Celebrating Lesbian Visibility Week with five queer persons that changed the world
April 22-28 marks Lesbian Visibility Week — an annual observance dedicated to celebrating lesbians and showing solidarity with those in the community. The week is an opportunity to recognize the struggles and accomplishments of an often-overlooked community.
As such, I would like to discuss just a few of the many revolutionary lesbians who paved the way for current and future queer persons.
Anne Lister (1791-1840)
Painted portrait of Lister in 1830. Photo courtesy of BBC History Magazine.
Described as the “first modern lesbian,” Lister lived during the height of the Industrial Revolution in northern England. She was wealthy, educated, and unabashedly began her relationships with women at an early age. If this wasn’t enough of a scandal for the time period, Lister was an independent landowner who always dressed in black — refusing to partake in the feminine frills and soft colors that her was dubbed the norm for her sex.
Lister’s family owned Shibden Hall, a Tudor-style home in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Lister would eventually inherit the property, which allowed her to become the successful businesswoman she was known as.
At just fifteen years old, Anne began writing in personal diaries. They were incredibly detailed and feature more than four million words. Some of her earliest passages include entries documenting her first love — Eliza Raine, a fellow student and girl of color at the Manor School in York. The pair shared an attic bedroom, which made the relationship an easy one to begin. However, when Anne began to have affairs with other women (and she did so frequently), Eliza went mad and never recovered.
In a passage dated February 21, 1808, Lister wrote the following passage:
“I assure you Eliza I am very steady in my attachments and though not deemed of an affectionate disposition I feel that I can be strongly attached to my dear and best friend ER”
One-sixth of Lister’s diaries are written in a self-devised code — based on a combination of the Greek Alphabet and algebra, which she referred to as her “crypthand.” Lister believed that no one would decode her work and that her secret affairs would remain private.
However, during the mid-1890s, her relative John Lister discovered her diaries and broke her crypthand. Although Anne’s sexuality was discovered, John quickly re-buried it, as he was gay himself and did not to draw attention to his own sexuality.
So, the diaries and Lister’s sexuality remained a secret.
Until Helena Whitbread, who began her higher education at age 35, wandered into the University of Bradford’s archives in search of a research project. She first found Lister’s letters and then her journals. Whitbread immediately recognized the importance of Lister’s stories and became fascinated with decoding the journals.
Lister was the first, as far as we know, to write explicitly about sexual acts between women. She was a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community and remains a historic figure for lesbians around the world.
Shere Hite (1942-2020)
A personal hero of mine, Hite was a self-proclaimed and unashamed bisexual sex educator and feminist known for her groundbreaking research on female sexuality. From 1972 to 1982 Hite directed the feminist sexuality project for the National Organization for Women, New York Chapter.
In 1976, she published The Hite Report, a 478-page book based on the anonymous responses to questionaries in which women between the ages of 14 to 78 shared their personal feelings about sex and their sexuality — in terms of both physical and emotional aspects. The book and Hite’s work challenged male assumptions about sex, desire, and women. Many felt empowered by her publication, while others (largely men) worked to discredit her work — especially due to her controversial use of words such as “clitoris” and “vagina.”
Apparently such terms don’t belong in a research study.
Her report dispelled centuries of misconceptions — the chief and most controversial of her insights: that the majority of female-bodied individuals did not require penetrative intercourse (and thus a male partner) to achieve orgasm. Many female-bodied persons felt liberated by such findings. But, just as many (if not more) men felt threatened.
Hite later published additional studies based on responses to questionnaires, such as The Hite Report on Male Sexuality in 1981, The Hite Report on the Family: Growing Up under Patriarchy in 1994, The Hite Report on Women Loving Women in 2007, and many others. She lectured around the world and was a regular columnist for several newspapers. In the late 1990s she also founded the Hite Research Foundation in an effort to increase visibility, access, and potential for women around the world.
Despite being enrolled in a doctoral program at Columbia University in the late 60s, Hite had a difficult time getting people to take her seriously — both in academic and non-academic settings. This was largely due to her beauty and model-esque stature — which she profited off of by posing for Playboy and other magazines to pay for her education.
Photo taken by Iris Brosch, who said in an interview with AnOther Magazine that “it was like [Hite] came from another planet. She was stunning.”
The Hite Report is the 30th best-selling book of all time and yet, Hite’s name and work have been largely shut out and forgotten. She became a punching bag for those threatened by her work and the concept of changing attitudes toward gender identity and sexuality. She eventually became a victim to media and verbal attacks, public humiliation, stalking, and even death threats, which all contributed to the loss of her American publishers and her ability to work.
The misogynistic backlash she faced ultimately drove her out of the United States. She renounced her American Citizenship in 1995.
Hite was a revolutionary. She made the first step toward including women and gender minorities in research and conversations about gender identity and sex.
Dr. Margaret Chung (1889-1959)
Dr. Margaret Jessie Chung is widely known as the first Chinese American woman to become a physician. She graduated from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in 1916. She was just one of two women in her class at the time. Relatedly, Dr. Chung formed the first medical sorority at USC — which had four fraternities when she arrived but no medical social organizations for women at the time.
During this period, she was known to frequently wear a dark suit and carry a parakeet around in a cage, which dangled from her wrist.
Dr. Chung was also known to drive around in a zippy sports car, another controversial action for her sex during the time period. Photo courtesy of KQED-FM Radio station.
When she became a physician she attracted a clientele of lesbian couples and women seeking birth control. Dr. Chung also founded one of the first Western medical clinics in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1920s. During World War II she formed a widespread network of “adopted sons” who were primarily American soldiers, airmen, and sailors who called her “Mom.”
