Sisters_v4.no10.1973.10.pdf
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- Sisters_v4.no10.1973.10.pdf
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Property of the Center
orGoyWomen
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She contemplated her preposterous life-style and formulated plans for escape.
OCTOBER
1973
SAN FRANCISCO DAUG-iTERS OF BILITIS
Statement of Purpose
q
~
... a women's organization to aid the Lesbian in
discovering her plaqe in society and to educate
society to understand and accept her, without
prejudice, and ••.
1. To encourage and support the Lesbian in
her search for her social, economic, personal,
in~erpersonal and vocational i dentity within
society by maintaining and building a library
on the theines of homosexuality and women1 by
providing social functions whe re she can communicate with others and expand her social world outside the bar scene, and by providing an 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 sponsoring
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.
SlStERS
I $ 500
M«1111.in, }lyand forGtlyWo-n
OR IGINAL -' RT, POlTII.'(
AR'TICLf S, MEWS,
PMOTO<:rlV,l'HY
ll I SSUES
1005 MARKET ST. • sv1n'i8i.-s,-N fUIICISCCj Ck, ~103
VOLUME IV, Number 10
.........
.
PRESIDENT
VICE-PRESIDENT . . . . • • • •
CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES ••
TREASURER • . . . . • • • • •
PUBLIC RELATIONS . . . . • • •
GRAND POOBAH • • • • • • • • •
SECRETARY . . . • • • • • • •
*
*
*
*
L. Esstelle
Vacant
Pat & Lois
Melinda
Millicent
Kate Adams
Paula
*
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 handling of cases involving homosexuals, with due
process of law and without prejudice.
TO SAY AND BELIEVE THAT GAY IS GOOD
SAN FRANCISCO DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS, AN AFFILIATE OF
SAN FRANCISCO v-lOM:N'S CENTERS
1026 MASONIC STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
94117
~-~(u~~_,o.i
.
,
.
If__~
{fad) OL(
j7d- 1-1~~✓/
~h[~"-- .; /?,s '"/f=uco Women's Research & BGLTQ+- Center
100 N. University Dr
Edmond, OK 73034
II _
II
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______________________________ ,
Don't Tell Me You're Not Persecuted Sister
CONTENTS
Don't Tell Me You're Not Persecuted ••
The Hand That Cradles the Rock
Poetry Section • • • • • • • • •• •• •• ••
Pen Friend Information.
• • • • •••
Ca 1endar for October
Review: Museum of Ero~i~; t• • • • • •
r ••...
Dear 00B Sisters
Now It Can Be Tol~: • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • •••
Sisters Seek support • • • • • • • • •
Susan's Song
Local Lesbian°N;w;: : : : : : • • • •
Information p
• • • •
3
7
8
15
16
19
22
23
24
27
2B
age• • • • • • • • • • • 32
*
* *
Traveling across country on a hippie bus, I
became fast friends with the male bus driver. This
for the reason that he was the only other person
my age on the bus aside from a drained drug freak
dude. It does become a little tedious attempting
to relate to younger people, especially when they
are straight and still get their mental kicks
from blabbing and bragging about their drug and
sex trips.
The bus driver was an ex-truck driver. At
least I found his trucking tales more interesting
than the inane prattle of the other passengers.
As we went down the road, time was passing
pleasantly enough.
Since it was a rickety old bus we had to stop
frequently for repairs, gassing up, plus meals. I
only had a few dollars in my pocket, so I allowed
the driver to pay for my meals. I thought of this
as a two-way deal because I did help him count
the passengers at stops, remind him of the small
parts needed for the vehicle, and talk to him when
he was sleepy at the wheel.
The second day on the road he related his
personal history: his marriages, children, and
latest business catastrophes. From the general gist
of his conversation I thought he held all the women
in his life directly responsible for his being a
loser. Heavy. But I was wrong to think that was
· all1 that wasn't the heaviest part of his chatting.
He told me he'd have a few days to spend in New
York City before his next run. And how WE could
enjoy those days. That maybe I could help him on
the trips after I visited my folks. My mind
exploded. How presumptuous of him! I certainly
hadn't made any passes at him. But because I
listened to his bull-shit stories and helped him
in small ways he thought WE could have an ongoing
relationship.
