Lesbian Feminism

This weeks assignment in Gender and Communication class was to read the text and distinguish what women's or men's movement I identify most with. After carefully studying up on the movements, I decided to blog about "Lesbian Feminism".

I'd say that I identify most with this movement because of a couple of things, but let me pinpoint the obvious one: Sexual Orientation. I am a lesbian, and I think that orientation is an important role when identifying with this particular type of feminism. Sure, I may not agree with parts of the movement, but I needed to choose one, and so I'm sticking with what I know best.

"The Radical Lesbian" political movement evolved with the notion that women posess a lot of power without men by their sides or dictating their beliefs, which excluded men from the movement all together. That being said, there was an awful lot of dispute about whether lesbianism had anything to do with politics or if it was only about human sexuality. In fact, when lesbian feminism was first thrown into the women's movement, it was frowned upon by a lot of other feminists, because it seemed like a "joke" in the world of political feminism. However, one thing is certain, if the radical lesbians did not fight for their place in the movement, the history of lesbian feminism might have been erased, and I wouldn't be writing this blog.

Perhaps another reason (besides my orientation) that I identify most with lesbian feminism is because I believe that women should not be dominated by the opposite sex. I strongly believe that the power and political power of each sex should be equivalent in the way that neither is dominant or powerless.

Needless to say, learning about lesbian feminism has been pretty inspiring. Not just because I didn't know anything about it, but because of the history that Radical Lesbians have been through just to earn a place in the women's movement. Reading about it makes me want to educate myself more about my culture, not only as a lesbian but also a woman. In doing this, I can better understand myself.