Lesbian Feminism

In May of 1970, a new group called Radicalesbians staged a protest against feminist homophobia. The action took its name from the words of Betty Friedan, founder of the National Organization for Women, who described lesbians as a "lavender menace" that would discredit feminism. The action marked the first public articulation of lesbian feminism.

Inspired by the growing "second wave" of American feminism in the late 1960s, some lesbians began to question where their primary interests lay. Unlike the lesbian activists who worked with gay men in homophile and gay liberation organizations, lesbian feminists did not necessarily see gay men as their allies or identify "gay rights" as their primary goal.

Lesbian feminists saw sexism as the main evil underlying many of society's problems, and focused on fighting for women's equal rights. They also placed women's freedom to choose to love other women at the center of feminism, identifying "compulsory heterosexuality" as the key to women's oppression: As long as women are forced to have relationships with men, they will never be truly free.

Lesbian feminism's insistence that "the personal is political" and its emphasis on women-centered organizing had a profound effect on the women's movement in the United States. It also contributed to the development of a distinctive lesbian culture in the 1970s, including women's music and women-centered or separatist communities.