She was known to host her “sons” and their guests — often movie stars, politicians, and senior military personnel — at massive weekly dinners in her San Francisco home.
Dr. Chung recognized her influence in supporting the allied war effort. She lobbied for the US Naval Women’s Reserve, also known as “WAVES.” However, throughout all her accomplishments, Dr. Chung faced prejudice and backlash due to her sex, gender identity, race, and sexuality.
She struggled to obtain a hospital internship due to her sex so she initially worked as a surgical nurse in Chicago. While working here she found the Mary Thompson Hospital, which specialized in the care of female patients by female doctors. After interning there for three years she went onto the Los Angeles’ Santa Fe Railroad Hospital in 1916 and became an accomplished surgeon.
She moved to San Francisco in 1921. Beyond loving the city, Dr. Chung saw a great opportunity as there were no Chinese doctors practicing American medicine and surgery in Chinatown. In 1925 she co-founded the Chinese Hospital and ran their Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Pediatrics unit.
Chung became the first American woman to receive the People’s Award of China. She was also awarded a citation, signed by President Truman, from the Red Cross for her personal service performed on behalf of the nation.
Gluck (1895-1978)
Gluck, born Hannah Gluckstein, rejected any forename or prefix. Gluck was gender-nonconforming and a British painter.
Although Gluck used she/her pronouns during their lifetime, after researching the artist and their identity, I will be using they/them pronouns when discussing Gluck. Gluck adopted many practices that are associated with transgender and nonbinary identities in modern times: they changed their name, adopted a wardrobe of masculine clothing, and personally described themselves as the “husband” in their relationships with women.
I do not use they/them pronouns to assume Gluck’s gender identity. Gluck exists in an undefined middle ground, likely due to a lack of inclusive language at the time.
So, Gluck joined the Lamorna artists’ colony near Penzance, a town in England, and was known for their portraits, floral paintings, and picture frame designs.
Gluck’s painting of a Cornish farmhouse in a stepped frame. Photo courtesy of My Daily Art Display.
Gluck’s individualistic style and unique subject matter earned them critical acclaim in England during 1920-1930. Not only did Gluck reject the constraints of their conservative upbringing, but they also refused public association with their family or any artistic movement. Gluck also earned notoriety for their gender nonconformity and homosexuality.
Gluck’s most famous painting — Medallion completed in 1936 — depicts and celebrates Gluck’s unofficial marriage to their partner and lifelong love, Nesta Obermer, an accomplished author and playwright. The painting has historically been viewed as an iconic lesbian statement.
Medallion is a joint self-portrait of the couple. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.
The couple exchanged rings on Christmas day, just six months after knowing each other. Gluck marked the date in their dairy as the “YouWe anniversary.” As such, the Medallion is also referred to as the YouWe painting.
However, the painting outlasted the pair’s relationship, as they separated in 1944.
During World War II, Gluck completed numerous paintings that illustrated life on the home front. However, their artistic output was limited due to what would be known as Gluck’s paint war.
Between 1953 and 1967 Gluck produced little to no new artwork — as they claimed that the quality of artist’s materials had deteriorated so greatly that they were unable to produce work to their standards. In 1951 Gluck appealed to England’s National Arts Council, demanding that the organization require the paint industry to guarantee high standards for materials. Gluck worked closely over the next decade with legislatures and manufacturers until the British Institution eventually published a standard for naming and defining paints.
Many modern queer, transgender, and nonbinary communities have adopted Gluck as their own — for their trailblazing ways of working against conforming ideologies. Gluck changed the working and social conditions for persons and artists alike.
Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)
As a Black blues singer, piano player, and entertainer, Gladys Bentley performed during the 1920s and 30s — known as the Harlem Renaissance. She was known for her top hat, tailored white tuxedos, and risqué lyrics. She was recognized as one of the best Black entertainers of the time. During her height of fame, Bentley moved from Harlem to Park Avenue and even had a team of servants.
Rather than concealing her sexuality, Bentley celebrated it. She flirted with women in the crowd and often incorporated what could be seen as a more masculine identity into her performances.
Bentley in her custom ensemble. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Although Bentley was not the first to sing raunchy music, she broke barriers of social behaviors and ideas in a manner that would have been more suitable for a man to do. In fact, she was often advertised by event promoters as a male impersonator.
As she became more popular, Bentely began playing in larger Harlem venues — such as the iconic gay speakeasy the Clam House and the Cotton Club. She drew crowds of all backgrounds, cultures, and races.
Bentely was known for her provocation outside of her lyrics, as well. She once told a gossip columnist that she had just gotten married. The columnist asked who the lucky man was, to which Bentley corrected that her marriage was to a woman — a White woman, nonetheless.
Although there isn’t a record of such a union taking place, this is just a small glimpse into Bentley’s candid and proud nature, as well as her dedication to shocking her audience.
Bentley moved to California after her shows became less attended in the late 1930s. While on the West Coast, Bentely continued to record music, tour, and perform in upscale clubs and bars. However, she adopted a toned-down version of her New York acts.
During the 1950s, a time largely marked by conservativism, sexism, racism, and homophobia, Bentely wrote that she underwent a treatment that awoke her “womanliness.” She claimed to have married twice, both men, though one of the alleged male partners denied the union.
In simple terms, Bentely was defiant in who she was — for both her gender and sexual identities. She should be remembered as the unashamed pariah she was.
The aforementioned figures are just five of the many historical lesbian and queer figures that helped shaped LGBTQ+ spaces, movements, and possibilities. They, among thousands of other individuals, defied cultural expectations of their time and are solidified in LGBTQ+ history.
To those who celebrate, happy Lesbian Visibility Week. I see you.