Sisters_v5.no3.1974.03.pdf
- Title
- Sisters_v5.no3.1974.03.pdf
- extracted text
-
,
'
I
JWal
1974
- ..
~
,..
\
. • ..
l '
.
,:
'! .
,_.
-I
4.1!
-~ i
.
~
-,,_
,,
.,. --
,
\
•
.l (
SAN ~CISCO DAUGfTERS OF BILITIS
Statement of Purpose
ai1,dffMtl lor 6tty
••• a women 's organization to aid the Lesbian in
discorering her place in society and to educate
society to understand and accept her, without
prejudice, and •••
1. To encourage and support the Lesbian ir:i
ker search for her social, economic, personal,
interpersonal and vocational identity within
society by maintaining and building a library
on the themes of homosexualit:y and women, by
providing social functions where she can communicate with others and expand her social world outside the bar scene, and by providing ar organized
structure through which she can work to change
society's limitations upon her lifestyles, by
providing a forum for the interchange of ideas
and constructive solutions to women's problems.
2. To educate the public to accept and
understand the Lesbian as an individual, thereby
leading to the breakdown of taboos, prejudices,
and limitations on her lifestyle by sponsor ing
public discussions, by providing individuals as
speakers and participants in various forums designed to educate the public, by disseminating
educational and rational literature on the Lesbian.
3. To encourage , support and participate in
responsible research dealing with homosexuality*
4. To investigate the penal code and to promote changes, in order to provide equitable hmdling of cases involving homosexuals, with due
process of law and without prejudice.
7'0 SAY AND BELIEVE THAT GAY IS GOOD
SAN FRANCISCO DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS, AN AFFILIATE OF
SAN FRANCISCO
~•s CENTERS
1026 MASONIC STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
94117
o•tG•-•t. ..,., t'OITlh_
•at•<.,.\, .. aw,.
ltllOTO•&A . . ,r
I S500
•l 1\\uf' 1
IIIDS .....,, \I • , .. ,, foi.sa•
President . . • • • • . • • •
Vice-President • • • . • • •
Correspondence. • •
••
Treasurer • • • . •
.•
Speakers' Bureau.
• •
Secretary • . • • •
.
Art Coordinator ••
. •
...
...
..
...
VOLi.ff V., NLM3ER
.._,," <...-
Liane
Millie
Pat & Lois
Melinda
Linda B.
Paula
Laura
3
C ON T E N T S
How Many Games Can Two People
Play Simutaneously? • • • • • . • • • • • 3
" ••• Is There Nothing New to Say?" • • • • • 6
. . . . . . .. .. .. .. . .
... . .
Rapback • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
8
POETRY SECTION .
• • • .10
CALENDAR • • • • • • • . . •
.16-17
Lifeline . . . • • . . . . • .
• • . .18
Quest: A Feminist Quarterly . • • . • •
.20
The Giantperson and Her Hell-Hound
Part II • • • • • •• • • • . • .22
Consciousness Raising, How To? . . . • • • 25
Broader News by Far Out Lesbians . • • • • • 27
LOCAL LESBIAN NEWS• • . . . • . • . . • . . 28
INFORMATION PAGE • • • . • . . • . . • • • • 32
0
*
*
Q
*
SISTERS magazine
1974 by Daughters of
Bilitis, San Francisco, Reproduction by
permission of S.F. DOB Board Members.
*
*
*
Cover picture thanks to Linda Preston and
lay-out by Liane.
*
*
*
HAVE YOU MOVED? If so, please send us your
' change of address as soon as you know it: the
P.O. charges us from 10¢ to 25¢ for each returned magazine, and you don't get any issue
they return so we all lose.
0
The following article is an example of the ways
in which lesbians who purport to be feminists
rip off their sisters, and is written in the hope
that lesbian feminists may someday be able to
transcend the low consciousness level portrayed
here .
HON fWN GAMES CAN 00 PEOPLE PlAY
SIMULTANEOUSLY?
Honesty, total honesty, was what we started
playing toge ther . I'd rather be honest than
play ga,rnes any time, but as usual, I bungled, I
passed the ball to myself, and I fumbled: I laid
all of my cards on the table. I wanted her, she
knew I wanted her, and she ran, even though she
was the one who was playing the game of trying
so hard to "understand" me. You see, she wanted
me, too. But she didn't want to love me without
knowing who I was. I loved her without knowing
her. It seems I always fall in love with the
unknown.
She freaked out because I came too close, as
usual. So we grew uncomfortable around each
other, and I just kept on being stupidly honest.
Finally the flak flew, and we weren't speaking.
She was too uptite, so I decided no news is good
news--let her call you when she's ready.
The night we had our falling-out, I became
very depressed, so I went to a friend's house
for tea and sympathy. Then a recent acquaintance
waltzed in, and we spent the night together. It
was amazing how fast I recovered. A little lust
satisfied can do sooo much for one's mind!
