Happy Tuesday!
The biggest news this week? Lesbian Avenger tee-shirts are back on sale for two weeks only!
Also, I’ve decided to be optimistic, at least for a little while. After all, Joe Biden did win the U.S. election, a result re-confirmed daily in the courts. There’s even a trickle of Republican officials distancing themselves from Trump. However, I’m prudently reserving my New Year’s bottle of champagne for January 20th, 2021 when we’ll know for sure that he’s leaving the White House and not staging a coup.
After that, the really hard work will begin—of rebuilding the basics of U.S. democracy that have actually been under attack for decades now. From the rule of law and voting rights to civil liberties, especially free speech, which is the linchpin of any progressive movement, and a requirement for the free exchange of ideas.
At the top of my list of conversations we need to have in 2021 would be a fresh look at “identity politics.” An important organizing tool, “identity” at its best allows people to understand what they have in common and mobilize as a class. At its worst, though, it can artificially flatten groups into homogenous, stereotypical blobs whose embattled members ferociously squash any voice that dissents. This important article about the election offers a good starting point for a revisit.
No, I don’t think we should get rid of “identities” altogether. We just need to think harder about how they work.
In fact, I’m increasingly excited about the new edition of the Lesbian Avenger Handbook that I’ve been shepherding into life. It’s going to have a great new cover by Lutzka Zivny who designed our 25th anniversary mobile exhibit. It will also include new information about how to do things like hold safe demos during a pandemic, as well as lessons from LACROP, the Lesbian Avenger Civil Rights Organizing Project, which has plenty to teach us today about the importance of building community, and what to do after the last votes are counted. Publication is slated for February/March.
After all this work, we’ve decided to launch an ambitious campaign to get the new Lesbian Avenger Handbook into the hands of as many lesbians, activists, and historians as possible. Worldwide. If you want to help with costs, you can either give us a few bucks through our website, or buy a tee-shirt through December 7. There is classic black and white, as well as lavender. The elegant charcoal tee is perfect for any occasion.
Dyke of the week is Alice Coffin, who months after the publication of her book, Lesbian Genius, is still making waves in France. One journalist who denounced her actually apologized later and had her on his show, ““I’m sorry, I hadn’t read your book,” he told her. “I see it’s a lot more nuanced than I thought. It's made me think.”” Good! About time!
I get a boost whenever I see lesbians out in the world being unapologetically indigestible, a word that seems particularly apt this week, in which most people in the U.S. will sit down to the groaning tables of Thanksgiving, even if they are only set for one or two.
Besides indigestible lesbians, I’m also thankful for:
The Girl who still miraculously loves me
Grocery delivery people that actually drag our stuff up the full five flights to our apartment
Functioning internet
An endless supply of hot water
Coffee
Wool sweaters
More women (of color!) in important slots on French TV!
Then there’s…
Une saison au zoo (A Season at the Zoo) a reality show that features a lot of cute baby animals, and big animals being cute. I mostly watch it, though, because it follows the zoo-keepers and vets, a lot of them women just going about their business, feeding elephants, training seals, shoveling shit, stitching up the wounds of cantankerous birds, unplugging drains, trying to figure out enrichments activities so their charges don’t get bored. A few even set off my gaydar with their short hair and cargo pants and lace-up boots and rings of keys. Yeah, you know what I’m referring to!
Last, but not least, the fab Gina Yashere who dances with her girlfriend on #choonsontuesdays. I drop in on them whenever I need a hit of out and proud dykes.
So yeah, I’m thankful for all that. Even as I keep an eye on what we still need. And plot to fight for it, appropriately dressed, of course, in the perfect Avenger tee!
Almost optimistically yours,
Nelly Rockwell