The Very Lesbian Life of Miss Anne Lister
click for other "the way we were" posts
June is LGBT Pride Month, so we’re celebrating all of our pride by feeding babies to lions! Just kidding, we’re talking about lesbian history, loosely defined as anything that happened in the 20th century or earlier, ’cause shit changes fast in these parts. We’re calling it The Way We Were, and we think you’re gonna like it. For a full index of all “The Way We Were” posts, click that graphic to the right there.
Previously:
1. Call For Submissions, by The Editors
2. Portraits of Lesbian Writers, 1987-1989, by Riese
3. The Way We Were Spotlight: Vita Sackville-West, by Sawyer
4. The Unaccountable Life of Charlie Brown, by Jemima
5. Read a F*cking Book: “Odd Girls & Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in 20th-Century America”, by Riese
6. Before “The L Word,” There Was Lesbian Pulp Fiction, by Brittani
7. 20 Lesbian Slang Terms You’ve Never Heard Before, by Riese
8. Grrls Grrls Grrls: What I Learned From Riot, by Katrina
9. In 1973, Pamela Learned That Posing in Drag With A Topless Woman Is Forever, by Gabrielle
10. 16 Vintage “Gay” Advertisements That Are Funny Now That “Gay” Means “GAY”, by Tinkerbell
11. Trials and Titillation in Toronto: A Virtual Tour of the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives, by Chandra
12. Ann Bannon, Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction: The Autostraddle Interview, by Carolyn
13. 15 Ways To Spot a Lesbian According To Some Very Old Medical Journals, by Tinkerbell
14. The Very Lesbian Life of Miss Anne Lister, by Laura L
Many of you might know of Miss Anne Lister and may have seen the horrible movie on the BBC a few years ago, but the primary source material from her journals is some of the most hilarious gay romantic angst I have every read. Anne Lister, also known as ‘Gentleman Jack’, was an out lesbian aristocrat in Yorkshire in the early 1800s. She owned land, was an active and respected member of the business community and eventually got “married” to a woman–she was even able to pass on her sizeable estate to her wife when she died. Her diaries reveal that she had a whole slew of lesbian affairs, delighted in seducing young women and showing off her exploits, all whilst remaining an active member of society.
In 1988 historian Helena Whitbread shocked the academic world by publishing the first volume of The Diaries of Miss Anne Lister. These diaries revealed a frank and graphic depiction of active, open lesbian life in the early 1800s. They were so graphic that they were considered a hoax until a great deal of evidence proved their authenticity. If you have some free time you can view the primary source material for free on the History to Herstory Archive. I give you below a selection of the extremely gay life of Miss Anne Lister, a contemporary of Jane Austen and a precursor to Shane McCutcheon.
12 Excerpts From a Very Gay Life
1. Only Loves the Fairer Sex
Monday 29 January 1821 [Halifax]
Arranging & putting away my last year’s letters. Looked over & burnt several very old ones from indifferent people … Burnt … Mr Montagu’s farewell verses that no trace of any man’s admiration may remain. It is not meet for me. I love, & only love, the fairer sex & thus beloved by them in turn, my heart revolts from any other love than theirs.
Saturday 12 July 1823 [Halifax]
Could not sleep last night. Dozing, hot & disturbed … a violent longing for a female companion came over me. Never remember feeling it so painfully before … It was absolute pain to me.
2. A Day in the Life
Sunday 14 September 1823 [Scarborough]
M- & I went out at 4 & sauntered on the sands to the Spa & beyond it till near 5. Met the girls coming to say dinner was ready. Sat down to dinner at 5. In the evening, from 6-3/4 to 8, M- & Lou & little Charles Milne & I sauntered along the North sands as far as Scorby Mill. Darkish when we got back. Meaning to go to bed soon, came up to my dressing room at 9.50… Perhaps about 12-1/2 every door & window in the house seemed to rattle, which disturbed us exceedingly. At Ist, we thought someone [was] breaking into the house but the continuance of the noises & the pattering of rain soon ushered in a tremendous thunder storm. Very vivid, fast-succeeding flashes of lightning enlightened the whole room. After some time came 1 or 2 tremendous peals of thunder & the heaviest rain I almost ever heard. In the midst of all this, we drew close together, made love & had one of the most delightfully long, tender kisses we have ever had. Said she, in the midst of it, ‘Oh, don’t leave me yet.’ This renewed & redoubled my feelings & we slept in each other’s arms.