Nevertheless, I still thought about her. Sev- ,
eral days passed, and then I received a communique
in the mail from her, asking me to forgive her,
saying she still "cared for" me, and telling me
she wanted to be "friends." Oh shit, I thought,
now we 're playing "let's be friends . .. "
She even s igned her l etter "wi th l ove, " a
word she had been deathly afraid to use before,
.
0
but it was alright now, because we were just
"friends." "Whatever the hell that means," I
thought.
I wrote her a letter defending myself, and
explaining that being "friends" can be just a
game, too. However, I decided to file that partic-ular letter because I knew she'd never understand. Instead, I wrote her a simple note saying "I accept." That really fucked with her
mind. I was so straight forward and direct with
her that the message I tried to convey never
penetrated her game-webbed consciousness. She
finally understood after I explained that my
reply simply meant that I accepted her terms.
By now our interaction had begun to take on the
proportions of an international cease-fire.
Weeks passed, and I didn't see her. I talked
to her a few times on the phone, but she was
always too "busy" to see me. "Alright," I
thought, "if this is what she wants, I'll play
hard-to-get, too." Whenever I talked to her
after that, I always made a point of letting
her know that I, too, had a full socio-sexual
life. And it was true--I did, but there was something missing: her.
But at the same time I was trying to be blase,
and show her that I had a full life, I was also
trying to show her that I still cared. That was
quite a tight rope I was walking. I realized
that by trying to match her, game for game, I
had painted myself into a corner. Show her too
much affection, and she'll get scared and run,
show her too little affection, and the result
will be the same.
One night I dropped by a friend's party, and
she was there. I also saw several friends of
mine, so I made it a point to hug them and say
hello to them first, coming around to her last.
We were congenial, and she said she was glad to
see me, which was probably the first time she'd
meant anything she'd said to me.
G)
I played the social butterfly, skipping from
one person to the next, but skipping back to
her from time to ti.me. Then she and an acquaintance disappeared. Checking up on her, I discovered her exchanging never-soul kisses with
this mutual acquaintance.
I didn't say anything--! was very cool. But
when I finally left, I asked her if she would
give me a good night kiss, and she did--for about
five minutes. I went home determined not to let
her necking with another woman bother me. It
was a little thing and didn't mean much, I told
myself. I was still hurt, though. I thought
it was a very tacky, blatant thing to do.
The next day I encountered the mutual acquaintance with whom she had been necking. The woman
started feeling me out about the party {"Wasn't
it nice? Did you have a good time?" etc.). I
was cool and said I'd enjoyed myseLf.
The same day I talked to her and she started
feeling me out, too. Somehow I gathered that
they were both testing me to see what my reactions
were, to get my gut feelings. This time I was
not quite so cool. "Wasn't that party funny?"
she asked. "Oh, it was just hilarious!" I
replied.
Epitaph
She and I are not on such good terms anymore, not
that we ever were.
The object of this article is
to show that when two people play mind games with
each other, both parties lose.
- Janine St. Michel
0
0
+
II
• rs
0
++
000000
++
++
lHER fl>THING NEW TO SAY?"
I don't know whether I'm more angry than s
or more sad than angry. I just know that l have
to say a few wards about the lesbian-wome •
movement as reflected i Sisters, it's been a
long time coming but the Jan ary • ssue se ed
as the catalyst. Are
e rune cliches repeated
over and over again beca se there
nothing
new to say? r give Ro erta Dill credit for
even ment oning tha peep e a,,e re
feelings
uncontained by ldeology, other than that I've
heard it al before.
One of the basic cl c es is the "put-down,"
a theme which takes a variety of forms. By publishing the following condensed swnmary of putdowns from the lesbian-women's movement, you
can spare us from the future endless articles
elaborating on each one. It all begins, of
course, by heterosexuals putting down lesbians.
Then . • • •
(1) Lesbians in turn put down heterosexuals
and bisexuals,
(2) Lesbians who prefer polygamy put down
those who prefer monogamy,
(3) Monogamous lesbians are made to feel too
uncool to even exp ess anything about their
preferencest(A.rticles on happy monogamous coup1es
have disappeared from the lesbian media in the
past few years. Have al these couples disappeared too?) ,
(4) "Role-playing" is put-down as counterrevolutionary.
(I'd like tc see even just one
article about a happy butch or femme.)
(5) Lesbian mothers put down childless lesbians who don't want to take care of children,
(6) Childless lesbians put down lesbian
mothers for having been so stupid as to have
had children in the first plaoe7
0
(7) Everyone f els entitled to put down tranasax ls, nonsexuals and any other lesbian who
do 't fit the mold1
(8) Have I missed anyth g?
dead.
