly1980s havespawned
an assertivelysexual styleon the part of some membersof the lesbian
feminist
community(Stein1989; Echols 1991). Advocatesof sexual exrolesand sadomaspressiveness,
includingchampionsof "butch-femme"
ochism (S/M), challengethe less sexual styleof what S/M practitioners
call "vanilla lesbians" and denounceany notionof "politicallycorrect"
sex (see, e.g., Califia 1981; Dimen 1984). The lines are explicitlydrawn
by the verytitlesof the periodicalsassociated witheach camp: offour
backs, the classic radical feministnewspaper,now confrontsthe magazine On Our Backs withitssexual "bad girl"style.Buttheroleofpolitics
in structuring
relationshipsis undisputed,evenforthosewho emphasize
as a means of social
sexual pleasure over the use of (hetero)sexuality
controlof women.The defenseof S/M,forexample,arguesthe superiorityof sexual interactionsand relationshipsthat explicitlyplay with
power (Califia 1979, 1980; Samois 1979).25
includesbothwomen
In otherwords,thelesbianfeminist
community
who emphasizerelationshipsbetweenwomen as a formof politicalresistanceand women who stressthe sexual pleasuresof lesbianism.The
sex wars are foughtwithinthe communityover who best deservesthe
label "feminist."Althoughadvocatesof lesbian S/M and associatedsexual practicesexperienceexclusionfromsome community
events,thenatureof lesbian sexualityis contestedopenlyat communityconferences
and in movementpublications(Califia1981). Even smallercommunities
have been affectedby thenationaldebate.In Columbus,when a gay bar
S/M imageryin a local gay/lesbian
publication,lesplaced ads featuring
bian membersof Columbus's women's S/M group,BriarRose, came to
offended
lesbian feminists
withantipornography
blows, metaphorically,
by the depictionof what theyperceivedas violence.26
25
see Lindenet al. 1982.

Fortheopposingposition,
Ohio.
byLeilaRupp,May 1992,Columbus,
26 Interview
conducted
46
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
Althoughlesbian feministcommunitiesare rivenby conflictover the

nature and proper expressionof lesbian sexuality,relationshipshold
communitiestogether.Highlycommittedactiviststendto formpartnershipswitheach otherbecause, as one woman noted,otherwise"there's
too muchpoliticalconflict."27
Politicalorganizing,meetings,and conferencesbecomeoccasions formeetingpotentialloversor forspendingtime
with a partner.Even an academic women's studiesconferencecan provide a safeplace to show affection
in public.Women'srelationships
often
structuretheirentiresocial worlds.Withinthe community,
lesbian couples or groupsof singleand paired lesbianwomenconstructfamily-like
tieswithone another,togethercelebratingholidays,birthdays,commitmentceremonies,births,and anniversaries.
Formerloversare oftenpart
of lesbian networks,at least in smallercommunitieslike Columbus. In
contrastto the New Leftin the 1960s, wherewomen no longerin relationshipswith male leaders oftenfoundthemselvesmarginalizedin the
movement,lesbian feminists'tendencyto remainfriendswith theirexloversprovidesstabilityin the lesbian world (Pearlman1987; Epstein
1991, 181-82).
Lesbian feministcommunitiesmake explicit-and sexual-the ties
thatbindwomen.The contemporary
antifeminist
chargethatone "has to
be a lesbianto be a feminist"is in an odd way an acknowledgment
of the
centralrole thatlesbiansplay in the contemporary
women's movement
and thatwomen with primarybonds to otherwomen played in earlier
It is no coincidencethatself-identified
stagesof feminism.28
"gay women"
who rejectthe label "lesbian" oftenassociate it with feminismand political activism.29Women's relationshipsare especiallycrucial to the
maintenanceof thewomen'smovementwhenmass supportforfeminism
ebbs; such bonds tie togethergroupsof womenwho are unlikelyto find
acceptance for theirrelationshipsoutside the movement.Furthermore,
lesbianfeminist
communitiesprovidefertilegroundforrecruiting
young
lesbian women into feminism.Thus, the relationshipbetweenactivism
and woman-bonding(lesbian or otherwise)is a symbioticone: women
withprimarycommitments
to otherwomenfindsupportwithinthewomen's movementand, in turn,pour theirenergiesinto it.