At any other time! would have been very open
with him and told him I was gay. But I had second
thoughts. First, he was a convenient meal ticket
and I enjoy e ating regularly. (Maybe I did take
advantage of him but I didn't feel guilty because
I didn't lead him on. He did it ALL to himself.
On the other hand I thought he did take advantage
of my lifestyle, and being gay in this society is
a lifestyle.)
How many people have told me straight out that
they are heterosexual? Very few. People don't
come out and shout their sexuality. How relative
are the clinical words 'heterosexual' and
'homosexual'? How much time in a day do peop le
actually allow themse lves in bed for sexual game s?
Cl inical words can be irrelevan t to the real ity
of eve ryday wor l d matters.
I don't avow a closety attitude , but it was
to my advantage not to alienate myself from the
driver. There are moments when if you keep your
mouth shut and let a man l i ve in hi s s traight
fantas y world, you can let him rip himself off.
The whole wor thless l ot of such men have been
r i pping us o f f f or ages. So le t 's not wor ry about
doing some o f our own ripping off .
Consequently I let the driver put me in his
straight- jacket mind. I knew I didn't fit in
that pigeonhole, but I wasn't going to endanger
my trip or safety by telling him that.
When the bus reached close to my home in
Eastern Pennsylvania, I quietly unloaded my gear
and said goodbye to him. As I left he said:
"But I thought we had something going?"
I s h rugged.
by Dory Murphy
,-
"
• • Th,~ charge that male doctors harbor an
underlying sadism against women is increasingly being heard . . . A discussion took place
among surgeons on attitudes toward orchidectomy(removal of the testicle) and oophorectomy
(removal of the ovary) and it was agreed that
surgeons rarely hesitate to remove an ovary
but think twice about removing a testicle. The
doctors readily admitted that such a sexoriented viewpoint arises from the fact that
most surgeons are male.
"Said one of them wryly, 'No ovary is good
enough to leave in, and no testicle is bad
enough to t~e o,.1t. '"
taken from:
?··
"Women M.D. 's Join the Fight"
Medical World News, October, 1970
LAVENDER WOMAN
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Subscription Department
MS-P
370 Lexington Avenue
• New York, New York 10017
Please put my name on the subscription list tor Ms. Magazine. 1 understand I
will_ receive Volume 1, Number 1 of Ms. when publication begins in the I t
Spring of 1972 and at that time, you will bill me just $9.00 for the first 12 issu:S~
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THE HAND THAT CRADLES THE ROCK
LOW FARE
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Via Jet From
San Francisco - Oakland
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To London, Brussels,
Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich,
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WINSHIP TRAVEL· Sumner Winship
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From Basie, Switzerland
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Poetry, like the rest of the arts, has been
defined in terms of the interests of educated
white men. Whenever women or Blacks wrote poetry
their work was measured in terms of those interests and by those old literary standards. Consequently, the literary establishment categorized
the work of women and Blacks as inferior. Since
the reality of a woman's life or a Black's life
differs from that of an educated white male, the
poetry of those groups differed in content and
often form from the poetry of the dominant culture.
Black's poetry, women's poetry was seen as an
expression of their "distinctive feature"
Blackness or womaness, rather than viewed as the
expression of a total human being. Blacks are not
seen as human beings, they are seen as Black.
Women are not seen as complete persons in themselves, they are seen only in terms of their sex
functions. Our poetry has been subjected to the
same narrow-minded bigotry that we have been
subjected to in our daily lives. We will no longer
accept these limiting definitions of our selves
of our work.
The poetry in this book is the poetry of a
total person. It reflects a real life and the
oppression of that life as well as joy and hope
for the liberation of herself and of all oppressed
peoples. Before you measure t~is book, THE HAND
THAT CRADLES THE ROCK by your old standards perhaps
you should measure yourself by its standards.
This is the first book of poetry to be published in America by a feminist lesbian. It is in
the free tradition of Sappho. We will no longer
be silent and this is the first voice but not the
last.
by Rita Mae Brown
A TANGIBLE EXPRESSION OF AN ABSTRACT FEELING
I would love to love you tonight but I can't
I can see the true expression of beauty
as I am watching you sitting there,
slumped over from weariness, watching TV.
I see beauty everywhere in your slender,
graceful young body. I see it in your smooth back,
your lovely shoulders, your shapely legs.