The molds re moldy and the clicht
talk
.fter the eams of print
d the o
o er the pas
, I s J fa'
ow I unction as
a pol i
hoose my friends and lava
ianyone bu myself and
aouldl' c
now an one else chooses the" s. Eve
furiating than the irrelevancy
th
every
l exper ' ence relat
the impl c tion to "do a I do. '
revo utio~ary lesbi -than'a ti
wh t .ran::.£ rros the c ich" .nto c. put
might be merely bor ng beco .es oppr
Fo
e, what is personal is ha· •
s ractions and morals unrea. The "movernF=en
become too moralistic and oppressive form
care ab u so-called "sisters 0 who try to
my being. The heterosexual world has don
long enought, I'm not about to be oppressed by
other lesbians. Whatever happened to "live ad
let live'' as revolutionary philosophy?
(J)
RAPBAOORAPBAOORAPBAOORAPBACKIRAPBACKIRAPBACK
The fir st Wedne s day of e ach month , MAGGIE
RUBENSTEI N of the National Sex Forum and the
San Fr ancisco Sex Informati on switchboard
leads a r ap at DOB centered around women's se~uality. February's rap grew out of two articles
published in Sisters. The first, "Fan Fumbles"
by Dory Murphy, appeared in the January issue
and warned lesbians against becoming involved
with b isexual women. The second, "What's So
Bad About Bisexuality?" by Sarah Thompson, was
printed i n the February issue as a direct r eply.
At he r February 6th rap, Ms. Rubenstein spoke
t o the group as a bisexual and revealed her concern over what seems to be a bas ic distrust of
bisexuals on the part of lesbi ans. And a very
real anger at the thought that a small minori t y
of women could so oppr es s or r e ject an even
smaller, less recogni zed group of women.
There was a l ot of misunder standing as to
what a bisexual is and what a lesbian is . The
definitions used were a long the line s s uggested
by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon : a le sb i an is a
woman whose primary (expressed or otherwis e )
orient ation is towards a member o f her own sex.
A bisexual, then, is a person whose primary
orientation can be toward eit:her sex.
As Maggie pointed out, both groups have many
things in common. We are women. We have a
lifestyle orientation which is at variance with
current society. We are united in "living out"
our personal inclinations. We seek to live
ordinary lives.
This rap was one of the liveliest we've had
in quite some time, as the women present discussed their feelings and asked questions. Some
definitely felt a difference and distrust of
bisexual women, "I had an experience where my
partner was having a male lover at the same
time. She was different when she came from him
to me." Some were totally unaware that there
was a problem: "We' re all women, aren I t we ?"
other comments: "Some of the best lovers I ever
had were bisexual." "These labels! I don't call
myself homosexual or bisexual or heterosexual.
I'm (name) • And I relate to (name) ."
Several women shared their experiences with
bisexual lovers, some good, some not so good.
There was also talk about whether anyone present had experienced an attraction for a male.
Many said yes, some with the comment that it
was usually after a long period of sexual
abstinence.
The session ended on an optimistic if somewhat tentative note: a better understanding
reached on the part of the people present, with
an interest in gaining more understanding.
Maggie offered to bring some educational films
for the March meeting and asked if anyone could
load a projector. Someone offered one that can
show either 8 or 16 mm. film, calling it a "dual"
projector. "What's that?" asked someone. "That
means it's bisexual!" exclaimed a Voice from the
Audience.
Join us March 6 for Maggie's next rap.
*
*
*
WOMEN'S RIGHTS LAW REPORTER
180 UNIVERSITY AVE . NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07102
(j)
The Music of our Lesbian Nation
Lutes, flutes,
Harmonicas, harpsichords,
Guitars, gongs,
d
Mandolins,
DrUI1UI1ers playing only
l
.)
With snares or soft palms,
FOR LOIS
Composing whispering melodies,
by Pat Hardman
Humming
A wind-song
Of leaves kissing.
THOUGHTS ON VIRGINITY,
J
A symphony of musicians
Your hands spill
Over my shoulders.
My back melts.
All that issue
over a tissue-A seal that's broken?
only a token
of violence or mistake.
Notes drifting
like snow flakes
Nesting
In the arms
MIDDLE OF THE END
Of an evergreen.
You gave me your world
like a movie just ending
a piece of your life
with the corner torn off
Your first chapter was missing
but the covers told me
enough to know what was lost.
by bitsyangelina
Music refreshing, liberating,
Inspiring Our Lesbian Nation.
by Dory Murphy
n
r
SUFFERAGE
I
1
mn-LIBERATI (Xi
The silent tears of self-hating women
weigh heavy on my heart and
memory slowing me down
making me
crawl
for answers that I can't see.
I fear,
the lies that stem from tears kept silent
and the darkness that follows.
by L. Esstelle
tonight, a grizzly drunk,
with a fetish for hanging out on Polk,
slammed a restaurant door on my hand
and said he would make up for it by
'sucking my pussy upside - down, yet' (a creative old bum).
I mean, if you oppress a woman,
particularly a dyke,
what better way to apologize?
