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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971

1970-11-20 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 5

Punching Out A Woman

My last encounter with rampant anti-lesbianism occurred three years ago, when after I had parked my motorcycle at a hamburger stand, a drunk young man who did not like the way I looked came up to me and called me a queer; and when I failed to respond, he broke my nose.
The thread of that kind of physical assault had hung over me for years. As a young lesbian, short-haired and defensive, alI slouched through many rainy and half-drunk streets trying to figure out who I was. At that time, every catcall or muffled insult sounded like the prelude to gang-beating - my world was full or angry young men on street corners. And late at night I sometimes fantasized armies of heavily armed lesbians, ready to help me beat them back in black boot military fashion. 
So when finally, the real fist from the real drunk young man's anger hit my face, it wasn't as though I had never prepared for it. But during the period between those violent fantasies and the actual punch, I had changed my hair style and appearance to the point of not being readily recognizable as a lesbian. Essentially I looked like any other woman, except I drove a bike. The crazy guy was completely out of date - i'd been all set up for him eight years before that, so why did he wait until I'd gotten almost "respectable?"
Now, in retrospect, I beleieve he was not so much punching out a lesbian as he was punching out a woman who was carrying a motorcycle helmet. He didn't give a damn about my choice of sexual partners or whether I did nasty thing in bed; what upset him was my intrusion into two of his territories: machinery and action.
I had antagonized him, not as a pervert but as a somewhat liberated woman - capable of acting and thinking on my own - and that's what he'd been taught to react violently against.
The straight women involved in the women's liberation movement are beginning to face various degrees of this same blatant chauvinism from men: the hostility that lesbians have known about for years. They also are beginning to understand the enormous isolation that women - all women - are subjected to: isolation from each other because they have to compete for men's attention (whether he's a husband or a boss), isolation from activity (men do things while women sit and watch); isolation from decisions (women are told they are stupid and undependable); and isolation from knowledge (men gladly tell other men how the plumbing or the car work, and what keeps suspension bridges suspended.)
The lesbian solution to a male dominated society had traditionally been to "pass", to hide - to pair off with a lover (if she's lucky) and to surround herself with a few safe friends and let it go at that. This double life is so agonizingly schizophrenic and lonely it's a wonder we didn't all go mad long ago.
Straight women, as they begin to unravel the extent to which women are cheated and wasted in this society, are finding a better solution - the exact opposite of isolation. By banding together in small groups, they find they can develop strong supportive voices for themselves and each other, to help confront and change male attitudes toward them.
In this process, one of the problems they are going to have to think about is the fact that many men accuse them of being lesbians, just for taking part in the women's liberation movement, and for starting to think and act for themselves.
If ever there was a chance for a group of lesbians to talk openly, to teach straight women and learn from them and to begin to break down some of the myths about us, it's surely in these women's groups.
Because the women's liberation movement is still unstructured and democratic, and so loosely formed, in fact, that no one even knows how many groups there are, it is possible to be completely open and still anonymous.
Small groups of women meet once a week. Because the groups are small, it's easy to relax and get to know each other quickly.
It's been a long time coming, but if a change is going to come, now is when to begin it. My present fantasies are of an army of lesbians, heavily armed with information and support from each other, launching a real attack against male chauvinism and anti-homosexualism, by exchanging information and moral support with heterosexual women. Let's get to it.

Williamette Bridge/LNS


COME OUT OF THE CLOSET
BEFORE THE DOOR IS NAILED SHUT.

Woman-identified woman means

I have a preference about

who I share the shit with.

[hand drawn faces of women]

If there's that many of us on the same crazy -- 

We're gonna do more than take over an asylum.

[hand drawn face of woman]

You're so strong you can take any shit that comes along.

& here it comes.

[hand drawn face of a woman]

One never knows But many do

THE MAN'S THEORY
However, there are some trends in the Women's Liberation Movement such as separatism, which tend to reinforce false divisions among people. These trends are based on an incorrect awareness of oppression: The belief that men as men, and not the system, is the oppressor. Those who benefit from the inequality and exploitation in the present social system are not all men but a  tiny minority of men and women. The "man is the oppressor" line has the dangerous possibility of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy - if men are treated as the enemy they may become so, and the needed revolution will be retarded or even tragically diverted (into sexual, rather than political warfare.

& THE MAN'S PRACTICE
Alone again, I started walking, was hassled three times in the next block, decided I couldn't hack it, and hailed a cab. Emergency-depression-economy-splurge. Settled in. Whew. But the driver had seen my WL button. Oops. All the way home, he proceeded to tell me how abortion was ok for them nigger and spic broods who breed so much, but no good for nice white girls like me. Soon I was shouting at him. At the end of the ride, he told me calmly that if we women really pushed "this liberation thing" men like him were gonig to start killing us, literally. "You think you know male violence - you ain't seen nothin' yet. These rapes and beatings are going to sour, baby. You can't tell me I'm not a king in my own home and get away with it." I told him I was studying karate, as many other women were, & we'd take a few of them with us if we had to go.