TR Y
S E CT I ON
Sometimes, thinking of you
I remember the way it was
Sorn':!times ·, remembering you
I think of us, the way we were
But mostly, thinking of you
I remember the way it should have been
by Barb Walter
I1asturbation
wood inside flesh
flesh inside flesh
deep
circularity
cream warmth
ocean smell
softness of down
prickly bristles
fullness of stomach
air sucking air
animal fantasie .1
room ~uietness
wet streets under cars
light tr1ing to give
rrivinq liqht
dead siving life
life giving pleasure
ple'a<Jure
:oeace
the flesh mind
intertwines
orqans unite
beer bubbles
and smoke calrr.s
as the bitten into
cheese
has intercour3e with
the burned out
incense
by Yarilyn Haifield
words cannot describe the beauty
I see before me. It is such an
intangible object that only I see
that I can't translate the intangible
beauty of your body into abstract
symbols such as these.
Beauty sits before me and yet I can't
verbalize it--I can only feel its warmth
and maybe seek to touch it.
I would love to put my hand on the rippled flesh
that descends from your midriff to your abdomen
gently
and put your mind at ease, for your mind has been
clouded by depression, drawing a veil between you
and all things beautiful.
I want to sweep over your smooth back with soft
kisses and make you feel everything is all right.
I want to feel your arms, your legs,
every part of you softly ever so
gently
with a tenderness and respect which is only spoken
of in fairy-tale romances;
I want to explore your face with my lips and hands
and learn by heart your every feature,
loving it as if it were my own.
I want to hold you to me,
make you feel a part of me.
Together we form a new identity-no longer you and I, but we.
I want you to feel the warmth
I feel with you tonight.
I want you to feel my love surge through you
like the mighty river of your blood.
"For the Lady"
My hair brushed softly against your neck
and the scent of your perfume clung to it.
All the way home on the train
I smelled my hair and thought of you.
I didn't wash my hair that night,
not wanting to wash away your scent
that was gone by morning, anyway;
but holds me in its spell even now.
But I can't.
You'll never feel
the tangible expression
of my abstract feeling for you.
Because I'm gay and you are afraid.
by Roberta Dill (Bert)
by Desi Geshen
flight from london.
A SHORT NOTE FOR LIBERALS
I've seen your
Forty plus and
Settling for a
And calling it
kind before
secure
kiss from feeble winds
a storm.
SAPPHO'S FEPLY
My voice rings down through thousands of years
To coil around your body and give you strength,
You who have wept in direct sunlight,
Who have hungered in invisible chains,
Tremble to the cadence of my legacy:
An army of lovers shall not fail.
Copyright 1971 by Rita Mae Brown
taken from her book,
"The Hand That Cradles The Rock"
fat moon stuck
kansas of clouds
white flecks
in the soup
big ocean
or small boats
if i forget you
squeeze my eyes
by Laura Lechenetz
. FOCUSs
A
JOURNAL FOR GAY WOMEN
published by
And you have an upside down tree on your left arm
and i'm afraid to say how pretty it is
because we both used to stick needles into
branches
by Marilyn Hadfield
BOSTON DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS
$5000/ year
$ .50/ copy
monthly
D.O.B., Room 415, 419 Boylston
Street, Boston, Mass. 02116
®
Your Babysitter
Already the kids occupy their usual space in front
of the television.
· uncle what's his name is filling their heads with
more space.
You let them out of the car and drove away before
I could see your face. Your face.
Just twice a day.
Once heading west then again
eight hours later heading east.
This would have been enough for me.
But you sat on my porch and told me all of your
dreams and shared your pain while you fought away
the sunnner fruit flies.
You needed a friend and a open ear.
You got what you needed.
Now you never look into my e yes because you know
what is there.
A gift you cannot accept and a longing you cannot
satisfy.
I can never touch you, but my poor cat-eyed lady,
you can never be touched.
by Lorrilei
the stillness and grace of your body flowing,
the quiet hushed yielding of your soul-menaced pain,
humbling before the life you sacredly trust;
from your eyes pour wisdom, enduring faith,
the knowing, but your steps are heavy
with sighing as you walk away •••
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
\
\ \
\
Needs you, welcomes you, wants you
'
\
~
Sundays
at 7 P.m.