Poor man,
So surprised, So shocked,
when he got slammed against the wall,
fist in face,
take out sandwich on sidewalk,
beansprouts on shoes,
Sprawling.
End apology, my anthropomorphic doorslammer.
by Deborah Jones
It used to be
that ten minutes couldn't go by
without me injecting your name
into the conversation
somehow, someway.
Now
I can't recall
the last time I mentioned you
while talking with friends.
by Desi Seagull
It's been that long.
@
for so long
I've been an embryo
trying to be born.
and I didn't want to grow.
I _ stayed in my womb
alone
safe
hidden
secure
but lately I've
been growing
STRONGER
and
I've
seen
some light
Please send me SISTERS for__year or years at
$5.00 per year . • • $7.00 for Canada and $10.00
for overseas, effective as of September 1973.
NAME,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,
ADDRBSS, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _..,.
coming into my womb.
and today
I quickened.
I moved.
I kicked.
I kicked back at life.
the life that's
been kicking me.
and today I quickened.
I came to life. I don't think this womb
can hold me much longer.
I'm going to be born
one of these days.
yeah,
I'm going to be born.
Pat Santucci
City
State ez,,
PLEASE ALLOW SIX rvEEKS FOR
PROCESSING OF YOUR ORDEF.
Mail order form to
DOB Rm. 1402
1005 Market" Street
San
Franci ■ co,
calif.
94103
S-UNDAY
-
MONDA' Y . -
. T.UESDAY -
WEDNESDAY :-
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
MARCH
1974
3
li/o1»t11 ~tU/JSt
f'a.f~ ;?,~ra./1'1 aC
.:kc:,tt~ .- ,t.6-95'~✓
5
4
6
7.
711.m•
c;;f-111»5
~t, f?r.Lt£:
tdu.&lho,i,t/ -..?ti:.
h
tuvJ /t~r1'!::J,
7/,M - Gl/i£ 1/o(;;ft,
/4-1,f); /J1djj'l'c/
!/t.i. J;
f:,l},:j
/'ul/ lt/ot.'A. ✓,
11
[(It,/
lu,,.,
7j>,h>-,
h,/1;., a.e ...1cot:h,
Ca. ti
10
12
13 .l1r-i~
and
14
Jt I l
4u;t1-tf/1'i55 I)
.Ju6- l//ua.r1dr'-
"S;~/.;:n" t,,1/tcl,,--e..
NEW f"i/llE:
...:fharon
19
1/iuf.S,~,
tl;;!'lj/JtLI/
..:i&;tt'¢
11'.o.uJ [uE./2rt1.hc,1,
a.f- tfie 'i::_a/ iJ1t?M "
CtU/ J't,B-U,c'!Jjsr,,,-1117
.Jeoti. 5.
15
ah t.,f f 11ef:
€) 75:l -i<Jt 7
(Ji:Jhlly u/alcr
Lt.~J,ans 3o;-)
1
J'?·m, - C'a//
(',,r1,11£;)
,(/~-!SY/
22
1
jot.Li'
I/ .:/,sct..t'$S10f1
a/4m,;:-n '.5
tlll/ ..Ji1/ er Sv~
I
t:.atl t:e/ :z137
ea.ti t;<t- -1:a?Jt/
llaN.f ,0,",.t/id'o/ J'u, //.'
Crl{~f.. /
20 ''Yt.A,,hi,e., he!>
aie,,b,-a.fu,n J
J£ !/-tK17/4raC.c,1
l/a../P~'/ ~,,:a.do/.
1 ~-~·
.a
9 ,fo.Ja.lit- .forrtls
o;}
nu/,ca-1 -/4,.,,,,,,:jt/t!J"'4,,, pol, I,~::; -
8£.rc
26
f ~'J
27 ".{~:,fJ✓,?.,J_::j
tl/lt1 11y10/1
·,
28
29
1€.rri' {~d.ene;(
3Q J.F id,n,e;,::S
Ce/1/tr.5 ~
.:f;'tJ~r
Cl,
a/ChfC"e,,
-t-o/ly~tt74-// ftum, k,/-SC,{,o
On March 8, 1908, thousands of women garment workers from the
factories and slums of New York City demonstrated for an end
to sweat shops and child labor. Two years later, in honor of
this strike, a meeting of revolutionaries from many countries
declared
MARCH 8th, as International Women's Day.
LIFELINE
- by Sue Whitson
At 4, 5 and 6 1 she really wanted to be
an auto mechanic but her brothers only laughed
at her and made it a joke and her parents gave
her more
dolls and tea sets and sewing cards and put
her in long dresses which always got caught on
fences and bushes and got torn and dirty for
which she was soundly spanked.
~ At 7, 8, 9 and 10 she swam, .jumped, ran,
climbed, threw a ball, rode a bike, yelled.and
sang further, higher, faster, harder, longer
and better than anyone else. she knew and eve_rybody said (with a twinkle in their eyes)
what a tomboy - isn't she cute?
