[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by Kobi

Chazz,

We think so much alike. It feels good to be on the same page as someone else.

The voice I am speaking with is the woman, lesbian, feminist voice. It is who I am and what I represent in this world.

Reclaiming lesbian pride, to me, is about being willing to stand up and be counted as a woman, as a woman who loves other women, as a woman who partners with other women, and as a woman for whom feminism and lesbianism, the unabridged version, is their guide.

Reclaiming lesbian pride, to me, is about not being willing to compromise the language of your heritage or its unique meaning. It is about claiming it,
owning it, speaking up for it, defending it, and taking back the power and control surrounding it.

I would love this thread to be about those things. It would disappoint me if it turned into a debate about linguistics per se. This, to me, is not about linguistics. It is about what is behind the language and that, to me, is the crux of the matter.

Is kumbaya yes?

For me, yes, it is Kumbaya!

Very simply: Lesbian pride for me is to stand up everywhere I need to and say, "Yes, I am a woman-identified, woman-loving, feminist lesbian. No equivocating, no minimizing, no qualifying".

I have gone to hell and back to get to this place in my life. I am proud to have survived this journey. Many times I did not feel I would survive it.

My family cast me out and for 15 years none of them would speak to me because I stood up and proudly stated:

"I am a lesbian. I will always fall in love with, make love with, live my intimate life with other lesbian women".

(Maybe one qualifier: I will always fall in love & make love with butch lesbian women).