Feministritual
bothpublicand privateritualsare important
Amonglesbianfeminists,
vehiclesforconstructing
feministmodels of communityand expressing
new conceptionsof gender.Public ritualsare local or national cultural
27
28
29
Ohio.
Interviewconductedby VertaTaylor,May 1987, Columbus,Ohio.

See Faderman1981, 1991; Rupp 1989a, 1989b; Liitzen1990.
Interviewsconductedby VertaTaylorand Leila Rupp, April 1992, Columbus,
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
47
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
eventssuch as concerts,films,poetryreadings,exhibitions,plays, and

conferences.Most prominentnationallyis the annual Michigan Womyn's Music Festival,a five-daycelebrationthatattractsseveralthousand
women formusicalperformances,
workshops,supportgroups,political
strategysessions,"healing circles,"and the sale of woman-madecrafts,
clothing,and othergoods. The National Women's StudiesAssociation
(NWSA) conferenceis anotherannual culturalevent;it goes farbeyond
theusual parametersof an academicconferencebyprovidinga forumfor
feministperformancesand by featuringopen and oftenhighlycharged
Dozens of specialdebateoverissuescentralto thewomen'smovement.30
and festivalstake place each year.
ized nationaland regionalconferences
marchesand pro-choicerallies,ocOtherlocal events,suchas antiviolence
communities.
cur in muchthe same way in different
Publicityin national
fostera common
in
national
demonstrations
and
publications participation
cultureofprotestacrossthecountry;chantsand songs,forexample,spread
eventsin Columbusmirfromone community
to another.Lesbianfeminist
The Women'sAction
ror thosein both largerand smallercommunities.
Collectiveformanyyearssponsoredan annual Famous FeministDay to
Stoneaboutfeminist
raisemoneyand educatethecommunity
foremothers;
wall Unionor Women'sOutreachto Womenbringnationallyknownperformers
to town(as theWomen'sMusic Uniondid until1990); theLesbian
BusinessAssociationputs on an annual Ohio LesbianFestival;and Take
Back theNightcontinuesto sponsoran annualmarchand rally.
feminists
as "women'sculture"Whatis knownamongcontemporary
women's music, literature,and art-plays a centralrole in recruiting
women and raisingtheirfeministconsciousness.31Musicians such as
Meg Christian,Near, and SweetHoney in theRock, as well as dozens of
have introducedissues as well as songs to
other feministperformers,
communitiesacross the country.For example,in Columbus as in other
areas, Near introducedthelesbianfeministcommunityto signlanguage
of concerts.Now no feminist-orevenmainstream-event
interpretation
is without such interpretationfor the hearing impaired. Likewise,
Christianbroughtdiscussionof alcoholismand the recoverymovement
such songs as "TurningIt
to the Columbus communityby performing
Over" and talkingof theAlcoholismCenterforWomenin Los Angeles.
And Sweet Honey in the Rock exposed Columbus audiencescomposed
perspectiveand Africanprimarilyof white women to an Afrocentric
read manyof
Americanhistoryand culture.Womenin local communities
30 The issueofracism
annualNWSA
blewapartthetwelfth
within
theorganization
heldin Akron,Ohio,
"Feminist
Education:CallingtheQuestion,"
conference,
andDouglas1990.
June20-24, 1990.See Ruby,Elliott,
31Zimmerman
ofthe
on thedevelopment
1990 analyzestheimpactoflesbianfiction
lesbiancommunity.
48
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
the same lesbian novelsand poetryand listento the same music.At the
1979 gay/lesbianmarchin Washington,women at the rallyjoined in to
came on stage,while gay men in
singand signwhen lesbianperformers
thecrowd,lackingsuchunifying
rituals,seemedto wonderhow all of the
women knew the words.
Privateritualor thepoliticizationof everydaylifeis, in manyrespects,
the hallmarkof the lesbian feministcommunityand the most damning
aspect of culturalfeminismin the eyes of its critics.Throughthe tenet
that "the personal is political,"everyaspect of life-where one lives,
what one eats, how one dresses-can become an expressionof politics
(Hanisch 1978). The sale at feministbookstores,conferences,
concerts,
and festivalsof feministT-shirts,jewelry(especiallylabryses),books,
music,and bumperstickersmeans thatwomencan adorn and surround
themselveswiththeirpolitics.
