Lesbian Separatism

Historical Overview

The homophobic attitudes observed within NOW (and expressed by Betty Friedan in the Feminine Mystique) drove Karla Jay, Rita Mae Brown, Artemis March, Lois Hart, Barbara Love, and others to stand up and speak about the invisible problems of lesbians in the feminist movement. Soon afterward, the group renamed itself Radicalesbians, and the text of their postulates became known as the flagship manifesto, “Women-Identified Women.”

After a year of intensive cooperation, Radicalesbians split and engaged themselves in different projects. Rita Mae Brown, together with Charlotte Bunch, Joan Biren, and Ginny Berson, formed a new collective, The Furies, which is a good example of an early lesbian separatist group. The Furies opted for communal living (and occupied two houses themselves), which served not only as private space in traditional terms, but first and foremost as living space; the houses served as home, open meeting place, and workspace. Such a solution served them well and was important for the goals they aspired to, one of them being the publication of The Furies, a periodical published from 1971 to 1973. The Furies fit well into the wider spectrum of feminist publications and writings, developing theoretical and philosophical feminist thought. Moreover, the group condensed their activities to running self-support and consciousness-raising workshops developed by and for women who identified themselves as lesbians. The aim was not to soothe the coming-out process (very important for gay liberation politics), but to open the eyes of those “opiumed” by patriarchy.

This idea of lesbianism overcoming a notion of a sexual orientation was soon taken up by other lesbian feminists and developed into the concept of political lesbianism. However, before Ti-Grace Atkinson coined the famous slogan “Feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice,” many erstwhile theoreticians had reflected on this subject. For example, Charlotte Bunch during that early period insisted on a complete break with heterosexuality. She even insisted that heterosexual women could not fully understand and become feminists, because they remained within the male-oriented spectrum of heterosexual patriarchy. Only by putting other women at the heart of their lives and emotions and by complete detachment from men could women fully develop their potential. Such ideas were taken to the edge of acceptance by Valerie Solana, who wrote the “SCUM Manifesto” (1968). In this text, she expressed her favor for bloodshed tactics against men in an act of rebellion for women-only societies.

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