M– is Marianna Belcombe Lawton, the first woman Anne Lister married in a church in 1821. Lawton would later marry Charles Lawton, breaking Anne’s heart and subsequently giving her venereal disease through their continued affair. Anne later marries Anne Walker in 1834, who was with her until her death in 1840.
3. Gaydar in 1824
November 1824
She begins to stand closer to me. I might easily press queer to queer. Our liking each other is now mutually understood and acknowledged.
Queer = Vag
October 1824
I have a question to ask you. ‘Êtes-vous Achilles?’ I laughed & said she made me blush … Brought Miss Mack into my room. Joked with her about her question. Said it was exceedingly well put. She said I was the only one in the house to whom she could have written it, because the only one who would have so soon understood it, that is, who would have understood the allusion to take it that way.
“Etes-vou Achilles?” is an illusion to when Achilles dressed as a girl in the court of Lycomedes in order to escape the oracle that says he is to die in the battle of Troy and is snotty british 1820s slang for “Do you read Autostraddle?”.
4. Pubic Hair Lockets
Marianna put me on a new watch riband & then cut the hair from her own queer & I that from mine, which she put each into each of the little lockets we got at Bright’s this morning, twelve shillings each, for us always to wear under our clothes in mutual remembrance. We both of us kissed each bit of hair before it was put into the locket.
Every girl needs a pubic hair locket!
5. Searched for Understanding
Friday, 29th November [halifax]
A long prose just before getting into bed. Talked of the abuse I had for romance, enthusiasm, flattery, manners like those of a gentleman, being too particularly attentive to the ladies, etc. That in consequence I had resolved to change & had succeeded in becoming much more cool & cautious in my general intercourse with people & much less lavish of cordiality & civility … I asked her if, after all of this [their lovemaking], she would own being in love with me. She said no, she did not like the term but clasped me in [her] arms. We kissed & fell asleep.
Said how it was all nature. Had it not been genuine the thing would have been different. I said I had thought much, studied anatomy, etc. Could not find it out. Could not understand myself. It was all the effect of the mind. No exterior formation accounted for it. Alluded to there being an internal correspondence or likeness of some of the male or female organs of generation. Alluded to the stones not slipping thro’ the ring till after birth, etc.’
Anne was very involved in the historical and scientific community and wrote much about possible scientific explanations for being gay.
6. Ex-lover Drama
Friday, 11 July [Halifax]
As I was getting into bed I began thinking how little confidence I had in M– & how little likely it was that we should ever get together. I was very low. I felt that my happiness depended on having some female companion whom I could love & depend upon & my thoughts naturally turned to Isabella. I got out her picture & looked at it for 10 minutes with considerable emotion. I almost wished to persuade myself I could manage her temper as to be happy with her.
Isabella is also called Tib in the diaries, she was a failed relationship Anne had after Marianna married.
7. Doesn’t Like a Tease
Saturday 9 November [Halifax]
Talking to Anne almost all the morning telling [her] she should either be on or off, that she was acting very unfairly & ought either to make up her mind to let me have a kiss at once or change her manners altogether. I said she excited my feelings in a way that was very unjustifiable unless she meant to gratify them & that, really, that sort of thing made me far from well, as I was then very sick, languid & uncomfortable — not able to relish anything.
…
Monday 11 November [Halifax]
Had a very good kiss last night. Anne [Walker] gave it me with pleasure, not thinking it necessary to refuse me any longer.
Kiss = Orgasm. Anne often listed the number and quality of the orgasms of herself and her partners–very Bridget Jones.