At 12 she decided to be a surgeon and she
in love with her science teacher
Miss Vogel
and loved her more than the sun-moon-stars & air
and couldn't eat for weeks and was
really-honey-this-is-quite-ridiculous to
her parents.
By the time she was 15 she walked sedately,
had good posture, wore make up everywhere, spoke
softly, sat with her knees together and her
ankles crossed, always worried about
bad breath, body odor, big feet, small eyes,
getting muscles & she seemed to cry a lot
no one could ever figure out why.
At 20 she gladly quit school to get
married & the two women she loved best in the
whole world came to be accomplices to the ceremony & she began right afte:r:ward to make a home
for her boy-man-child & have babies and
put her knight in armor through school
so he'd have a job to support them and
all those nights she tried to make something
wonderful happen but the magic simply wasn't
there and he called her all sorts of names for
being so aggressive & fo:r:ward & independent
& sexual & stubborn & she got angrier & angrier
and angrier and he told her to stop playing
games all the time she whispered help.
At 23 she met a woman who told her she
was beautiful & all sorts of special wonderful
things about herself & who showed her lovely
new ways and
she threw out her wire curlers & kept her
hair short & used panty-hose to tie-dye shirts
& learned how to draw & garden & use tools &
cook for fun & make papier mache & fix the car
& build furniture and one day she took off all
her underwear and said screw that & everybody
said she was evidently
going through another phase.
At 26 she left the man and put the
marriage away and took the children and went
to search for and found other women who were
also learning how to feel their own power &
beauty & she talks loud, walks hard, does
what she wants, burps or laughs or yells if she
feels like it,
goes to classes in mechanics, lives on
welfare and goes nude in her home a lot and
says just what she thinks and she never, ever,
ever cries any more.
QUEST:
A FEMINIST QUARlERLY will provide
a national forum for longterm, in-depth feminist
political analysis and ideological development.
Conceived by a group of Washington, D.C. women
Quest's first issue will be out in April, 1974.
Quest is aimed primarily at women's movement
organizers, theorists, and analysts. This audience
not only includes women in the radical women's
liberation movement but also those who are developing feminist studies, women in reformist organizations who see the limitations within the existing
systems, and activists in other social change
movements.
The first issue will focus on the Process of
Change from political, economic, and social perspectives. Articles include: "What is Political
Change?" by Nancy Hartsock, Professor of Political
Science at the University of Michigan, "How Lesbianism and Feminism Affects Change in Women" by Rita
Mae Brown, poet and author of Rubyfruit Jungle, an
analysis by the Los Angeles Self-Help women on their
strategy in developing alternative health systems
and their ideology of women controlling their biology, and an evaluation of political reformism in
the women's movement by Charlotte Bunch, one of the
early founders of the women's liberation movement
and The Furies, lesbian feminist collective and
newspaper. Articles are di~ected to women who want
to solve the problems that face us in creating fundamental chang~ in society.
Future issue topics will be Money, Fame and
Power; Self-Concept and How That Makes Us Powerful,
Spiritualism and the Movement; Future Visions and
Fantasies. We welcome contributors from all over
the United States and internationally.
Quest Staff
Dolores Bargowski, Charlotte Bunch,
Rita Mae Brown, Jane Dolkart, Bev
Fisher, Karen Kollias, Lexi Freeman,
Emily Radziewicz Gaumond, Mary Helen Mautner,
Gerri Traina and Juanita Weaver.
If you are interested in contributing articles or
subscribing, please write
Quest: A Feminist Quarterly
P.O. Box 8843
Washington, D.c. 20003
$2.00/issue, $7.00/year individuals;
$10.00/year institutions.
Bulk rates available upon request.
*
z:x
*
*
*
ACHVAH-JEWISH GAY UNION
Invites all women to our next events:
PURIM DANCE: Saturday March 9 at 9pm at SIR,
83 - 6th Street. $2.00/live music/ come in
c?stume or not, as Queen Esther, Mordecai or
King Ahashuwerus. Over 21 only.
PASSOVER SEDER: Monday April 8th at 7 pm at
Bethany Methodist Church, 1268 Sanchez. Admission food or wine. Sholom.
For more information: 285-8110; 864-4449 7 or
658-4263.
lHE GI.ANTPERSON AND HER HEL..L-HOLtm
by Wendy Hays
A liberated lesbian/feminist fractured fairy tale
pres~nted in TWO PARTS.
PART II
Last month, we left Gerda, our giantperson(-ess)
stomping off to the queen's court to find out what
happened to her faithful Hell-Ho und, Alfreida (affectionately nicknamed 'Alfie'). You also remember
that Alfie, who in r eality was an enchanted giantperson (-ess) i n the guise of a Hell -Hound, was on
the road to complete and total disenchantment.