\
,~
\
Mission United Presbyterian Church
23rd
~~ S5. ~
.
l cau 285-0392 ' \ information, or • ~
rehg~~i~
@
~
PEN-FRIEND CLUB INFORMATION
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
ADDRESS._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
City_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
State.__________________
Dear Sisters,
I feel a need to clarify the Pen-Friend
Club's function and limits. Since taking over
the Chm, I have been unhappy with the expectations I felt were laid on the pen-friend.
The Pen-Friend Club can, for one dollar,
send you the name and address of a person who
has written in requesting a lesbian pen friend.
The Pen-Friend Club cannot "match" you with
anyone. It is impossible to try to give women
pen friends in their own areas. It is equally
impossible to find them compatible pen friends
as regards age, musical tastes, educational
background, etc. To begin with, I don't receive
a great enough volume of mail to facilitate that.
And if I were receiving enough letters to make
compatibility possible to attempt, I wouldn't
have the energy to do so.
Pen-Friend Club cannot find you a lover, a
therapist, or a friend. Its purpose is to put gay
women in touch with one another. That's all I
can do.
Yours in Sisterhood,
ZIP CODE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Pat Hardman
Mail order form to
DOB Rm. #402
1005 Marke~ Street
San Francisco, Calif.
Write to:
94103
Pen-Friend Club
c/o Pat Hardman
1005 Market Room 402
s.F. Calif. 94103
Please enclose one dollar to handle cost of
postage.
..
----C r-----,,----,---""T---.----.~--...
OCTOBER
1973:.----.....
,________
WEDNESDAY NITE RAPS
G) "Sex Information"
3
Maggie Rubenstein
.
Ci>
.,
~,,y
tJ1/(f'ltt(JII'/
,IAH(t)
"Open Rap"
"Open Poetry Reading"
bring your favorite
poems, also open for
discussion on various
works.
EVERY MONDAY
Counseling
by
Jill Gribin
from
6-Bpm
no charge
i f you can't
come in, can
call 861-8689
"Guest Speaker"
thanks to Millie
PARI'Y at DOB
to celebrate
Halloween
bring ideas, party
games & goodies
OTHER ACTIVITIES
12-14) Women's Weekend for
experience in aelf-expl o~ation and growth. For further information call Jill
at 647-4391 . or Sue at (707)
546-7292. More details in
Local Lesbian News.
DEADLINES
SISTERS COLLECTIVE
Meeting Articles Due
Collate "Sisters"
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Business Meeting All woman are welcomed, open for new i deas, starts at 8t00pm at the office
EVERY THURSDAY
Volunteer night
or the 3Ws -Wine, Women
and Work
starts at
N.o.w. & o.o:.B. Get-to-gather Location, 3649 Marke t st . Apt. #401 TIME12100pm For further
information call Ma. Marley at 566-3531
@
s.o.L. PARI'Y (Slightly Older Lelbians, for 30 and older ONLY) Location 240 Dolores st.
Apt.#320 TIME 7a30pm For further information call Gloria at 431-1560
•
26-28) Second Annual California N.o:w. Conference Location at the Bahia Hotel in San Diego for
the whole weekend. For further details look on Local Lesbian News ParJe in back of "Sisters"
8:00pm
ALL Women are
welcomed!
1
27-28) Women's Sensuality Weekend Location at a private camp. For information call Jodi at 431-7767.
$t.
0rthodo.x ~atholic ~hurch
REVIEW:
The Museum of Erotic Art
l
J).0. ,Box tom
1901 Eighth St.
Berkeley, Cal. 94710
Phone 848-0800
San franrisro, ~a 91110
Our church welcomes
members of the Gay
Conununity to attend Traditional Latin Mass with
us every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Take the University
Avenue exit, church is three blocks from exit.
Choir members & other volunteers needed.
Note without comment On Monday, September 10, the California State
Assembly passed SB 1285 requiring that the
contri~ution of women to California's developrr.ent be studieu in grades one tnroug;1 twelve.
Ti1e bill, ;,,,roposed by Senator James R. Mills
{a San Diego Democrat), passed by a vote of
67 to 2. The nay votes were cast by Robert
Badham of Newport Beach and Floyd Wakefield of
Downey, both Republicans.
#
#
@
#
I arrived with great expectations at the highlytouted Museum of Erotic Art, and left with a rancid
taste in 'Ill'/ moutll, appalled by the vulgarity and lack
of taste exhibited therein.
