What happens if you get a bunch of same-sex attracted, sex-realist women together under the WDI USA Lesbian Caucus banner, and give them the chance to meet once a week for an hour? That’s what the Lesbian Caucus wondered. So we did it. Here’s what happened.
It wasn’t exactly a random group that we assembled. The women who expressed interest had found out about the group from a WDI USA announcement; that was the first filter. That said, two participants were not residents of the United States. A second filter was the vetting process: We interviewed each potential participant to make sure that she was a woman, a sex-realist, and that she would likely be able to participate respectfully in a group discussion.
The Lesbian Caucus had decided to do minimalist facilitation. That is, we would suggest or ask the group to suggest a topic for each week in advance, and we would keep the peace and gently cut off anyone who talked too long, and optionally/occasionally ask a question intended to deepen the discussion. But that’s all. We mostly just wanted to provide a free discussion for same-sex attracted women in a space free of men, free of straight women, and free of children, which we think is badly needed in these times when lesbians are prohibited by law in many places from meeting publicly as lesbians.
We decided to include bisexual women because, as radical feminists, we understand that sexuality can be fluid, that patriarchy makes it difficult to be a lesbian, that many women come to lesbianism, or even choose lesbianism, after a period of bisexuality (or heterosexuality), and that many lesbians date bisexual women. And as radical feminists, we want to support that fluidity so that more women can choose to become lesbians. On the other hand, we wanted to be careful in this discussion group not to push radical feminism in a heavy-handed manner. Restraint was our goal.
We received very positive feedback from participants about how they benefited from the group. One woman said she had come out as lesbian to several people close to her. Another woman said she had become more radical feminist over the course of the discussions, and expressed gratitude for that change. And, as an unexpected bonus, three participants have now become new volunteers for WDI USA.
While the group worked well, and in fact worked progressively better over its six-week course, participants reached consensus in the last session that they wanted more structure, not less. And when one woman suggested that discussions be structured like feminist consciousness raising, which is highly structured and facilitated, all the participants seemed to agree.
So, what’s consciousness raising, and can it, or something like it, be done via Zoom? Lauren’s experience with it was in person. And it may be that it’s most effective in person. In any case, the Lesbian Caucus encourages all women to turn off their laptops and phones and form local in-person groups of all kinds for women, because when women get together outside the presence of any man, and focus on each other as women, sometimes their visions and their priorities and their lives change in fundamental ways. During the Second Wave, it was not uncommon for women who met in a CR group to leave their husbands and fall in love with each other; because women in person, collaboratively figuring out what it means to be women in patriarchy, can be brilliant and beautiful and magical.
Resources:
This WDI USA Lesbian Caucus article on forming in-person women’s groups.
This detailed description of radical feminist consciousness raising by Lauren Levey on YouTube.
The WDI USA Lesbian Caucus
Lauren Levey, coordinator
Arundel Castle
Mary Ellen Kelleher
Katherine Kinney
Judy Schiavone
I was a participant in this group and I really enjoyed it. At first, I wondered whether we all were going to get along. Many women walked in a little bit angry. Was this going to degenerate into an endless debate? Would we be able to learn from each other?
As the weeks went along (and goodness, they went by too quickly!) we got used to each other and the differences seemed smaller with each session. I looked forward to seeing these women. Having the opportunity to talk face-to-face with other lesbians felt like encountering sunshine after years of rain. It filled me up each week.
We didn’t always agree on everything, but the differences were okay. This group gave me the hope that community among women is possible.
I was one of the women who were interested in consciousness raising and I hope that WDI can facilitate that. As a result of this group, I volunteered for WDI.
Thank you for commenting, Arundel. We hope to put together another group starting around July of this year. I hope you’ll join us again, you had some great insights in this group..
I participated in this group and confess that after attending one session, I was looking forward to the next. The varied backgrounds of the women participating was refreshing and made for interesting conversations. I’m very much looking forward to participating in the next session!
This is so good to read Lauren and all involved.i was one of the second wave women who found radical lesbian feminism and fell in love through CR groups In the 70s. In those days we read thr tyranny of structure/lessness! And by the end ,over half the group were lesbians!
Oh my goodness, really? That is so cool. I have been wondering where all the lesbians have gone and why I can’t seem to find many offline.
Maybe “lack of CR groups” is the answer!
– A.C.
Initially, I looked forward to the weekly meetings for the opportunity to be in a space of women loving women-and yes, that was delightful. For me, it brought me back to my coming out in 1978 when there was a sense of lesbian community, a sense that we were no longer isolated, a sense that we were in process of creating a Lesbian culture and to go back to learn from the second wave feminists, to apply it to today. Overall, the meetings reminded of my power, our power together and an optimism that we can create what we want, what we need-it led me to become a WDI volunteer. Importantly, the meetings gave me a sense of empowerment. Thank you.
I’m another attendee (and recent new volunteer for WDI International). Thank you WDI USA Lesbian Caucus for organising the discussion group. In our meetings I felt I was with my tribe. I appreciated hearing diverse lesbian voices and feeling the sense of community and togetherness that developed so quickly. I wish we had all been there in the 1970s with all those lesbian bookshops, CR groups, cafes, theatres & publications. What a time! It’s very important for lesbians to know, preserve and honour our history. When lesbians encourage each other we unleash enormous creative and revolutionary energy. That potential was not unique to the 1970s and will always exist. We must challenge ourselves to do less for the patriarchy and more for ourselves. CR is a good place to start.