Political lesbianism

Political lesbianism is a term describing women who choose to identify as lesbians for political reasons.

The term "lesbian feminism" is sometimes used synonymously with "political lesbianism", but this usage is ambiguous because "lesbian feminism" may also simply mean a feminism rooted in lesbianism, or simply feminism as articulated by lesbians.

History and current usage

The concept of "political lesbianism" became popular with some feminists during the 1970s in some parts of the world. Women chose to "put their energy" only in other women -- by living a separatist life, and effectively boycotting the patriarchy. Lesbianism could in some ways be seen as yet another way to identify as even more radical, a manifestation of lefter-than-thou attitudes.

The term "political lesbianism" was coined by Sheila Jeffreys, who defined it primarily in terms of men: refusal to fuck men, rather than desire to fuck women.

We do think... that all feminists can and should be lesbians. Our definition of a political lesbian is a woman-identified woman who does not fuck men. It does not mean compulsory sexual activity with women.

Lesbians who identified as "political lesbians" were sometimes viewed with scorn by lesbians whose identity was based on sexual attraction to other women. They were sometimes perceived either as not "real" lesbians, or as women who used feminism as "cover" to come out.

The notion of "choosing" to be a lesbian fell out of currency from the 1980s onward, for several reasons. Many radical and/or separatist organizations of all sorts, not just feminist, found it difficult to sustain themselves over time for economic and other reasons. This was true for the separatist women's communities and economies begun in the 1970s as well, which began a long slow decline through the last decades of the twentieth century.

Ideas about sexuality were changing around the world, and queer sexuality was increasingly acceptable by the mainstream in America and Europe -- thus rendering the lesbian identity somewhat less radical than it had been. Bisexuality became politicized, and in the days of dawning "queer" identity, and media infatuation with lesbianism/bisexuality, bisexuality assumed a mantle of coolness and social acceptability. "Lesbians" could identify as such and fuck men; while sometimes derisively referred to as "hasbians", the shifting sexual identities and behaviors muddied the statement made by political lesbianism. Women who liked the queer community, but weren't necessarily particularly interested in sex with other women, could identify as "queer".

The advent of sex-positive feminism, and the aftermath of the lesbian sex wars, certainly also played a part in the shifting ideas about the political lesbianism.

Additionally, the rhetoric within and political tactics of the gay rights advocacy community shifted. The emphasis in the 1970s was on gay liberation -- the right of people to be free in their sexuality. The concept of sexuality and sexual identity as a "choice" was popular and valorized as radical. But the gay rights advocacy movement began to shift to the idea of homosexuality as innate, not a choice. This vindicated the feelings of some people, who felt they had been born gay, and also was a deliberate political tactic: In the United States and other countries, minority rights could be protected for persons who were "born" minorities, "discrete and insular minorities" in the terms of the US.

Moreover, because homophobes claim that homosexuality can be changed through prayer and/or psychological counseling and/or other medical interventions, sexuality-as-choice has come to seem a retrograde idea. Scientists do considerable research attempting to prove the innate, even genetic, causes of sexual behavior; this research is frequently put forward, or taken by interested parties, to relate to sexual identity. This transformation has been so complete that by the 2008 political campaign, candidates seeking GLBT community support had to pass a virtual litmus test stating that they believed that homosexuality is not' a choice.

To some people in the queer community, admissions that choice and politics play a role in one's sexuality are now seen as tantamount to claiming that you are trying to hide or change your "natural" identity: Political lesbians are not "really" lesbian; ex-gays are not "really" ex-gay; dyke-identified bisexual women are trying to claim women's community they're not entitled to; bisexual-identified women who are primarily heterosexual in action are "hasbians" or trying to freeride on the "coolness" of the queer community.

All of this renders invisible, or unacceptable, the political lesbian identity.

Further reading

• wikipedia political lesbianism

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