8. Got an STI
Saturday 14 December [Langton]
I had a very good kiss last night. Tib had not a very good one … I have been perpetually in horrors for fear of infecting Tib. I wonder whether the discharge is at all venereal or not?
Consulted the doctor about my complaint & the consequent discharge. Said I had caught it from a married friend whose husband was a dissipated character.
Monday 25 November [Langton]
Better kiss last night than Tib has given me for long. Uncomfortable in dressing with Tib in bed. She taxed me with using a squirt, as she called it. I denied, but won’t use the syringe again, however gently I might be.
Always practice safe sex when sleeping with a variety of people! I have never been so happy to live in the 21st century as when I found out what the syringe was they are referring to.
9. Has Bad Sex
Tried for a kiss a considerable time last night but Isabella was as dry as a stick & I could not succeed. At least she had not one & I felt very little indeed. She was very feverish, quite dry heat & seemed quite annoyed & fidgeted…
Friday 26 October [York]
A kiss of Tib, both last night & this morning … but she cannot give me much pleasure & I think we both equally calm in our feelings on these occasions … For my own part, my heart is M–‘s & I can only feel real pleasure with her.
10. Mixed Feelings About Dildos
Got on the subject of Saffic regard. I said there was artifice in it. It was very different from mine & would be no pleasure to me. I liked to have those I loved near me as possible, etc. Asked if she understood. She said no. I told her I knew by her eyes she did & she did not deny it, therefore I know she understands all about the use of a [dildo] … I mentioned the girl at a school in Dublin that had been obliged to have surgical aid to extract the thing.
Fancying I had a penis & was intriguing with her in the downstairs water-closet at Langton before breakfast, to which she would have made no objection.
Anne wrote about preferring the “natural feel of a woman,” but these sections reveal fascinating information about other lesbians using sex toys in the time period.
11. Didn’t Conform to Gender Constraints
This is womanizing me too much … she lets me see too much that she considers me too much as a woman. She talks to me about being unwell [i.e. having menstruation]. I have aired napkins before her. She feels me, etc. All which I like not. Marianna never seems to know or notice these things. She suits me better.’
Talked of the management my temper required. Marianna knew it well. It had its peculiarities but she did not fear. Talked of . . . my sensitiveness of anything that reminded me of my petticoats.
Anne Lister is famous for wearing all black men’s clothing and being called Gentleman Jack in Halifax and Fred by Marianna. There are also multiple entries about Anne’s dislike of women’s clothing and about how she preferred not to be touched during sex. She was very similar to the 1950’s Stone Butch, but without more information I hesitate to place any gender identity or trans* status on her. I will simply state that she did not conform to traditional gender norms.
12. Married a Lady
For if we once got together the world might say what it pleased. She should never mind … She shrank from having the thing surmised now, but declared that if we were once fairly together, she should not care about it. I might tell our connection to all the world if I pleased.
In 1821 and 1834 Anne Lister was married to a woman in a church attended by family. At the same time Jane Austen was writing about women not being able to inherit and needing to marry men quickly Anne was able to inherit her land, run her own business and leave her estate to her second wife Anne Walker. If you are interested in reading an economic analysis of why this is or if you simply are interested in more information about Anne Lister check out the list below!
Anne Lister's Will
Read More:
Anne Lister, The First Modern Lesbian by Rictor Norton
The Friend by Alan Bray
Lesbian Lives: Identity and Autobiography in the Twentieth Century by Nicky Hallett
Let’s Talk About Lesbian Batwoman Some More
[ Feature image is via fuckyeahcomicrelationships.tumblr.com ]
When DC Comics relaunches this fall, we’ll finally get to see the lesbian Batwoman (announced and then rarely seen since 2006) in her very own comic .
There’s a lot of excitement building right now about Lesbian Batwoman and also about Voodoo, a bisexual African-American character. Readers are also looking forward to gay characters Apollo and Midnighter’s move out of their alternate line and into the mainstream verse.
