| Transcript |
Book Review
/ Know My Own Heart:
The Diaries of Anne Lister
Edited by Helena Whitbread
by Christy Burchette
Have there always been lesbians in
the world9 Researchers have found
documents that date as far back at the
eighteenth century. But still some argue that
lesbianism is a result of modern western
culture. Due to the lack of records, much of
lesbian history is kept through oral stories
and diaries. As with much of oral history,
stories have changed throughout the years
and many of the names and dates have been
lost. Although, some diaries have been kept
and preserved and through these recordings,
we can piece together a herstory that dates
back to the 18th century.
One of the most interesting diaries is
that of Anne Lister. Anne Lister was born in
1791 and was an English gentlewoman who
inherited an estate in west Yorkshire. Her
diaries begin in 1817 when she was 21 years
old. At this time, English sources began to
document the public appearance of the
sapphist role, sapphist being women who
adopted masculine behaviors and often
dressed like men.
Much of Lister's diary describes the
details of local society and land management.
The rest resembles a modern soap opera.
Lister had many lovers, and often, explicitly
described her sexual relations with these
lovers. Lister insisted that she knew how to f
please girls, because her manner was not "all
masculine but rather softly gentleman-like".
At age 30, Lister started becoming
very masculine. She stopped menstruating
and began to grow a moustaches. As she
settled into her sapphist identity, she met
Miss Pickford, a masculinized woman who
dressed in men's clothing. Lister was joyed;
she had been looking for confirmation that
she was not the only sapphist in the world.
Pickford was honest with Lister and told her
about past female lovers; however, Lister
was hesitant to reveal her sexuality in fear of
exposing her long-time lover, Marianne
Lawton.
During this time, Lister was having
sexual relations with three women. But the
most important was her relationship with
Marianne Lawton, who was married to an
older well-off man. The two women
continued to sleep with each other whenever
the opportunity arose. Lister was usually the
initiator, and it was not unusual for them to
have two sexual encounters in one night. The
women hoped that Lawton's husband would
die so that they could live together. Lawton
wanted Lister to exclusively have relations
with her, but Lister had many affairs that she
hoped Lawton would never discover.
Nonetheless, after lovemaking one
night they vowed marriage to each other in
bed and agreed to take the sacrament
together as a pledge, but to avoid any other
ceremony as long as Lawton's husband was
alive. Unfortunately, the two women ended
this "marriage" after realizing Lawton had
contracted a venereal disease from her
husband who, in turn, had passed it on to
Lister. The two argued and then eventually
separated.
To recover, Lister went to Paris
where she met Maria Barlow. They resided
together with Barlow's daughter in a
boarding house Their sexual relations began
shortly thereafter. Lister describes
experiencing orgasms by pressing Barlow
down in her lap. On other occasions, Lister
put her finger into her vagina. But when the
two went to bed, Lister would not allow
Barlow to penetrate her. Barlow offered to
deflower Lister to give her relief. This
astonished Lister who responded that
Barlow was womanizing her too much.
Lister left Paris and returned to
Lawton. The two women convinced
Lawton's husband into more or less
accepting their relationship. When Lister
discovered that Lawton's husband had never
entered her fully enough to break her hymen,
Lister did so with her right middle finger and
declared that Lawton never really belonged
to her husband. Lister and Lawton separated
again in 1834, and Lister lived with another
woman ten years her junior. While traveling
through Russia in 1840, Lister became ill and
died before her return home.
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2615 Montrose Blvd. • Houston, Texas 77006
One Block off Westheimer at the corner of Montrose and California
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j
Dyke Night at Carrs by sobbi rrombo
Continued from Page 4
I squeak around the corner into the
produce department, and there she stands, next
to her empty cart, still fondling the same
cucumber. She begins to smile as I pull up and
then back my cart in next to her parallel-parked
cart.
24 zucchinis
12 cucumbers
36 condoms - lubricated, assorted colors,
non-ribbed
Astroglide
4 quarts coffee ice-cream (Hagendaaz)
2 quarts Cool Whip
2 cans pressurized whipped cream
2 jars maraschino cherries
60 boxes cherry Jello
4 boxes Saran Wrap 100yd economy pack
1 box Milkbone dog biscuits
She is smiling, but still so aloof, so un-
talk-to-able. She tries to be unamused,
unimpressed. She succeeds.
My front wheel is smoking and smells
like toast. I whip out my shopping-cart bumper
jack and lug wrench, lift the cart, and remove the
wheel with expert dexterity and super dyke
confidence. Not much I can do but jury-rig it
enough to make it to the check-out zone.
She watches. I watch her watch me. I think if she
offers me her pantyhose, I will find a way to marry
her.
I break the safety seal and squirt
Astroglide into the wheel bearing. She has
leaned over to get a better view. She is very
interested. Perhaps she needs her oil changed.
Her engine rebuilt. A leaky faucet fixed. A tree
felled. Logs split. A Ramen noodle casserole
prepared. (I am equally skilled with a chainsaw
and a cuisinart.) Maybe a picture hung. Or a
lightbulb changed. Maybe she needs me to lift
some heavy things. Or add a room to her home.
Or a basement. I can do all these tasks for her
with only a pocketknife and a fist-sized stone.
Perhaps she needs the earth moved. I put the
wheel back on and lower the cart. She is
impressed.
I smiled as I got into my truck, opened
the Milkbones and tossed one to Bingo. Dyke
Night At Carrs was all that I imagined.
Reprinted from Klondyke Kontact, a publication of
the Alaska Women's Community.
The Houston Area Women's Center offers
free individual counseling and support
services for lesbian and bisexual
survivors of domestic violence. Battered
lesbians/bisexual women must overcome the
obstacles that all battered women must face
including: fear for their lives and their
children's lives, lack of resources, isolation,
self-blame and denial. Additionally, if battered
lesbians report the assault, they often face the
problem of being "outed" to police officers, the
District Attorney's office, the local women's
center and often their families. There is now
help available for lesbians/bisexual women
who are confronting these issues
The Women's Center offers free individual
counseling, support services and shelter to all
women and children who have been battered
or sexually assaulted. To schedule an
appointment, call 528-2121. |