To continue • ••
The good people of the land were very upset and
scared and curious when they heard and felt the
heavy footsteps of the giantperson. From their direction, they correctly deduced she was on her way
to the queen's court. And being very politically
aware, sent a volunteer delegation to "investigate
the situation."
Gerda (our giantperson) arrived at court at the
same time the following things were happening:
Alfie beat the court delegation to the witch by
three days, a proper witchly incantation coupled
with a touch from one of the First Unico~n•s horn
made her her old self for the first time in almost
200 years, as a true giantperson (-ess), she is
doubletiming it back to Gerda's place to declare
and affirm her love for Gerda--not as a horse-sized
howling Hell-Hound, not as a giantperson (-ess), but
as ALFIE LOVES GERDA!!!! And she did, you know•
You have no idea how psycho-physico-emotionally
frustrating it can be to be in love with someone
who is totally different. An enchanted Hell-Hound
and a giantperson (-ess)?!?
IM-POSSIBLE!
Will Gerda accept Alfie as lover instead of
faithful Hell-Hound? A good question, and since
I was there I know what happened, and I'm goin
to tell yous Gerda did.
g
. Now, before she left the enchanted wood, the
witch.told Alfie (our disenchanted Hell-Hound)
that if she went directly to the queen's court
she'd find Gerda there.
'
* * * *
That d~y happened to be the queen's schedu1ed
mont:1_1ly: i.e., once a month she locked herself
up with her current lady-in-waiting and whatever
goes on behind closed doors went on . • • without
bothersome interruptions.
No~, a visit from a giantperson is a bothersome interruption. But if you're wise it's one
th.a~ you allow because if you don't they get impatient and when they get impatient they tend to
flail around a little. If you're ordinary sized
flail~g doesn't mean a thing. If you.~·re BIG, '
then it means A Lot.
So the wise queen (in great disarray) held
court (in great disarray itself due to the fact
they all knew she was having her monthly) and
granted audience to Gerda.
The delegation from concerned Hamlets And
T~ships (CHAT) arrived at about that time
with the report that there were TWO giantPE:rson (-ess)s (remember, now, Allie's~
disenchanted) stalking the land and what was
the wise queen going to do about it?
Yes, there was ensuing confusion.
It didn't straighten out until Alfie arrived
surveyed the kinky situation, and found Gerda 1 '
who was quite beside herself, standing by the
moat. "What's the matter?" she asked Gerda
"They ' ve done something terrible to Alfie•
I just know it!" wailed Gerda.
'
"Who's Alfie?" asked Alfie. (She wanted to
be sure of Gerda's feelings before declaring
herself.)
"My midnight black howling Hell-Hound, whom
I love above all others on the face of the earth."
And with this, our giantperson (-ess) burst into
tears which began splashing into the moat.
"Y;s, something happened to Alfreida," said
Alfie gently. "She was enchanted, and now is
disenchanted. In reality, she is a giantperson
(-ess) who loves you very much--not as a horsesi~ed howling Hell-Hound, not as a giantperson
(-ess) but as 'I love you.'"
so saying, Alfie the giantperson (-ess) took
Gerda the giantperson (-ess) in her arms and
kissed her. It was one of those great-biggiantperson (-ess)-sized kisses that even us
regular-sized person (-ess)s occasionally
receive.
To make a long story even longer, Gerda and
Alfie got their shit together and between them
managed to straighten out both the queen and
CHAT (remember my telling you about CHAT?) The
agreement eventually negotiated was that Gerda
and Alfie would set up housekeeping in their
country castle (complete with Castle Cat) and
stay there unless they got permission to walk
the countryside. In exchange, the good people
of the land would continue making their deliveries right to the castle gate. All talk of
wizards and knights in shining armor was studiously avoided on the parts of both parties.
And so they lived happily ever after to the
end of their days. I could tell you more about
what happened, but that's another story.
* * * *
1
San 'Jrancisco 11lomen s Centers, J.nc.
PHONE
431-7767
P.O. Box 40247
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94140
CONSC IOUSNESS RAIS ING, HOW TO?
Dory Murphy
Yesterday morning I was dozi ng on a frie nd's
queen size water bed. My mind was float ing f r om
the influence o f gras s , the heat f rom the bed,
and the s un blasting her rays t hrough the room.
It would be enjoyable if my friend-lover
came home from her job to share lunch with me.
Noon sex with her would be a pleasure. But it
didn ' t dominate my mind. If it happens, it
happens.
Then I exper ience d a flash of another noon
I had spent t wo years earlier i n New York City.
I met my lover for lunch . She worke d in a hotel
accounting departmen t . We by- passed food for
lunch . Instead we breathl essly pitted our bodi e s
against each other on a desk top in a storage
room. I recall the image of a good sex perf ormance.
Very brief. Now I think UGH! How straight oriented her sex was. How easily I allowed myse lf to be
dragged into her games . All in the name of the
sacr ed-cow, "love" . I think she was abusing both
our bodie s to perform a f uck to her middle class
b ackgr ound.