Yesterday our resident Optimist Carmen (seriously she is really good at looking at the bright side of life, probably bleeds fairy dust) discussed this excitement in Batwoman is a Lesbian: DC Comics’ Gay Superheroes Stepping Out of the Subtext and Into the Light.
As a big fan of DC Comics, I share her excitement but I also have some reservations, particularly on issues surrounding minority representation that are still very present with the (confusing) relaunch, so I thought a counterpoint would be fun for everybody.
I do not have an infinite amount of space and knowledge, and thus will keep my comments centered around the Batverse.
via acecomics.co.uk
In comics it is still exciting for me to see strong women who are not overly brutalized and stuffed into fridges (a trope made famous by writer Gail Simone which you can also investigate using this handy flowchart), let alone queer characters. While the relaunch has finally brought Batwoman out and is having women wear pants, a significant number of females have been moved from the spotlight, like Gotham City Sirens. One of the biggest sins committed has been with Batgirl.
The history of Batgirl is very long and complex, but in a nutshell:
Barbara Gordon, the second (and longest-running) Batgirl, was crippled by the Joker in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke and became Oracle (most recently appearing in Birds of Prey and Batgirl) → Cassandra Cain was an Asian American Batgirl, yet another minority character whose run simply ended → Stephanie Brown was the most recent white blonde (bit Buffy-ish) Batgirl whose run just started → Barbara Gordon is going to be healed somehow and will become Batgirl again.
This is probably the biggest controversy with the relaunch as Oracle was both awesome and one of the few disabled characters in comics. This change is one of various examples in recent DC comics history of change leading to a decrease in diversity; also in Batgirl comics, the fact that Asian American Cassandra Cain was replaced as Batgirl for seemingly non-narrative reasons took place only a year and a half ago.
via Batgirl comic and DCcomics.com
Generally, it’s safe to say that actual ethnic diversity is still sparse in mainstream superhero comics; a few notable characters have miraculously turned white over the years, such as Vixen and I swear Renee Montoya has been getting whiter as time goes on. I am a bit worried about the sound of Voodoo, an African American bisexual ex-exotic dancer, but only time will tell when it is released in September.
When it comes to diversity across the board change is coming slowly (with trans* people being invisible). In an interview with Comic Book Resources a number of popular comic writers expressed their opinions on the state of minority representation:
Marc Andreyko:
It has gotten better in recent years, but gays aren’t the only ones dealing with that, I mean, why are so many black characters still saddled with ‘black’ in the names. Could you imagine if Captain America was named ‘Captain White America’? And female characters still have it rough, too. It is getting better as more diversity comes to the creative side. The more minority creators, the more textured the portrayals of minority characters.
Lillan Diaz-Przbyl:
To be fair, most minority characters in most media in the US are still defined by their differences rather than being fully fleshed-out characters. The nature of arguing on the Internet makes it seem like it’s worse in this industry, and maybe it is, but there is a much more systemic problem as well.
Alan Moore:
It seems that comics perhaps like flirting with the idea of being liberal with regard to sexuality, but they’re still not entirely comfortable about it. I think despite the fact that culture is obviously moving on to include gay people, just the same as everybody else is included, I think a lot of our entertainment media are lagging behind. I think that the comics industry, talking about the big mainstream comic publishers, to them it’s still something which it outrageous, and daring.
Devin Grayson:
Comics are already well behind mainstream media and advertising in terms of promoting the positive inclusion of gay characters, and I wouldn’t look for the industry to be a prominent civil rights beacon anytime soon. But overall, the trend toward inclusion, although slow, has been steady and positive, and when the right people are in the right places and in the right frame of mind, the medium will be capable of some truly inspiring leaps forward.
via dc.wikia.com
It is fair to point out that DC Comics has featured lesbian characters before Batwoman, this is not a sudden new thing–all of the characters announced in the relaunch have already been around and Out. Greg Rucka’s Gotham Central had a storyline focused on Renee Montoya, now The Question, coming to terms with being outed as a lesbian by Two-Face. Renee Montoya eventually comes out to her family and colleagues and was in a stable relationship with a foxy soup chef. In 52, the 2006 appearance of Batwoman as a lesbian, it is revealed that Kate Kane (Batwoman) and Montoya used to date, but broke up because Montoya was too closeted. Other minor DC characters such as Captain Maggie Sawyer (head of the Special Crimes Unit) and Holly Robinson (Catwoman’s best friend) are both lesbians.
