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Lesbianism Denied


I had not heard of the relationship between Mary Woolley and Jeanette Marks before reading “The Historical Denial of Lesbianism.”  I was shocked that Anna Mary Wells wrote a book entirely based on Woolley and Marks’ relationship and lives together, but denied they had a loving relationship.  It sounds as if they had a really amazing life together.  They had been in a committed romantic relationship for 47 years, sleeping in the same bed, yet were portrayed by Wells as “poor old maids.”  Wolley and Marks were both very important and influential women involved in first wave feminism and the women’s suffrage movement (Cook).

One example of how lesbian women’s experience was seen as “less than” that of a heterosexual relationship is that the medical community used to not acknowledge lesbian sexual encounters and relationships as genuine experiences.  Instead, they were viewed as getting ready for the marriage bed with a man.  Also, cultural attitudes in the past made it more politically correct to describe a woman as lonely or unsexual rather that to hint that she may have romantic or sexual feelings for another woman (Cook).

I found an article about a 12 year old girl who came out as gay to her congregation.  She had her microphone cut off and was asked to sit down by the clergy (Jonhston).  Many religious groups and leaders are silencing lesbian and gay members.  I think that even if the words are not said aloud, many church members feel the pressure to stay silent about their sexual orientation if they are not in a heterosexual relationship. 

Works Cited
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. "The Historical Denial of Lesbianism." Women In Culture An Intersectional Anthology for Gender and Women's Studies, Second ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2017, pp. 129-33.
Johnston, Ian. "Mormon girl, 12, is stopped from speaking as she explains why she is gay to church." Independent, 18 June 2017, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mormon-girl-savannah-comes-out-gay-lesbian-congregation-mic-cut-off-a7795746.html. Accessed 22 Sept. 2018.


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