I’ve noticed a couple of common themes…
In feminist magazines and articles written by self-identified lesbians the notion that being “queer” is a political act that anyone can be regardless of sexual orientation comes up quite a bit. As one feminist-lesbian writes:
“heterosexuality goes hand in hand with the sexist assumption that each women exists for each man- her body, her children, and her services are his property. If a woman does not accept this definition of heterosexuality she is queer, regardless of who she sleeps with.”
I found this interesting because it is the exact opposite of how we define “queer” today. Today the word “queer” is used to describe someone who is oppressed due to their sexual or gender orientation. Using it for other purposes, such as to describe someone who’s political inclinations fall in-line with a rejection of a heterosexist society (like me) is considered offensive.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that even before the APA took lesbianism off the book as a mental illness, it was widely accepted and taken for granted that young women would have feelings for other women. In an advice column from Seventeen Magazine in 1968 the advice-giver advises a young women who is afraid she might be a lesbian
“Not to worry, many girls your age experience attraction to other girls. The more you begin to accept yourself as a young woman, boys and dates will become more enjoyable”.
This is a far cry from the demonizing of same-sex feelings that I thought I was going to find in these magazine articles from before 1973.