I could distinguish between my present relaxed sexual attitudes and my former sexual involement as performance. This recogniti on is part of
a personal on-going C.R. p rocess. To me, C.R. is
not one mountain (or a mountain range) to be climbed.
It is a series of plateaus, an evolution, without
an end.
As an indivi dualist, I think C.R. can only be
attained by each woman's contempla tion and ac tualization. The lesbian liberation movement is as
strong as each individual woman wi thin it. Each
ONE is the foun dation.
An organization or a C.R. meet ing is the means,
not the end. It i s simply untrue that you will gain
C.R. with a group. What a woman can derive from
the group is a fe eling of rei nforcement. The warmth
of sharing her own personal experiences with understanding ears. Knowledge to be realized must be
discovered individually.
Each individual woman must accept the failure
or success of this movement as her own individual
responsibility. We can achieve success by utilizing our own minds' insights. It is in the quiet
reflective interior of our minds where the true
strength of our movement can be found.
* * *
BROADER NOO FRavl FAR our LESBIANS, ••
Welcome I DOB Ft. Worth and
congratulations on having 21 members already!
According to your newsletter
you and DOB Dallas had a gettogether in mid-February: let
us hear about it! And more,
too, about the Dallas/Ft.
Worth Gay Conference
planned for June. (And
they used to say "It
could only happen in San Francisco.")
Ft. Worth's new headquarters are at 2168 Dalford.
(Mail and phone information on inside back cover.)
FT. WORTH, TEXAS:
is getting hasseled by the P.O.
for using "Occupant" and a box number, so we're
dropping that from their address.
DOB NEW HAMPSHIRE
LOS ANGELES
take notes SISTERS should now be on
sale at the
Sisterhood Bookstore
1351 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA.
(213) 477-7300
* * *
WESTERN:
EASTERN:
"Where's all
the Dykes?"
"So, what's a
Dyke? Ya want a
Butch or a Femme?"
HANDWRITING ANALyzED BY A SISTER
- Not by computer $5.00 each analysis/2 for $8.50
SEND TO
K. Feinberg
P.O. Box 24172
Department R
Cincinnati, Ohio
45224
* * *
@
I am doing a study on femal.e sexuality, in particular the orgasm. I need subject.s who would be
confortable in describing in detail their •pea1c•
orgasm with a partner and with herself. If you
are interested please call Shirlee at 431-5327.
The results of this Research wi11 be published
in SISTERS, it will take months to collect the
necessary information so don't expect to read
the results until at least five months from now.
*
A WOMEN' S COFFEE HOUSE
AND BOOKSTORE,
THE FULL MOON,
will open offically
on
March 7th at 4 pm
Thursday
with ent ertainment
at 8:30
Betty Kaplowitz will
sing, there will be a
tap dancer and possibly
some poetry readings.
THE FULL MOON is open for donations of money,
di shes, silver, bookcases, time, energy, etc.
They h a ve a lot of spirit. The location i s
4416 18th Street near Eureka i n the Castro Area.
*
*
*
Now open, the WOMEN'S TRADE SKILLS CENTER at
51 WALLER Street (at Market) in San Francisco.
On the ground floor i s a VW and other small car
repai r service operating at sisterly prices,
also motor cycle repair. The SKILL CENTER plans
to incorporate class es in auto rep air, women's
survival skills: sel f-de fense, phot ography7
carpentry; whatever . If you want t o teach or
learn or want more info. call at 552-2009
*
*
*
Pat Parker's latest book: Pit Stop is now out on
sale for $1.00 at Modern Times Bookstore at 3800
17th Street (corner of Sanchez) or call 621-2675.
*
*
*
*
Our own DOB local lesbians, Bert & Dori will be
doing a Poetry Reading at Scott's sometime in
April.
*
*
*
*
ROOMMATE WANTED: Lesbian Mother with 8 year old
daughter is lCX>king for rCX>mmate Not lover!
If interested write to this address,
Ms. Lucille Granica
11153 Shirley Drive
Milpitas, Calif. 95035
Your share would be $100. a month which would
include everything (rent,food,water,utilities,etc.)
*
*
*
Newly-formingJ u.c. Lesbian Unions a new Lesbian
group at the u.c. Berlteley campus for all gay
women. For info. call Karin at 548-8057
*
*
*
*
There is now a Suggestion Box in the DOB Rap Room,
feel free to use it anytime!
, -
L,L, NEWS COOINUED
The little Local Lesbian got a Valentine card last
month sayings "I couldn't get you a Valentine's
Day present because I was flat busted."
ON THE INSIDE :
"And I didn ' t h ave any money, e i ther."
