Liberty and freedom is a gift to us which is earned after great struggle. No matter how we say each individual has the right to make decisions on their own.
But, we end up judging people on their choices and decisions and make them feel inferior or left out. We all do the same at our levels. Which does not fit in the league of equality.
It doesn’t matter how we’re growing and breaking the old social stereotype. There are still some topics which are discussed silently and are afraid of confrontation.
As they know they’ll be judged. So, are we really simplifying the social norms or making it even worse?
Let’s find out through this post. This post will speak about lesbian feminism and some interesting topics related to this.
Introduction
Knowing about Lesnian feminism which is a cultural movement and also a critical perspective that supports women to aim their efforts, attention, relationships,and activities for their fellow partner, be it from any gender!
Lesbian feminism was more in the news in the 1970s and 80s, mainly in the Northern and Western sides of America. This event was initiated in the 1960s and came out of dissatisfaction with the New Left.
Do you know Jeanne Cordova?
Jeanne Cordova is an American writer, entrepreneur and a lesbian activist, also a vital element in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality.
She is still remembered in history as one of the most strong headed fighters for equality in the 20th century. She was the one who introduced lesbian-feminism movement which was an exceptional idea at that time.
She had an active contribution in this matter and finally we got to know more about her story when she wrote a book inspired from this topic called, “When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love & Revolution.
The book was out in 2011 and loved by the audience as the genre selected was unique and the dialogues, storyline was bang on!
There are so many sites who reviewed the book and suggested to read like this, this or this one. Come, let’s take some deep information about her and her book.
Journey of Taking the Lead
Jeanne Cordova was born in Germany in 1984, her journey to activism started when she was in college in California. That’s when she became the vocal leader for lesbian rights and easily became famous.
Along with this she was also pursuing her master’s degree in social work, she also served as a president in the Los Angeles chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), which is a lesbian rights organization.
She never hide her identity and proudly accepted herself socially, which even gave strength to others for coming up and accepting their identity.
This was a brave move back then, because the mentality of society was not so broad; they were more judgemental than nowadays. She contributed much in establishing the identity of lesbins.
It was not an easy task for her to fight against the social norms, still, she never lost hope and tied knot with Lesbian Tide which was a lesbian feminist newspaper founded by her.
From where did the Idea Came for “The Lesbian Tide”?
Jeanne Cordova and people associated with her wanted something solid which denote her community. It was the time of summer 1971, the editorial board was sitting at my coffee table.
All with their mind blowing ideas as we were all set to be self-reliant from calling ourselves The L.A. Daughters of Bilitis Newsletter.
We were very sure to use the word lesbian as much and as boldly as possible just to state that we are proud of our identity and feel no shame in accepting it.
We are no more worried about society and their opinions, those who are this newspaper will build confidence in them to accept who they are.
The motive behind writing the Book: When We Were Outlaws
Jeanne Cordova is an inspiring personality, after establishing the lesbian tide she decided to write a book to motivate individuals even more.
Is this the only reason why she wrote the book? This question arises in the minds of many. We have tried here to explain much about the book.
In summer of 1975, Cordova started working as a writer for L. A Free Press, where she used to publish Lesbian-Tide on a nationally influential level.
For preserving the Gay Community Service Center(GCSC) in Los Angeles, and inventing a new love language within the non-monogamous relationship.
Cordova thought of expressing all these stories with some spice and drama, along with witty dialogues. The story was explained very clearly.
Commendable attention to details was mentioned about historical details. “When We Were Outlaws” is one of the vital contributions to the expanding collection of memoirs by lesbian-feminists.
What is the Summary of this Book?
So, the story of “When We Were Outlaws” starts with a sweeping memoir, a real and close chronicle of a young activist torn between disputing personal desires and political goals.
When We Were Outlaws gives a unique blend of life of a radical lesbian during the early struggling days for establishing the culture for gay rights, women’s liberation, and the New left of the 1970s.
Jeanne Cordova, a bold and ambitious individual is living with a woman while falling for another apart from this her dedicated ethics says that duty comes first.
Her main aim is to bring change for gays and lesbins and trying hard to categorize her sexual life. Later the story takes unexpected twists and turns which keeps us engaging. All over this book is a good choice for readers!
Where can We find this book?
You can find this book on various e-commerce platforms like;
- Amazon
- Flipkart
- Kindle
Is the book worth reading?
The book got a great boost after its win at Lambda Literary Award. People were managing to read this book but after the victory the interest developed even more.
It’s true that people are inclined more towards this book but their expectations are also high. The story is based in the 70s about the stand for gay/lesbins activism and personal affairs.
The start definitely didn’t connect me well but towards the end I was thoroughly involved. Apart from the few minor mistakes in editing and the first few paragraphs.
The book was fine! Those who like reading such revolutionary content and get interested in stories of social topics then you will really like this book.
Closure
The journey of Jeanne Cordova was full of struggles and revolutionary. It was quite inspiring and engaging. Today, such topics are so common to us, the credit goes to them.
Who fighted for their rights. I hope you find this article worth reading and get some information. If you did, then do share it with others.
