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Crafting Queer Identity, Building Coalitions, and Envisioning Liberation at the Intersections: a Rhetorical Analysis of 1970S Lesbian- Feminist Discourse

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Crafting Queer Identity, Building Coalitions, and Envisioning Liberation at the Intersections: a Rhetorical Analysis of 1970S Lesbian- Feminist Discourse ABSTRACT Title of Document: CRAFTING QUEER IDENTITY, BUILDING COALITIONS, AND ENVISIONING LIBERATION AT THE INTERSECTIONS: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF 1970S LESBIAN- FEMINIST DISCOURSE Alyssa A. Samek Doctoral Candidate Directed by Professor Shawn J. Parry-Giles This study examines how lesbian-feminists navigated the competing pressures of identity politics and coalition politics and confronted compounding frustrations, divisions, and exclusionary practices throughout the 1970s. Specifically, the study attends to the ways lesbian-feminists rhetorically recalibrated their identities in and through coalitional relationships with such social movement communities as women’s liberation, gay liberation, and anti-war activism. In the process, they were able to build coalitional relationships with activists from other movements while retaining a space for articulating and bolstering their lesbian-feminist identities. This study accordingly examines lesbian-feminist published writings and speeches given during conferences, marches, demonstrations, and political rallies between 1970 and 1980 to reveal how they crafted a space for lesbian-feminist politics, identity, and liberation from within coalitional relationships that also marginalized them. The project intersects the theories of public address, social movement rhetoric, intersectionality, identity politics, and coalition politics to examine the strategic interaction between coalition politics and identity politics in lesbian-feminist activism. In particular, recalibration allowed lesbian-feminists to strategically capitalize on intersectionality in order to negotiate the tension between identity creation and coalition formation. Using the rhetorical strategy of pivoting to feature certain aspects of their identities with the various coalitions in mind, lesbian-feminists increased their visibility. They did so not only for the sake of promoting shared political goals and legitimizing lesbian-feminism, but also to confront social movement members on issues of exclusion, homophobia, and sexism. As a result, lesbian-feminism came to hold a variety of meanings for women working in the second-wave women’s liberation, gay liberation, and anti-war movements. At times, lesbian feminists upheld a separatist, vanguard ethic, which was defined in opposition to other identities and movements. Though empowering and celebrated by some as more ideologically pure, separatist identity formations remained highly contested at the margins of lesbian-feminist identity politics. With those margins clearly defined, lesbian-feminists strategically pivoted to enact political ideologies and preserve identity from within coalitional relationships. In the process, their discourse revealed a great deal about the relationship between identity politics and coalition politics in the context of U.S. social protest in the post-1960s era. CRAFTING QUEER IDENTITY, BUILDING COALITIONS, AND ENVISIONING LIBERATION AT THE INTERSECTIONS: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF 1970S LESBIAN-FEMINIST DISCOURSE by Alyssa A. Samek Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Advisory Committee: Professor Shawn J. Parry Giles, Chair Professor James F. Klumpp Professor Kristy L. Maddux Professor Trevor Parry-Giles Professor Nancy L. Struna © Copyright by Alyssa A. Samek 2012 To Kathy ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, to my advisor Shawn Parry-Giles, you coached me through this dissertation and in the process, prepared me for a lifetime of scholarship and archival research. Thank you for always offering sports metaphors to help me put every challenge into perspective. From the 5k of coursework, to the marathon of comprehensive exams, to the triathlon of a dissertation, you have been my solid source of support, intellectual growth, and feminist solidarity throughout my graduate career. To all of the members of my dissertation committee, your support throughout this process has been invaluable. Trevor Parry-Giles, you have been am important source of support, laughter, and collaboration throughout my graduate career at Maryland. James Klumpp, you have been a true colleague through this process. Thank you for pushing me to think in new ways. I always felt empowered and re-energized after our meetings. Kristy Maddux, your feedback has always pushed me to think about my process as a rhetorical critic in new and practical ways. Your support has been central to my growth as a scholar. And to Nancy Struna, thank you for your positive attitude and friendly critique. You were an important part of my dissertation process. This project