The mostsignificant
displayschallengeconventionalstandardsof gender behaviorthatsubordinatewomen.In the earlyyearsof lesbian feminism,comfortable,practical,less "feminine"stylesof dress,unshaved
legs and armpits,and extremelyshorthair were de rigueur.Although
flannelshirts,jeans, and boots are no longera uniform,the dominant
mode of presentationis stillunisex or what Holly Devor has termeda
deliberate"genderblending"(1989). In theColumbuscommunity,
attire
at culturaleventshas changedmarkedlyoverthepast fifteen
What
years.
was once a fairlymonolithiccrowd has become morediverse.Although
mostwomenremain"genderblended,"some appear in leatherand mohawks and some in skirts,lipstick,and long hair.At one feminist
event,
billed as "Girls JustWant to Have Fun," membersof the community
participatedin a fashionshow, albeit one that includedpolitical commentaryon style.The use of the termgirls (previouslyanathema),the
emphasison fun ratherthan serious politics,the referenceto a mainstreampopular song (Cyndi Lauper's "Girls JustWant to Have Fun")
ratherthan women's music,and attentionto clothing,includingtraditional women's attire,all markedthiseventas a new departureforthe
community.
Such changesin self-presentation
are in part a consequenceof thesex
wars and in part an expressionof the preferencesof working-class
women,womenof color,and youngwomen."Antifeminine"
stylesassociatedwiththedownplayingofsexualityare underattackfromadvocates
of sexual expressiveness
who sometimesadopt fashionsassociated with
thesex trade(Stein1989). "Pro-sex" lesbian feminists
sporthigh-heeled
shoes, shortskirts,low-cuttops, and otheritemsof clothingdenounced
by "antisex" lesbian feministsas the paraphernaliaof oppression.In
addition,some working-classwomen and women of color criticizethe
"politicallycorrect" stylesof the dominantfactionas an imperialist
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
49
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
impositionof white,middle-classstandards.And younglesbianfeminist

women have broughttheirown ideas on fashionand self-presentation,
includingthe grungeand punk styles,to the community.
of thedebateoverculturalexpressionis an indicationof
The intensity
thesignificance
of ritualfordistinguishing
who is and is not a feministhave
as
lesbian
women
just
historically
developedculturalcodes to idenwhile
"hidden"
to the mainstreamculture
one
another
tify
remaining
that stigmatizedthem (see, e.g., Faderman1991). Feministritualreafto the communityand openlyembracesresistanceto
firmscommitment
the dominantsociety.Thus, what Echols and other criticsof cultural
feminismhave denounced as a "profoundlyindividualistic"retreatto
has politicalconsequences(Echols 1989, 251).
life-style
Conclusion: The political functionsof lesbian feministcommunities
Our reconsiderationof culturalfeminismin the contextof lesbian
that run
feministcommunitiessuggestsa number of interpretations
counterto the standardview. First,culturalfeminism,as it has been
definedby its critics,representsjust one ideologicalpositionwithinleshaveforgeda rich
bian feminist
communities.Second,thesecommunities
and complexresistancecultureand styleof politicsthatnourishesrather
than betraysthe radical feministvision.Third,the dynamicsof lesbian
feministcommunitiesare shaped at least in part by the politicsof the
Rightthat dominatedthe period of abeyanceor maintenancein which
thelesbian
thewomen'smovementfounditselfin the1980s. And,finally,
feministcommunityintersectswith many contemporarystrugglesfor
change and carriesa feministlegacythatwill
politicaland institutional
of
the
women's
movementitself.
the
future
shape
In our earliercollaborativework on the U.S. women's rightsmovementin theperiodfrom1945 to the1960s, we arguedthata smallgroup
of white,well-educated,economicallyprivilegedold women,primarily
recruitedto thewomen'smovementduringthesuffragestruggle,greatly
influencedthe resurgentliberal branchof the women's movement.We
showedthatthewomen'srightsmovementthathungon in thedoldrum
years provided activistnetworks,the ultimatelyunifyinggoal of the
thatmaintaineda focus
and a feminist
identity
Equal RightsAmendment,
on women's subordination.Yet thisgroup of committedfeministssustainedtheirvisionin a homogeneouscommunitythatdid not and could
not attractwomen of color, working-classwomen, or young women.
in
Althoughthewomen'smovementthatblossomedin the1960s differed
fundamental
ways fromthemorelimitedwomen'srightsmovementthat
precededit,thelegacy,bothpositiveand negative,of thatearlyactivism
lingered(Rupp and Taylor 1987).