Never have I been more aware that hetero1exuality
is still the predominant scourge- o.f '41111Va& ll:ll.t.
I consider myself to be sexually liberated, but perhaps I'm just a homosexual prude.
The four stories of the Museum of Erotic Art are
plastered almost from wall to wall with pictures of
heterosexual copulation--penises either enterina waginas, leaving vaginas, or stuck soawhere in b e ~ .
If putting a cock in a cunt is what is called "makins love," thea I can do without it. As Germaine
Greer has so perceptively noted, comina vita a full
cunt 11 more exciting titan comiug with an empty one.
But I know there is more to lovemaking (even amonast
some heterosexuals) than finding a hole and filling
it.
The whole Museum was very male-dominated, with
respect to both the artists and the subject matter.
lt was like a paen to the potency and power of the
penis, a hyan to the male organ. This is fine for
men, but women were sadly neglected.
The obsessive genital orientation of most of the
"art" in the Museum sickened and disgusted me. In
most of the pictures I saw there was very little evidence of any sexual foreplay. l was impressed by
the fact that the artists' idea of foreplay was rather limited to sucking a tit, rubbing a clit, and
copulating iuaediately.
I was disturbed to see that in nearly all the copulating couples, the man ·waa on top! (Bow liberated! Bow innovative!) And there were acres of oral
copulation, mostly fellatio. I saw very little
cunnilingus. I thought of how boring it lllllSt be to
only produce erotic art.
•
A simple picture of two people kissing and embracing was selQom seen. When there was kissing, both
parties had their tongues hanging out (fuck-film fashion) so that the viewer could be absolutely certain
that they were French kissing.
The Museum of Erotic Art leaves asolutely nothing
to the imagination! It has some thing for every
body--cock sculptures galore, rising from their puny
platforms like the bow of the Titanic dipping out of
the sea as she sank, rooms full of huge, deformed
breasts, juicy, red female genitalia with the lips
spread, so you can see and name all the parts.
But lest I be too unkind, I must admit that there
were at least a half dozen works that I enjoyed, out
of the hundreds exhibited. There were a few pictures
of women together that were done with taste, one of
them by Betty Dodson. Her satire, "Sexual Cartoons,"
appropriately comments on societal attitudes towards
sex. In the basement there is a huge color photograph of raspberries which I consider to be the most
truly erotic piece in the Museum. "Cowboy and Squaw"
is another excellent sexual satire. It's a picture
of a cowboy trying to lasso an Indian woman. The
rope is his elongated penis. For those of you who
have gone through the Museum, and are now totally
disgusted with its phallic imperialism, in the basement is a picture of a woman sawing off a gigantic
cock. (It's about time.)
The Museum of Erotic Art is sensual, but it lacks
sensuousness. It has bodies, but it has no soul, no
heart--no LOVE. Nowhere in the Museum could I observe any vestige of caring or emotional involvement.
Perhaps a sexual relationship in which love plays a
part does not fit under the Museum's definition of
eroticism. How terribl y, terribly sad. Viewing the
Museum of Erotic Art is l ike reading a page of "The
Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot, : "Here we are in ratla
alley, where the dead men lost their bones."
The Museum of Erotic Art reflects all the diseases
of society: alienation, sexual objectification, loneliness, sexism, boredom, sexual usury, etc. It is
the epitome of bourgeois decadence. It is everyone's
sexual obsession and sickness
multiplied a thous-
and fold. If naked, raw, animalistic sex turns you
on, then by all means go and see the freak show.
Personally, I prefer my erotic art to be,more tasteful more tender, and less explicit. Its what I
don;t see that titillates me. It is a Museum of
Pornography, not art, and certainly not erotic art.
Roberta Dill
I guess that's what friends are
for -- to help make life better.
You and your Tampax tampons
sure did that for me!
.·
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The internal protection more women trust
TAMPAX*
tAmpon-d
MA D E O N L Y BY TAMPA X IN CO RP O RATED, PALM[A, MASS.
near IXJB S1s-ters:
Now It Can Be Told
. Hayivard Ga y Action is on your SISTEl?.S
·~ailina list. Tis the founder and dissolver of
HGA, I would like to ask you to send further
SISTERS to East Ba~ Gay at t..1e above address.