would not have been possible without the help of many archivists and volunteers who managed the archival collections I used for my study. My sincere thanks go out to Rebekah Kim at GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco, Angela Brineskele at the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives in West Hollywood, Mike, Chris, and Loni at ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives in Los Angeles, the staff at San Francisco Public Library, Alexis and other volunteers at Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, iii Yvonne Carignan and the volunteers at the Historical Society of Washington, the librarians at the Library of Congress (especially in the Rare Books Division, the Microfilm Room, and the Manuscripts Division), Lynda Leahy, Sarah Hutcheon, and the wonderful women working two tables away from me at the Arthur Schlesinger Library on the History of Women at Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Brenda Marston and her colleagues in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University Library, and Weatherly Stephan at the New York Public Library Rare and Manuscript Division. Finally, my thanks go out to Charlotte Bunch for opening her home to me and granting me access to her personal collection of speech files. I would not have been able to complete the extensive archival research for this project without the generous financial support from several organizations. My thanks go out to the Phil Zwickler Charitable and Memorial Foundation for awarding me a 2011 Phil Zwickler Memorial Research Grant to support my work at the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University Library. I am grateful to the board members of the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC) for granting me a Research Development Grant Level II to fund my archival research in Los Angeles. I would like to extend my thanks to the University of Maryland Graduate School and the Department of Communication for jointly financing a Summer Fellowship Grant to fund my research in San Francisco. Finally, thank you again to the Department of Communication for providing a Dissertation Support Grant and Course Release Fellowship to help me progress during crucial stages of my project. My deepest thanks go out to my communities of scholars, friends, and family that sustained me intellectually and emotionally throughout this process. Thanks to those who iv have pushed me in my own queer rhetorical scholarship, including Karma, Chuck, Tom, Heather, Michael, Erin, Jon, Emily, Dan, and many others. Thanks to all of my friends from 2010 NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar who continually support my work and celebrate every milestone with me, especially Natalie, Vincent, and Peter. Thank you to Maria, Julie, Michelle, and Genevieve for offering feedback on my writing at critical early stages. Thank you to my phenomenal group of current and former Maryland and Colorado State colleagues: Mara, Tim, Terri, Tiffany, Elizabeth, Sean, Jade, Belinda, Jessie, Beth, Mark, Tom, Ben, Heather, and Jim. Thank you to all of my friends (you are all my family) for holding me in your hearts, celebrating the milestones, comforting me in low moments, and keeping me laughing all the way through. I could not have done this without you. Thank you Mara and Brendan, Lanae and Laura, Adam, Beirne, and Wes, April and James, Liz and Jackie, Dina and Jen (Finkelmark!), Sarah and Andy (the Funs!), Laura, and Heidi. Special thanks go to Katie, Campbell, Adam, and Beirne for sheltering and feeding me during research trips. Thank you to my family. Mom, Dad, Evan, and Kyle, you never stopped believing in me. Thanks for taking my random calls and listening to me work through ideas. You all are the best. To the Patti family and the Plate family, your love, pancake suppers, and pie kept me going. To my little darlings Kirby and Yoda, your company and snuggles supported my spirit throughout my entire graduate career. To my partner and best friend, Kathy, thank you for your never-ending love. Your faith in my ability to see this project through truly sustained me. You have been my rock and inspiration. I love you the most. v Table of Contents Dedication ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents vi List of Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 1. Rhetoric, Identity, and Coalition: Creating Visibility in Social Movements 98 2. More than Women-Identified Women: Unpacking Lesbian-Feminist 142 Identities in the 1970s 3. Building Coalition and Bolstering Identity: Lesbian-Feminists, Anti-War 234 Activism, and Gay Liberation 4. “We Are Everywhere:” Lesbian-Feminist Visibility and Coalition Politics 313 at the 1977 National Women’s Conference Conclusion 402 Appendix A: Special Collections Consulted 433 Appendix B: List of Lesbian-Feminist Periodicals 435 Bibliography 436 vi List of Abbreviations CGA Chicago Gay Alliance CLGR Coalition for Lesbian & Gay Rights CSLD Christopher Street Liberation
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