50
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
bothsustainthewomen
In thesameway,lesbianfeminist
communities
involvedin themnow and also have consequencesforthenextroundof
mass feminist
activism.Perhapsa new wave of thewomen'smovementis
alreadytakingshape; witnessthegroundswellof outrageat AnitaHill's
treatmentin the U.S. Senate confirmation
hearingsfor SupremeCourt
Thomas
in
October
1991
and
the huge turnoutforthe
Clarence
Justice
in
march
on
pro-choice
Washington,D.C.,
April 1992. Since the presidentialelectionof 1992 and thepassage of antigay/lesbian
legislationin
for
to make
the
National
Women
has
decided
Colorado,
Organization
lesbian and gay rightsa priorityin the 1990s.32
Our discussion of the cultureof lesbian feministcommunitieshas
the practiceof limitedor
emphasizedhow beliefin femaledifference,
total separatism,beliefin theprimacyof women'srelationships,
and the
of
ritual
a
world
in
feminist
create
from
the
mainstream
practice
apart
which women can claim feminismas a political identity.At the same
time,of course,the ideas and practicesof lesbian feministcommunities
can excludepotentialparticipants.Most heterosexualfeminists
may not
findthe lesbianworld congenial.The associationof feminismand lesbianism,as severalscholarshavefound,alienatessome youngheterosexual
womenfromfeminist
Our experiencesuggeststhatthere
identification.33
even
a
older
is,
women, widespreadsenseof the "lesbianization"
among
of the women's movement.The revelationby PatriciaIreland,president
of the National OrganizationforWomen,thatshe liveswitha "female
thatperception(Minkowitz1992).
companion" undoubtedlyreinforced
One feministquoted in the WashingtonPost commentedon the public
view of NOW as "a gay frontgroup" (offour backs 1992a). Participants
at the 1992 NOW conferencereportthat it had the feel of a lesbian
conference.34
The 1992 Bloomington(Indiana) Women's Music Festival
offereda workshopon "Networkingfor StraightWomen in a Lesbian
World."35At the local level,one lesbian-affirming
heterosexualColumbus womanwentto a local NOW meetingwitha profeminist
male friend
involvedin a men against rape group and reportedfeelingcompletely
unwelcomebecause of her associationwitha man.36Equally as important, the dominance of white, middle-class,Christianwomen creates
barriersto theachievementof a trulymulticultural
lesbianfeminist
comthe
about
race,class,ethnic,
munitydespite ongoingcommunity
dialogue
and otherdifferences.
As JuditMoschkovich,a JewishLatina,put it,the
32
CommunicationfromJo Reger,Columbus,Ohio, 1992.
33 See Schneider1986, 1988; Dill 1989; Kamen 1991.

34 Interviewconductedby VertaTaylorand Leila Rupp, February1992, Columbus,
Ohio.
35 CommunicationfromSuzanne Staggenborg,Bloomington,Ind., 1992.
36
Interviewconductedby VertaTaylor,May 1992, Columbus,Ohio.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
51
Taylor
and
Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
assumptionthatshe shouldrejectherLatinculturemeansaccepting"the
American culture of French Fries and Hamburgers (or soyburgers),
Americanmusicon theradio (evenifit's Americanwomen'smusicon a
feminist
radio show), not kissingand huggingeverytimeyou greetsomeone" (Moschkovich1981).
Our pointis not thatthelesbianfeminist
is a pureexprescommunity
sion of radical feminism.Rather,we want to highlightits politicaland
transformative
functions.A wide varietyof struggleshave been influor by ideas and practices
of lesbian feminists
enced by the involvement
characteristicof the community(Whittier1991, esp. chap. 7). Direct
action movementsconcernedwithpeace and otherissues have adopted
fromthelesbian feminist
communitya view of revolutionas an ongoing
an emphasison egalitarand
social
of
transformation,
process personal
ianismand consensusdecisionmaking,an orientationtoward spiritualto shapingpresentactionaccordingto thevalues
ity,and a commitment
desiredin an ideal futureworld (Epstein 1991; offour backs 1992b).