(actually below this letter on this page)
r!e've appreciated the help you've been to us
by sending SISTEP.S because it was often the
most uplifting and, shall I say, "human" of all
the mail we had been receiving. Naturally,
we {o.f HGA) would refer women to your group when
we've thought a newly-interested woman would be
more into a TXJB group than one which was predominately male {HGA). HGA, by the way, has
ceased operation, and past members who are still
into up-front Gay organizing are now with East
Bay Gay. As soon as I can meet a few expenses,
I'll try to send a personal contribution over
to you to help your building fund.
By Dave Kesti
Promotions Co-ordinator
East Bay Gay Corp
1437 Harrison Street
Oakland, Calif. 94612
Some time ago, I was teaching Art in a
large Rehabilitation Center. I always found
the many mandatory staff meetings pleasuresome
as they provided me time for my transcendental
meditation. One time, however, I found myself
jolted up from my Alpha-theta level as I heard
the word "homosexual"--loud and clear.
Supt. _ _ _ _was saying, to his obvious embarrasment, "It has been brought to my attention
"from a higher level" , ( I don't think he meant
God) "that possibly there might be some teachers
who are that way ••••. , and we must all be
vigilant"an'a aware of such things .•••• ,(he knew
it was not a problem now) •• • •• hurn ••••• ,but we
would be adding more st aff • ••• • , and that he felt
perhaps a committee shoul d be formed to investigate and report t o him directly if we had any
disclosures . "Would some one voluntee r to he ad-up
s uch a Committee?" Immediat ely I shot to my feet.
Two other gay women followed. I s uggested that
the Committee be so formed. From time t o time,
I r eported back to him how free we were of any
insurgents and this satisfied him up until his
reti rement.
Name Wi t hhe ld as
requested by write r
Sexual ignorance is not bliss
HOUSE FUND
A Non-Profi t Co mmunity Ph one Service
I
@
$3.,265 J5
I
{415 ) 665-7300
Phone ho urs: 3 to 9 p.m. Mon . th ro ugh Fr i.
SISTERS SEEK SUPPORT
There are a number of court cases currently
going on which, if won, would advance the cause
of all of us, and which deserve our moral support
and, if we have it to give, our financial support.
Two cases in particular have recently been brought
to 00B's attentions one involves a woman in Huntsville, Alabama, who was fired from her job because
she is a Lesbian. Her story follows •••
In December of 1972 I had been working for an
electronics fabrication firm in Huntsville for
almost three months. My lover Sandy Fuller had
been working at this same company for one year.
We were happy with our jobs. Everyone including
management knew we were Lesbians and accepted us,
we thought. One day our supervisor talked to
Sandy and told her that everyone accepted us except one man, Mr. Rubin Brannon, head of Quality
Control. He told Sandy that Mr. Brannon was about
to be made plant manager and it would be wise to
keep our eyes open for another job. He said he
was sP- Brannon would g,
- of us as soon as
poss ...,. .c. One week and one day ~ter Mr. Brannon
became plant manager I was laid off. He gave no
substantial reason for my dismissal. I immediately
told the cornpany I intended to fight back. (I feel
certain had I not told them this that Sandy would
have been laid off soon. I think they believed me
when I told them I would fight it, and I'm sure
they realized that if Sandy were dismissed we would
have another case against them and an almost sure
win.)
A very good attorney overheard a friend of mine
discussing the incident and asked my friend to tell
me that he wanted to take the case. The first step
we took was to file a complaint with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)• which has
six months to decide whether or not to investigate
a case filed with them. During this six months we
0
could do nothing else. When the six months
ended the EEOC had done nothing, so we filed suit
against the company on our own. And we can finally have some publicity on the case. I need support
from all my sisters all over the world. Moral
support and if anyone has anything to contribute
financially I need it desperately. We will be in
Federal Court in Birmingham and it will be expensives my attorney's fee is $1000. Anyone who is
interested in the benefits that winning this case
will give all homosexuals, especially in the
South, please contribute if you can. And I need
to hear from people who are willing to give moral
support. We are going to have a rough time, but
we are going to win and it will be a win for all
homosexuals.
Lorrie McGaha & Sandy Fuller
400 s. Plymouth Road
Huntsville, Alabama
35811
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DOB encountered the second case on a rap night,
when our guests were two Lesbian mothers. Sandy
Schuster and Madeleine Isaacson-- and their six
children--carne to tell us about their struggles
in divorce and child custody suits.