You might have been reading about the lesbian Batwoman for a number of years now (even here!). In 2006 DC Comics was intending to give the new Batwoman her own comic. The announcement that she was going to be a lesbian and subsequent write up in the New York Times caused a great deal of controversy that writer Devin Grayson credits with the delay in her own title:
the fact that the piece made such a big deal of the character’s sexuality before the hero even graced the page of a comic book went a long way towards nullifying any positive effect Batwoman might have had on the industry. Consequently, the character was relegated to the backseat of the “52” event rather than the forefront of her own title.
In the meantime Kate Kane has also been featured in Batwoman:Elegy (2010), a storyline of Detective Comics. This comic deals with her girlfriend breaking up with her because she assumes she is cheating on her when in fact she is off being a superhero, getting kicked out of West Point due to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and having complex family drama. The new Batwoman comic comes out on September 14th.
via batman wikia
If you are interested in little tidbits like “Batwoman was originally created in 1956 to counteract rumours that Batman was gay!” and “Apollo and Midnighter are pastiches of Batman and Superman!” you should check out PRISM comics for all things in LGBT comic-land.
What do you think of LGBT representation in comics? Do you think the relaunch will see better things for the minority characters in general? And, how does Marvel compare to DC on these issues? I know they have some gender-neutral shape-shifters but my wife is in charge of our comic pull and doesn’t read Marvel!
NPR Appreciation Post: Top 10 Gayest This American Life Episodes
As you most likely are aware, the Republican Budget, along with attempting to destroy Americorps and every aspect of women’s health as we discuss in House Votes to Pull All Federal Funding from Planned Parenthood and The PP & Me, axes funding to NPR and PBS. This makes me so angry I feel sick to my stomach and want to kick them in the shins. The UK is destroying libraries and now the Republicans are trying to destroy everything I like about America. WHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!
If you don’t like NPR, I don’t really want to like you. NPR is like a blanket; my parents didn’t believe in listening to music in the car and I did not really know there were other radio stations until my older sister drove me home from ice skating one day and my 6 year old brain exploded. The theme to All Things Considered evokes the feeling of staring glassy eyed out a car window at traffic on I94 and to this day Morning Edition makes me feel like I need to go to school. As an American living abroad I still religiously listen to This American Life. Autostraddle has named Ira Glass as one of the top ten people who can do no wrong and I couldn’t agree more. NPR needs to be saved and protected, you should sign the petition to save NPR and PBS or give them money by buying the smartphone app or donating directly.
We fucking love TAL as one of the most queer inclusive programs available anywhere. I was surprised to find that there is no list of the queer related episodes, so I am listing some of the best ones for you here. Listen,enjoy and keep in mind that TAL illustrates a diversity of opinions and perspectives both on and within the queer community!
Top 10 Queer Parts of This American Life
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1. The Best One
Alix Spiegel tells the story of her grandfather and the group of gay psychiatrists, known as the GAYPA, who led to the American Psychiatric Association deciding that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness in 1973. One of the best single topic episodes of there is, LISTEN TO IT AND LEARN THINGS.
2. Trans* Episodes
In Act Two: Infinite Gent, Griffin Hansbury discusses how injecting T changed him and his views on nature vs. nurture. Griffin gives a candid account of the effects of massive amounts on testosterone, male stereotypes, passing and walking down the street. This episode also includes an amusing test of the testosterone levels of the TAL staff.
Episode 247: What is This Thing?
Episode 247 is a Valentines Day episode that explores what love is, and how to find it. In Act Two: A View from the Other Side, Griffin talks to different guys from his group of friends about how they re-learned to navigate dating as straight and gay men.
