Browse Items (5 total)

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  Pat Turner Interview, December 31, 1987

  Pat Turner describes early experiences as a lesbian growing up in the south, conflicts with her enthusiasm for religion as a young person, and her family’s reaction to her sexual orientation. She talks about the relative lack of gay social life in Tennessee, despite the existence of certain bars in Nashville. Discusses how her first letter to The Ladder became an article, and the response from readers. Describes working on The Ladder, and later experiences after the Stonewall.

  Tags Catholic Lesbians, Catholic School, Childhood, Christianity, Coming Out, Daughters of Bilitis, Gay Bars, Identity, Interviews, Mailing Lists, Pat Turner, Poetry, Southern Lesbians, Stonewall, The Ladder
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  Judith Schwarz Interview, 1992

  Judith Schwarz discusses how grateful she is the DOB exists, the way that societal attitudes towards lesbianism has changed since the founding of DOB, how many women were afraid to have mail mailed to them or used pseudonyms or “bar names” to hide their identity.
  
  She discusses her first lesbian relationship, which happened shortly after she moved to San Franciso, and how this introduced her to lesbian culture, specifically survival literature. She talks about how she was at first intimidated by certain aspects of lesbian culture, like powerful butch lesbians, frequent drinking in the community, and lesbian literature.
  
  She talks about the impact of DOB, and how there was harassment from police as well as other lesbians or women. She also talks about sharing The Ladder around her workplace in secret, and shares the story about how The Ladder was “stolen” from the DOB San Franciso offices. She says that diversity was always lacking in the DOB, and talks about some reasons why.
  
  DOB meetings sometimes consisted of potluck dinners and Gab and Javas, sometimes taking place at Schwarz’s house. She talks about how lesbians dressed at the time.
  
  Finally she discusses the differences between the DOB and the Lesbian Herstory Archives and how they met different needs for lesbians, and finally some of the special collections in the archive. Joan Nestle jumps in at the end to discuss radical politics and the FBI surveillance of the DOB.

  Tags Bars, Butch and Femme, California, Communities, Daughters of Bilitis, Fashion, Interviews, Joan Nestle, Judith Schwarz, Mailing Lists, Non-Monogamy, Pseudonyms, Southern Lesbians, Working Class, Working-class Lesbians
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  Stella Rush & Helen Sandoz, May 15, 1987 (Tape 3 of 3)

  Stella Rush and Helen Sandoz are interviewed in 1987. The interview mostly concerns Stella Rush, who talks about her childhood; specifically her encounters with incest and molestation. She also talks about her experiences with police discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s in L.A. Helen and Stella both talk about being editors of the Ladder and being a part of the DOB. Stella talks about workplace harassment, and fear of loser her job. They show photographs from the 1960s, including some of their cat. The video closes with the two discussing their wedding rings.

  Tags Bars, Christianity, Daughters of Bilitis, Discrimination, Families, Gay Liberation Movement, Hate Crimes, Helen Sandoz, Homosexuality, Incest, Intergenerational Relationships, Interviews, Job Discrimination, Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, Mailing Lists, Mental Health, Mothers, Older Lesbians, Parents of Lesbians and Gays, Police Harassment, Radical Lesbians, Rape, Religion, Sexual Assault, Stella Rush, The Ladder, Violence, Women
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  Karen Anderson Ryer Interview, 1987

  Karen Anderson Ryer discusses her coming out process, and the acceptance of her parents. She talks about butch vs. fem, and changing generational attitudes. Discusses importance of feminism to lesbianism specifically, and differences from gay men’s movement. She details the split of “The Ladder” from the San Francisco chapter from DOB, and how she left to start a new magazine. Also mentions the integration of different lesbian communities – Oakland vs. San Francisco, and the impact of AIDS on the lesbian community.

  Tags Activism, AIDS, Butch and Femme, Coming Out, Communities, Dating, Daughters of Bilitis, Feminism, Film, Gay Men, Intergenerational Relationships, Interviews, Karen Anderson Ryer, Lesbian Separatism, Lesbian Writer, Mailing Lists, The Ladder
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  Judith Schwarz and Joan Nestle Interview, November 14, 1992

  The interview begins with Judith Schwarz and her recollections of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and how she knew of women who were hesitant to join Daughters of Bilitis, as they simply wanted to meet women at the bar, and feared their names appearing with labels publicly. She also discusses how women were hesitant to receive mail from Daughters of Bilitis for the same reason. She also talks about her first woman lover, and the circumstances that led to that.
  
  Accompanied by an edited version where Judith Schwarz talks about the significance of DOB, the secrecy of membership, new member experience, social events, and harassment. Joan Nestle talks about the perception of the DOB as a threat during the McCarthy Era, the complexity of the organization, and her own perceptions of DOB.

  Tags Abortion, Bars, Communities, Daughters of Bilitis, Harassment, Interviews, Joan Nestle, Judith Schwarz, Labels, Lesbian Studies, Mailing Lists, Manuela Soares, Social Life