They are warm, very together-seeming women,
and they tell their story in a humorous, rather
mellow way. They met at a church functions both
are very religious, and find a lot of support for
their lifestyle within their religious beliefs.
They fell in love, finally admitted their love to
themselves and each other, and separated from
their respective husbands. Their husbands eventually joined forces and brought divorce suits
against the two women. After long and complicated court proceedings the husbands were awarded
divorces, but Sandy and Madeleine were given
custody of the children on the condition that
they live "separate and apart" from one another
(although they could spend as much time together
as they chose otherwise.)
- One point which has come out in the custody
struggle they have gone through: it is exceptionally difficult for Lesbian mothers to
prove they are or will be good mothers, because
there is no existing information about the
effect on children of being raised by homosexual parents. There are no precedents for
the courts to use in deciding custody cases of
this nature. Sandy and Madeleine have created
a precedent in this court decision and, by
their openness, have provided hope that in the
future their children (will others come forward
now too?) may set examples to be used in other
cases.
The court battles the·s e women have fought have
so far taken a year and a half and $4000. They
anticipate further battles over the condition
that they live "separate and apart," which will
consume yet more time and more money. If you
can offer support to Sandy and Madeleine-financial and/or moral--write1
The Lesbian Family - Sandy & Maddy, et.al.
P.O. Box 15312, Wedgwood Station
Seattle, Washington
98115
or phone:
(206)
524-3461 or 525-4407
* *
*
,susa~song
ah, those games we used to play when we were young
lost in fantasy, out through the fields we'd run
i was a four-leaf clover, the prettiest one
and susan, as usual, was the sun
chasing dragonflies, then fresh mud pies
for lunch, with lemonade
changing the hollow tree into a castle
free in make-believe we played
but, susan we're not so young--it's harder now
to smile
the magic of make-believe only lasts for a little
while
but i always remember when darkness has come
how susan, as usual, was the sun
oh, susan, won't you stay and shine for me
on my cloudy days
and let me be your lucky charm again
chase those demons away
ah, those games we used to play when we were young
lost in fantasy, out through the fields we'd run
i was a four-leaf clover, the prettiest one
and susan, as usual, was the sun
J;
*
LOCAL LESBIAN NEWS b•, a
We are a group of lesbians who are interested in
·exploring the possibilities of setting up several
enduring lesbian households in San Francisco. We
have met a few times and have decided to direct
our energies towards long range goals. For this
reason, we aren't primarily geared toward helping
lesbians to meet immediate housing needs. If you
are interested, call for information Ann at
552-3035 or Mary at 626-2947
*
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WOMEN A weekend experience of self-exploration and
growth for women - gay, straight and bisexual.
Focus will be on sharing and exploring ourselves
and each other as women within a safe caring group
setting. Time will be provided for individuals to
work intensively with feelings of anger, fear,
pain or whatever. Jill and Sue have Masters degrees
in Humanistic Psychology with a clinical emphasis
and are co-founders of "Counseling for Women".
Both Jill and Sue are gay and currently counseling
individuals, couples and women in groups. Jill in
San Francisco and Sue in Santa Rosa. The weekend
will begin at 7pm Friday and end 5pm Sunday, the
Cost is $25.00 (includes meals). One work scholarship for cooking available. Also barter. Limited
to 10 women. To reserve a space send a $10.00
deposit to
Jill Gribin
933 Dolores Street
s.F. Calif. 94110
ror additional infor.nati0n call Jill at G-17-,D'Jl
or leave a recorded message at 431-2878. Or call
Sue at (707) 546-7292
*
*
At the Board Meeting on Monday, September 10
Jodi Safier announced that because of the time'
and energy demands of other activities--most
notably her teaching job, her 3-year-old daughter
and her commitment to San Francisco Women's •
Centers--she was resigning as President of DOB.
According to our (national) Constitution, if a
vacancy occurs the Board " ••• may appoint a replacement for the remainder of its term by twothirds vote."
The September 14 Business Meeting was attended
incidentally by six of the seven Board members
d
.
,
an Liane Esstelle was appointed President,
leaving vacant the office of Vice-President. It
was agreed that the appointment of a Vice President would be the first order of business at the
October 4 Board Meeting.