Episode 347: Somewhere Out There
Act Two: Tom Girls is a powerful and touching story of two 8 year old transgender girls, Lilly and Thomasina, who become friends and their parents attempts to find them a place where they can strive and be happy. This made me cry for reals, especially as one of the fathers is a complete asshole.
3. Lesbians!
As you can tell by now I love TAL, but they are hella short on lesbian content. I found a metric fuckton on gay men, but only 2 prologues that involved lesbians.
Episode 268: My Experimental Phase
In the prologue Nancy Updike tells an amusing story of how she spent 2 years convinced she was a lesbian, even though she had no attraction to women.
Have you ever felt that your girlfriend loved the cat way more than you?
4. David Sedaris is Gay
David Sedaris is one of my favorite humans and a regular contributor to TAL. He is amazing and you should read/listen to all of his stories. There are two things that can always make me laugh. Animals riding on Roombas/wheelbarrows/other animals is one; David Sedaris singing as Billie Holiday is the other.
Episode 27: The Cruelty of Children
Act One: I Like Guys
Teenage David knows he is gay and is surrounded by kids and adults mocking homosexuals. At summer camp in Greece he meets a boy. The boy is cruel. David is funny.
Other notable episodes: Them, What I Should Have Said, Santa Claus vs. the Easter Bunny, The Book That Changed Your Life
5. Dan Savage is also Gay
I have some mixed feelings about Dan Savage, but I like the It Gets Better campaign and a few of his stories on TAL are pretty good.
Episode 293: A Little Bit of Knowledge
Act Two: And Daddy Makes Three
Dan’s six year old son is vehemently opposed to gay marriage.
Other notable episodes: Monogamy, Republican Convention, Father’s Day ‘98, The Missing Parents Bureau, The Cat Came Back
6. “Sissies”
This entire episode is gay. TAL tells stories about being seen as a sissy, both gay and straight. It includes a sweetly sad story about a man taking care of his mother, a funny act by Dave Awl and Dan Savage reports how even in the gay community it is taboo to be a sissy.
7. Double Lives
I’m still not sure if I am actually a fan of this episode, but it stuck with me. It revolves around a book that Susan Bergman wrote about her father, who lived a secret life as a gay man and died of AIDS. It led to her being contacted by many other children and wives of gay men, as well as men who explain why they choose to stay married to women.
8. The Sanctity of Marriage
Episode 261: The Sanctity of Marriage
Ira Glass interviews a marriage researcher about what makes a successful marriage, and finds that same sex marriages tend to be more stable. In the next act he explores perspectives around DOMA (this episode is from 2004).
9. LGBT Political Issues
As homosexuality is such a hot political and religious issue, it pops up quite a bit when TAL has political episodes. They especially love to talk about gay Republicans.
Episode 272: Big Tent
Act One: Pink Elephant
Patrick Howell discusses what it is like to be a Log Cabin Republican. A perspective I hadn’t personally paid much attention to before, and I learned things I did not know.
Episode 372: The Inauguration Show
Act Three: Lions and Lambs
Ira Glass explores President Obama’s choice of conservative asshat Rick Warren for the inauguration prayer.
Episode 304: Heretics
Act Two: Fall
This is a single topic episode which tells the fascinating tale of what happened when evangelical preacher Carlton Pearson stopped believing in hell. In the second act, he loses most of his congregation, but finds that he is embraced by the gay religious community. (If you like this episode you should also listen to Godless America)
10. Other Acts Involving Queers
There are over 400 episodes of This American Life, so I am positive I have missed many as queer issues are treated as normal content and not clearly demarcated. In hours of listening I found these acts in which queer people (ie more gay men) were involved but where being gay was not necessarily the point of the story.
Random Queer Acts:
Episode 88: Numbers Act One: Corporate Culture, Episode 53: Valentines day ‘97 Act Four: Negress, Episode 192: Meet the Pros Act Three: Martha, My Dear, Episode 248: Like it or Not Prologue, and anything else by David Rakoff.
Do you know of any others? Any favorites?