theongoingdialogue in thelesbianfeminist
communityabout
Similarly,
over
into
the
has
carried
movement,and theradical
diversity
gay/lesbian
viofeministanalysisof rape shapes the struggleagainstantigay/lesbian
lence (Vaid 1991). Further,the AIDS movementhas been drivenby the
of controlof one's body and access to health
radical feministdefinition
care as political issues (Hamilton 1991). Lesbians also have played a
leadingrole in the developmentof the recoverymovementforsurvivors
of incest (Galst 1991). In short,lesbian feministculturesof resistance
have had political impactnot only by shelteringbattle-wearyfeminists
the course of othersocial movements.
but also by influencing
feminist
communitiesaffecta youngergenerationof
lesbian
Finally,
womenwho hold thefutureof thewomen'smovementin theirhands. In
our researchon women's rightsactivistsof the 1940s and 1950s, we
foundthesewomen longingfor"young blood" but unwillingto accept
the new ideas and new strategiesthatyoungwomenbroughtwiththem
(Rupp and Taylor 1987). An aging generationof activistsmay always
long for freshrecruitswho will be drawn to theircause but will not
changeanythingabout theirmovement;such an inclination,in part,lies
behind the culturalclash betweenMeg Christianfans and Madonna
devoteeswithinthe lesbian feministcommunity(Echols 1991; Yollin
1991; Starr1992; Stein 1993). The next round of the women's movementis likelyto take a different
course,but it will not be untouchedby
thecollectiveprocesses,consciousness,and practicesof lesbianfeminism.
is women's studies,which
One of the major mechanismsof transmittal
as feminists(Dill 1991; Houppert
mobilizesyoungwomenwho identify
1991; Kamen 1991).
52
SIGNS
Autumn 1993

CULTURAL
FEMINISM
Taylor
and
Rupp
Some youngactivistsidentifythemselvesas a "thirdwave" of feminism,thus makinga connectionto the firsttwo waves and at the same
timeclaimingresponsibility
fora new resurgence."I am not a postfeminismfeminist.I am the ThirdWave,"writesRebecca Walker,a student
at Yale University
and a contributing
editorto Ms. (Walker1992, 41).37
we
can
see
elements
of
in the activitiesof
Already
changeand continuity
a new generation.Young lesbians attractedto the gay/lesbianprotest
groupQueer Nation,forexample,rejectthetraditionof nonviolenceand
femalepacifismwhen theyadopt the "Queers bash back" responseto
violenceagainstlesbians and gay men. At the same time,the formation
of women's caucuses in Queer Nation and the AIDS activismgroup
ACT-UP echoes the strugglesof earliergenerationsof women within
male-dominatedorganizations(Faderman1991; Hamilton 1991; Yollin
theface
1991). Lesbiansengagingin directactiontacticsare transforming
of activism.In Columbus, femaleQueer Nation members,in a protest
reminiscentof the early radical feministzap actions, have engaged in
kiss-insat local shoppingcentersand thecityzoo as a meansof challenging
heterosexual
The LesbianAvengers,
foundedin New YorkCityin
privilege.
in
"creative
activism:loud, bold, sexy,silly,fierce,tastyand
1992, engage
dramatic"("DykeManifesto"1993). In theirfirst
action,theymarchedinto
a Queens, N.Y, school board meetingto the tune of "When the Dykes
Come MarchingIn" and handedoutlavenderballoonsinscribed
"Askabout
Lesbian Lives" to firstgradersto protestthe board's refusalto allow a
multicultural
curriculum
thatincludeddiscussionof lesbiansand gay men
("Dyke Manifesto"1993; Juleand Marin 1993).
In the climate of the 1980s and early 1990s, then,the cultureof
lesbianfeminist
communitieshas not justservedto comfort,protect,and
console activistsin retreat.It also has nourishedwomen involvedin
myriadprotests,bothwithinand outsidethewomen'smovement,whose
vision of feministtransformation
goes beyondpolitical and economic
structures
to a broad redefinition
of social values. Ratherthansquelching
mobilization,we see lesbian feministcommunitiesas sustainingtheradical feministtraditionand bequeathinga legacy,howeverimperfect,
to
of the future.
feminists
Departmentof Sociology (Taylor)
Departmentof History(Rupp)
Ohio State University
37 AttheAmerican
Association
in Cincinnati,
Sociological
meetings
August23-27,
of"thirdwave
1991,a groupofwomenissueda call foran ad hoc discussion
feminism."
See also Kamen1991.
Autumn 1993

SIGNS
53
Taylor and Rupp
CULTURAL
FEMINISM
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