*
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*
The Museum of Erotic Art is very male-dominated
both in subject matter, and in the artists repr;sented. They would like to exhibit the works of
m~re women artists, but apparently they have had
difficulty finding sisters to participate. Now is
the time to make yourself known to them. This is
a great opportunity to further the revolution and
possi~ly make some money at the same time. Stop
starving and start hustling! The bookstore is
also open to suggestions of books to Rell. so if
you have a favorite book, go push it! If you see
a sexist book in the bookstore, tell the clerk.
It will most likely be removed from the shelves.
The Museum of Erotic Art will be having an allgay art show in a couple of months. Only in San
Francisco!
*
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Property of the Center
*
*
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The SISTERS COLLECTIVE hopes that you have
noticed lots of improvement in delivery service1
many thanks from us all to Del Martin, who provided a $100 donation towards the use of Service
Inc., a San Francisco addressograph group that
~taken over the addressing and mailing of
SISTERS. Del's donation has worked wonders for
our morale, as well as our subscribers!
*
*
*
"Women's Newsletter" is looking for new women
to put energy into it in order that it may
continue to exist. If interested Please call
Mimi after 4:00pm at 864-5148
*
*
*
Congratulations to - REVEREND FREDA SMITH. At the
MCC convention in Atlanta last month she was
elected to the Universal Fellowship Board of
Elders--the only woman on the seven-member Board.
,t
,t
,t
advertisement-advertisement-advertisement-advert
The Sisters Collective and OOB's Board of Directors
got together and agreed that ads in SISTERS should
cost a little more, so that we don't fill the
whole magazine with them. So.
Advertisements in SISTERS will now cost
$1.00 per line, or
$15.00 per half page, or
$30.00 per whole page
SECOND ANNUAL CALIFORNIA, N.o.w. CONFERENCE will
meet at the Bahia Hotel in San Diego for the whole
weekend. As you may know, the National Organization
~or ~omen (N?W) is a moderate civil rights organization working for a society in which women and
men are equal partners. The organization has some.
50 chapters located in the state of California.
Over
of October 26-28 , 1973 , members
fth the weekend
.
o
ese California chapters will meet.
isement-advertisement-advertisernent-advertisement
*
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*
ROOMMATE WANTED
Anyone who would like to share a place, please
call and leave names and number: 348-5675. J.J.
*
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*
Maggie Rubenstein has been made an honorary DOB
member, with thanks for her contributions to
rap nights. CDNG~ATULATI oNs MA C:r&I E.. !
*
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*
@co Women's Research & BGLTQ+- Center
100 N. University Dr
Edmond, OK 73034
INFORMATION PAGE
The Gay Survival Manual prepared and distributed
by The Emmaus House Gay Switchboard and Helping
Hands Community Center, this guide has two sectio_n s. The first is a listing of gay organizations
in the Bay Area with a short description of them.
There are 90,000 gay people in the Bay Area and
over 20 gay organizations. If you can't find what
you need in these pages, call one of the switchboards or visit one of the gay community centers
listed below; we'll be glad to be of help.
Emmaus House Gay Switchboard . . . . . • . 668-3580
618 Shrader Street(nr. Haight)
S.F. Calif. 94117
Helping Hands Gay Community Center . . . . 771-3366
225 Turk Street(nr. Leavenworth)
S.F. Calif. 94102
........
Women's Switchboard.
•
Women's Hotel
642 Jones Street • •
• •
Women's
Legal Center
•••••••••••
DOB - SF . •
•••••••••••
...
..
MAX CHAMBERS LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
771-8212
775-1711
285-5066
861-8689
WOMEN'S BARS in San Francisco
Scott's Pit
10 Sanchez(nr. Duboce)
.626-9534
La Cave
1469 Sutter(nr.Franklin) • .
• • 775-2060
Maud's or The Study
937 Cole (nr .earl) .
. . 731-6119
Peg's Place
4737 Geary(nr.12th. Ave.) . . . •
. .668-5050
Kelly's Saloon
20th Street off of Mission • • • . • • . • 285-0066
Thousand & One Nights
335 Jones Street . . • . . • • • . • • • . 474-1067
.....
....... ..
Property of the Center
Donated by
Herland Sister Resources
Fall 2016
Part of Sisters : v.4:no.10(1973:Oct.)