Book Review

Tales of the Lavender Menace: A Memoir of Liberation by Karla Jay

Though the grand revolution we were expecting never came, we are all freer today because of the courage of many individuals who were willing to risk everything for social justice. (p 266)

Audio version: Kate reads this article to you!

Book information and ratings:

How I found this book:

This was a selection for Kat’s book club one month.

About this book:

I knew nothing about “The Lavender Menace” when I started this book. The term was coined in 1969 by Betty Friedan (a well known feminist and author of The Feminine Mystique) in reference to the lesbians who were joining the feminist movement–specifically pointing out that lesbians would ruin what little credibility feminists had. The lesbians turned and claimed this term in a positive light, using it in their own political agenda.

*Side Note: I think it is a “lavender” menace because blue (male) and pink (female) mixed together makes lavender (lesbians?). Maybe? That seems a cringy and weird over-simplification, but I’m impressed with how the group took the unique term and made it their own. 

****

It took me a good 50 pages to really get into this story–but I was soon drawn in by the author’s straightforward, unapologetic telling of this piece of history. 

I knew that the 1960s-70s in America was full of political uprisings about war, civil rights, feminism, and gay rights, but, as a hetero-cis-normative white woman, I never considered what a strange place lesbians occupied in all of that. The Venn diagram of all those groups leaves lesbians shrouded on all sides, but not a focal point of any–and thus constantly underfoot and overlooked. 

****

This is the story of one woman, Karla Jay, and her involvement in the eye of this lavender storm. 

Candid and passionate, but not obsessed with an agenda, the author just tells;  nothing is sugar coated or explained away, she simply lays the controversies and dynamics bare. She details her personal history as well as her involvement in 2 groups: the Redstockings in NY and the GLF (Gay Liberation Front) in both NY and LA. I found the creating, mergings, splittings, implosions, driftings, and thinnings of the different political groups fascinating!

****

The Redstockings held  “Consciousness Raising” (CR) weekly meetings in organized small groups. This is a type of group therapy where each individual shares personal experiences to raise the consciousness of everyone. I think most traumatized groups fall into this sort of sharing pattern, but I really liked the focus on “raising consciousness,” giving a definite purpose in sharing knowledge (not just a “complaining” session).

****

By writing this book, she shares: 

[...] my goal was to portray the spirit of the times–the ‘feel’ of the era [...] I wanted people to know what it was like to live then and what some of us did to forge social change. (p 265-266)

And, the writer successfully brings her hippie life to full color, describing sex (lots of sex), drugs (lots of drugs, including a drug-addled cat), and a poverty-level lifestyle (4 roommates in a 1 bedroom and a diet of squash and rice). 

****

Because she approaches her life with conviction, a wonderful analytical ability, and a practice of trial and error, her intense involvement in political activism eventually morphs into a passionate writing career and work as a university professor.

[...] I could not explain, even to myself, how I had eventually shed the person I was, like an empty snakeskin, and embraced a middle-class identity. (p 264)

Although, I don’t think anyone could keep up her startling pace for a lifetime! Her transition is beautiful and makes perfect sense. 

****

This was an interesting look at what it might be like to follow your sexual desires and political passions wholeheartedly in your 20s. She honored and honed her core self, without letting radicalism define her identity or run the rest of her life–although she does emerge (admittedly) unscathed by pregnancy, STDs, or an arrest record. 

This book is a beautiful taste of history, an honest personal experience, and a distinct perspective. This book raised my consciousness by bringing awareness to these marginalized individuals and their unique struggles. This book made me better educated and, I hope, a better ally.

****

Though the grand revolution we were expecting never came, we are all freer today because of the courage of many individuals who were willing to risk everything for social justice. (p 266)

Sources: 

Jay, Karla. Tales of the Lavender Menace: A Memoir of Liberation. Basic Books, 2000, New York.

*This is issue #10 of The Book Moth Newsletter