Lesbian Nation (organisation)
Lesbian Nation was a Dutch lesbian feminist activist group, operating from 1976 until the mid 80s. The group was instrumental in the establishment of various cultural institutions in the Netherlands.[1][2]
Lesbian Nation was formed in 1976 out of a consciousness raising group meeting in the feminist squat 'Vrouwenhuis' (women's house) in Amsterdam.[3] It consisted of a core group of fifteen to twenty women.[4] Counting later sympathisers, the loosely organised Lesbian Nation may have grown to between fifty and a hundred members.[5][6] Lesbian Nation disbanded in the mid 80s as members got increasingly absorbed by other things, like careers and families, and also felt that their efforts had paid off.[7]
Influences
[edit]The organisation was inspired by Jill Johnston's book Lesbian Nation,[8] from which they got their name and a desire for lesbian separatism.[3] Ideologically however, Lesbian Nation was influenced more by Monique Wittig and by Adrienne Rich's "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence".[9] Wittig and Rich made lesbian women, which the collective consisted of, feel slightly superior to other feminists and they led the group on a quest to find a specific lesbian identity and to partially construct a lesbian subculture.[9][10] This made Lesbian Nation turn inward and, for the duration of their activities, intentionally illusive to the outside world.[4][9] Members searched for lesbian identity in lengthy discussions on lesbian weekends, through international lesbian contacts and a visit to the Danish feminist women's camp Femølejren.[9][8] Together with Monique Wittig, with whom they were acquainted,[9] Lesbian Nation dreamt of establishing a womyn's land on an island, where only women would live and work.[11] For mostly personal and practical reasons they failed to achieve it,[11] but the idea of separatism was inspirational in creating a number of cultural establishments.[9]
Activism and culture
[edit]
In 1976 members of Lesbian Nation took part in the occupation of the 'Bloemenhove' abortion clinic, after the Justice minister had threatened it with closure.[12] A year later the group, in cooperation with Maaike Meijer,[2] organised the first large gay march in the Netherlands, in an international protest against the activities of Anita Bryant in the US.[12] This event was repeated in later years and eventually grew into the Dutch gay pride.[2]
To avoid unwanted attention the group arranged the march under the name International Lesbian Alliance,[13] out of the male-dominated COC-office.[12] It probably never cooperated with gay men ever after.[12] They easily formed alliances with other (heterosexual) feminists though, and teamed up with some of those to set up a number of cultural establishments.[1] Among these were a women's bar in Amsterdam (Saarein), a publisher (Virginia), the ethical bank Mama Cash, a women's bookstore (Xantippe), and two Dutch lesbian magazines, Diva and Lust en Gratie.[1] In 1979 Lesbian Nation helped create the Lesbisch Prachtboek (Lesbian Splendour Book), containing articles, interviews, poems and a photo comic.[14] It was called an example of the group's "lesbian cultural guerilla", and fits in the identity finding that Lesbian Nation practised.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Littel, chapter "Creating a women's culture".
- ^ a b c Sleutjes, Martien (23 June 2018). "Stop de heksenjacht: de eerste Nederlandse Pride". winq.nl (in Dutch). Winq Media. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b Littel, chapter "From Paarse September to Lesbian Nation".
- ^ a b Littel, chapter "Introduction".
- ^ Littel, note 24.
- ^ A 2016 reunion confirmed this number. See: Littel, IHLIA.
- ^ Littel, chapter "Conclusion".
- ^ a b Littel, Noah. "Lesbian Nation". withpride.ihlia.nl (in Dutch). IHLIA. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Littel, chapter "Re-imagining the symbolic order".
- ^ (in Dutch) De Keizerinnen, a 2005 television documentary by NPO's Andere Tijden, retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ a b Van de Loo, p. 134-135.
- ^ a b c d Littel, chapter "Self-evident solidarity? Organising and allying with others".
- ^ Sleutjes, chapter "'Lesbisch zijn is een politieke keuze'": "an organisation no-one heard of before, or after."
- ^ a b Littel, Noah. "Lesbisch Prachtboek". withpride.ihlia.nl (in Dutch). IHLIA LGBT Heritage. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
Sources
[edit]- Littel, Noah (16 July 2021). "Playing the game of lesbian imagination: radical lesbian feminist organising in the Dutch Lesbian Nation". Women's History Review. 31 (1): 68–87. doi:10.1080/09612025.2021.1954335. S2CID 237705110.
- Van de Loo, Vilan (2005). De vrouw beslist. De tweede feministische golf in Nederland (in Dutch). Imerc. ISBN 90-6611-544-0.