(In order to protect the guiltg, maintain a
*
*
11
·
J
\,
f
The FULL MOON and WOMEN Is TRADE SKILLS CENTER
are cosponsoring a dance for women. Saturday
March 2nd Childcare Available $1.50 Donation
LOCATION: Women's Trade Skills Center
51 Waller Street (at Market)
*
relationsh ip, be able to continue Local Lesbian
News and her l i fe 1 the Local Lesbian will not
reveal the n ame of the sexist who sent the card.)
*
)
*
*
PHOTO~I/IIPIIY
ff
*
,,
#lf,rl{
Gay Woman, wood sculptress would like to meet other
women artists -- Possibly interested in forming a
support group, call Sue at 752-896 7 .
*
*
*
*
Elderly woman (86years old} in the San Mateo area
is willing to pay $300.00 a month for someone to
live-in, would have her own room (free rent).
This woman could be a lesbian mother if not more
than one child. Elderly woman lives alone and
walks without cane, does not need any special
medical care just need someone to live-in.
If interested in the job call her son, Frank
Leavich at 474-5500. Hours could be very flexable
and adjusted to your needs. Needs someone mainly
to be there during night hours but can be worked
out.
*
*
*
*
How would you like to be hung in the De Young
(that is the De Young Museum here in SF)? A Gay
man famous photographer, Crawford Barton will be
having a showing at the De Young. Needs lesbian
couples to pose for pictures. Will give you the
prints. Also, needs lesbians for group picture
6 to 8 people. Will be starting in March to take
p i cture reflecting gay lifestyles . Call Crawford
at 1526-6621.
Laura Wilensky (DOB's Art Coordinator) will soon
publish a book of photographs she has taken of
women in action. It is due to come out in April.
All of you who are familiar with Laura's work
I'm sure will agree with me, the Local Lesbian,
Laura captures rare, honest moments reflecting
sensitivity in it's purest form with unstaged
simplicity and with a sneaky eye.
*
*
*
*
SAN FRANCISCO WOMEN'S CENTERS FIRSTS:
- On Thursday, January 17 1 1974, they held the
first BAY AREA WOMEN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL (Women Only)
with over 20 performers and over 700 spectators.
Net proceeds totaled over $1,100 to go towards
support of the Women's Information & Resource
Center.
- On Saturday, March 2 1 Women's Centers will
hold the first in a series of workshops on
THE ART OF FUND RAISI NG for women interested in
learning all about money and their organization.
WOMEN ONLY-If you're interested in knowing all
about fund raising for fun & profit, call
s .F.w.c. at 431-7767
Un,vilii[lilllifi ~I ~~1~1i11li1im·11f~~11~·
OK
M 001 111 660
INFORMATIOO PAGE
DOO OiAPTERS
Pen Friend Club has been discontinued here
at DOB. However, for those still interested in
meeting other lesbians through correspondence,
AMAZON QUARTERLY has started a service named
C ON NE C T I ON S
If you would like to contact women who share your
interests we will try to help. Send us a brief
description of yourself, your name, address, phone
number (if you want), and your age (we can not
accept anyone under legal age). Let us know if
you want to meet women in your area, women
anywhere living inconnnunes, women with children,
etc. --Make up your own categories. Include $1.00
plus a self-addressed stamped envelope. We'll
send you the names, addresses and descriptions
of sisters with similar wishes.
MAIL TO:
Connections
e/o AMAZON QUARTERLY
554 Valle Vista Avenue
Oakland, California
94610
*
*
*
*
*
WOMEN'S BARS in San Francisco
Scott's
10 Sanchez(nr. Duboce) • • • • • • • .
Peg's Place
4737 Geary(nr. 12th Ave.) • • • • . •
Maud's or The Study
937 Cole(nr. Carl) • • • • • • • • • •
Kelly's Saloon
20th Street off of Mission • • • • • •
Thousand & One Nights
335 Jones(Between Eddy & Ellis) • • •
La Cave
1469 Sutter(nr. Franklin) • • • • • •
626-9534
668-5050
DOB San Francisco
1005 Market Street Room 402
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 861-8689
'IXJB Boston
419 Boylston Street Room 406
Boston, Massachuse tts 02116
(617) 262-1592
'IXJB New Jersey
P.O. Box 62
07023
Fanwood, New Jersey
(201) 233-3848/IF NO ANSWER,
CALL 674-1111
&
leave message
'IXJB Dallas
c/o Rob Shivers
P.O. Box 5944
75222
Dal las, Texas
P.O. Box 137
Northwood, New Hampshire
03261
(This is really 'IXJB New Hampshire, but they
must remain anonymous locally .)
'IXJB Fort Worth
P.O. Box 1564
Fort Worth, Texas
(817) 924-8598
76101
731-6119
285-0066
474-1067
775-2060
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN SISTERS ARE THOSE OF
THE INDIVIDUAL WRITERS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE
OF THE SISTERS COLLECTIVE OR THE SF DOB BOARD.
Part of Sisters : v.5:no.3(1974:Mar.)