A WOMAN?  November 20, 1970   5

Saving...

Punching Out A Woman My last encounter with rampant anti-lesbianism occurred three years ago, when after I had parked my motorcycle at a hamburger stand, a drunk young man who did not like the way I looked came up to me and called me a queer; and when I failed to respond, he broke my nose. The thread of that kind of physical assault had hung over me for years. As a young lesbian, short-haired and defensive, alI slouched through many rainy and half-drunk streets trying to figure out who I was. At that time, every catcall or muffled insult sounded like the prelude to gang-beating - my world was full or angry young men on street corners. And late at night I sometimes fantasized armies of heavily armed lesbians, ready to help me beat them back in black boot military fashion. So when finally, the real fist from the real drunk young man's anger hit my face, it wasn't as though I had never prepared for it. But during the period between those violent fantasies and the actual punch, I had changed my hair style and appearance to the point of not being readily recognizable as a lesbian. Essentially I looked like any other woman, except I drove a bike. The crazy guy was completely out of date - i'd been all set up for him eight years before that, so why did he wait until I'd gotten almost "respectable?" Now, in retrospect, I beleieve he was not so much punching out a lesbian as he was punching out a woman who was carrying a motorcycle helmet. He didn't give a damn about my choice of sexual partners or whether I did nasty thing in bed; what upset him was my intrusion into two of his territories: machinery and action. I had antagonized him, not as a pervert but as a somewhat liberated woman - capable of acting and thinking on my own - and that's what he'd been taught to react violently against. The straight women involved in the women's liberation movement are beginning to face various degrees of this same blatant chauvinism from men: the hostility that lesbians have known about for years. They also are beginning to understand the enormous isolation that women - all women - are subjected to: isolation from each other because they have to compete for men's attention (whether he's a husband or a boss), isolation from activity (men do things while women sit and watch); isolation from decisions (women are told they are stupid and undependable); and isolation from knowledge (men gladly tell other men how the plumbing or the car work, and what keeps suspension bridges suspended.) The lesbian solution to a male dominated society had traditionally been to "pass", to hide - to pair off with a lover (if she's lucky) and to surround herself with a few safe friends and let it go at that. This double life is so agonizingly schizophrenic and lonely it's a wonder we didn't all go mad long ago. Straight women, as they begin to unravel the extent to which women are cheated and wasted in this society, are finding a better solution - the exact opposite of isolation. By banding together in small groups, they find they can develop strong supportive voices for themselves and each other, to help confront and change male attitudes toward them. In this process, one of the problems they are going to have to think about is the fact that many men accuse them of being lesbians, just for taking part in the women's liberation movement, and for starting to think and act for themselves. If ever there was a chance for a group of lesbians to talk openly, to teach straight women and learn from them and to begin to break down some of the myths about us, it's surely in these women's groups. Because the women's liberation movement is still unstructured and democratic, and so loosely formed, in fact, that no one even knows how many groups there are, it is possible to be completely open and still anonymous. Small groups of women meet once a week. Because the groups are small, it's easy to relax and get to know each other quickly. It's been a long time coming, but if a change is going to come, now is when to begin it. My present fantasies are of an army of lesbians, heavily armed with information and support from each other, launching a real attack against male chauvinism and anti-homosexualism, by exchanging information and moral support with heterosexual women. Let's get to it. Williamette Bridge/LNS COME OUT OF THE CLOSET BEFORE THE DOOR IS NAILED SHUT. Woman-identified woman means I have a preference about who I share the shit with. [hand drawn faces of women] If there's that many of us on the same crazy -- We're gonna do more than take over an asylum. [hand drawn face of woman] You're so strong you can take any shit that comes along. & here it comes. [hand drawn face of a woman] One never knows But many do THE MAN'S THEORY However, there are some trends in the Women's Liberation Movement such as separatism, which tend to reinforce false divisions among people. These trends are based on an incorrect awareness of oppression: The belief that men as men, and not the system, is the oppressor. Those who benefit from the inequality and exploitation in the present social system are not all men but a tiny minority of men and women. The "man is the oppressor" line has the dangerous possibility of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy - if men are treated as the enemy they may become so, and the needed revolution will be retarded or even tragically diverted (into sexual, rather than political warfare. & THE MAN'S PRACTICE Alone again, I started walking, was hassled three times in the next block, decided I couldn't hack it, and hailed a cab. Emergency-depression-economy-splurge. Settled in. Whew. But the driver had seen my WL button. Oops. All the way home, he proceeded to tell me how abortion was ok for them nigger and spic broods who breed so much, but no good for nice white girls like me. Soon I was shouting at him. At the end of the ride, he told me calmly that if we women really pushed "this liberation thing" men like him were gonig to start killing us, literally. "You think you know male violence - you ain't seen nothin' yet. These rapes and beatings are going to sour, baby. You can't tell me I'm not a king in my own home and get away with it." I told him I was studying karate, as many other women were, & we'd take a few of them with us if we had to go. A WOMAN? November 20, 1970 5