The first section of the tape contains Act 3 of "The Performance" (6 min), a one-woman play by the Performance Theatre Troupe from Iowa City. The play centers around Effy, a 17-year-old lesbian and musician who must make a decision about her life.
Following "The Performance," the tape cuts to a gathering of lesbians sitting outside, playing guitar, singing, and reading.]]>The Performance: Kathleen [Hardy], writer and performer [Bonnie Marslack], director
Gathering: Creator Unknown]]>
]]>Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>Contact LHA at dyv.lha@gmail.com
]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement]]>
Lesbian Activists
Lesbians in mass media
Television
Television journalists]]>
Mary Patierno [interviewee]]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement]]>
Lesbian Activists
Lesbians in mass media
Television
Television journalists]]>
Mary Patierno [interviewee]]]>
Lesbian Activists
Lesbians in mass media
Television
Television journalists]]>
*Note: The interview was recorded using an online call service.]]>
Mary Patierno [interviewee]]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian Activists
Lesbians in mass media
Television
Television journalists]]>
Mary Patierno [interviewee]]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement]]>
Lesbian Activists
Lesbians in mass media
Television
Television journalists]]>
Mary Patierno [interviewee]]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement]]>
Madeline Davis (Interviewer)]]>Contact LHA at dyv.lha@gmail.com
]]>CC BY-NC-ND 4.0]]>
Documentaries
Law]]>Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
Speakers' identities are unclear throughout. Recording label identifies Cindy and Joan but it is hard to tell if there are actually two separate speakers.
Sound quality is poor. Tape cuts off abruptly at the end. ]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
]]>
]]>
She talks about her relationships with women, how she never openly acknowledged that she was gay but if she was asked she wouldn’t deny it.
They discuss monogamy, she was mostly faithful, but she also talks about jealous partners and how when one is accused of things, one might as well and go ahead and do it.
She doesn’t believe that a lesbian relationship is any different than a straight relationship.
They discuss bars and areas in Buffalo that she would frequent: Moon Glow bar, Pearls bar, Ralph Martins, Ryan’s Hotel, Little Harlem. They also discuss dating rituals, fashion, and relationship/ courting roles.]]>
Madeline Davis (Interviewer)]]>
SPW497_Debra_B]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
MP3
WAV]]>
Side B = 29:38 minutes]]>
PhysicalObject
Oral History Interview]]>
Believes lesbians make better mothers because they know more. She didn’t want her son to go into gay life because she felt it would be difficult for him, she doesn’t believe that gay men relationships last. She believes you can teach someone not to be gay.
They talk about gay men and lesbian relationships and social interactions. She would call upon her gay male friends to be her date to events that she needed a date, also sometimes family events. They talk about marriages between a gay man and gay woman. Debra says that she knew quite a few couples who had done that to put up a front, but that those relationships always worked out well. Debra also talks about marriage between two women. She never wanted to get married but knew women who did.
They also discuss alcoholism and drugs among the gay community.
On the second tape, Debra further discusses fights in the lesbian community. Madeline asks if she knew any lesbians who played sports in the 1940s and 1950s. Debra believes lesbians played sports but cannot definitely say so.]]>
Madeline Davis (Interviewer)]]>
SPW498_Debra_B]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
MP3
WAV]]>
Side B = 9:02]]>
Physical Object
Oral History Interview]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
]]>
00:12:09–00:27:56—Cleo Glenn]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement
Side B: Pat and DJ discuss bar denizens vs. lesbians who did not frequent bars and the "class" distinction there, and also the way non-butch lesbians looked down on butches. DJ describes how her long-term relationships were analogous to marriage, where she was the breadwinner and her partners were housewives who perhaps worked but did not "provide." Both discuss the fact that in the 1940s and '50s butches had the freedom to have affairs whereas femmes were expected to be faithful. This created an atmosphere of mistrust in which monogamous long-term relationships became very difficult.
Recording has loud squeaks at the beginning, hisses throughout, and cuts off abruptly at the end.]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Side B: 31:56]]>
Side B: Pat and DJ continue to discuss relationships during the 1950s and talk about reasons for breaking up. The discussion revolves around the importance of taking care of a woman and being able to satisfy her needs. The two women discuss the negative stigma of cheating. The discussion turns to take pride in a partner and the importance of her appearance and physical presence. Pat and DJ also talk about the presence of violence during relationships in the 1950s, listing insecurity between partners as the main reason. The two women speak specifically of violence in bars as a result of talking to another woman’s lady or challenging femmes in relationships to talk to other women. They discuss how much of this behavior was learned from lesbian role models of the 1940s. ]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Side B: 31:56]]>
Cut off at 0:14:55
Side B: The group continues their discussion of the interview process, including who is willing to talk and who is not, as well as who will use their names and who will not. There is more discussion about beatings. Pat tells of coming out to her mother. Her mother only worries about the violence Pat is subjected to, on account of being butch. There is a long discussion about the nature of breakups and their aftermath. The group discusses the role of third parties in most breakups and the way a butch or femme reacts to a breakup. The issue of "passing" comes up, and Pat talks about working as a cab driver and passing as a man. Often, the children of femmes did not know that their mothers' partners were actually women. The interview concludes with a description of the rules for asking other butches' girlfriends to dance, and the fights that sometimes ensued. This point in the discussion highlights the difference between the generation of the interviewees and the generation of the interviewers.]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Side B: 32:04]]>
Madeline Davis (Interviewer)]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
]]>
]]>
WAV]]>
Physical Object
Oral History Interview]]>
Madeline Davis (Interviewer)]]>
SPW513_DJ_B]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
Side B: 31:07]]>
Lesbians
Lesbian community
Television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Fund raising
Lesbian activists]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Advertising
Lesbians]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Web sites - Design
]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Fund raising
Lesbian activists]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Homosexuality on radio
Lesbians in mass media
United Nations
Non-governmental organizations
China]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
San Francisco, California, United States]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]>See the LHA Copyright Statement ]]>
Lesbian community
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbianism on television]]> See the LHA Copyright Statement
]]>
Lesbian theater
Lesbian poetry]]>Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND]]>
Harm reduction
AIDS (Disease) in women
ACT UP (Organization)
Clinical drug trials
Public health
Demonstrations]]>
Janet Baus [Dyke TV Producer and Director]
Elizabeth Meister [Dyke TV Producer and Director]]]>
Item 794]]>
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Bethesda, Maryland, United States]]>Contact LHA at dyv.lha@gmail.com