Quotes on language used
Jennie, born 1927
I grew up with the queer thing. It wasn't like we use the word queer now, it's become a good term, and it wasn't then. Lesbian was a word we knew of, but we didn't normally use.… I'd take the bus home, get out of my girl clothes, get into my boy clothes, get into my car and hurry back to make the bar scene. During my high school years, I was trying to be so butch. I really wanted to go into the Army but my mother wouldn't let me. My mother said, "Nothing but queers and whores in the Army."
I grew up with the queer thing. It wasn't like we use the word queer now, it's become a good term, and it wasn't then. Lesbian was a word we knew of, but we didn't normally use.… I'd take the bus home, get out of my girl clothes, get into my boy clothes, get into my car and hurry back to make the bar scene. During my high school years, I was trying to be so butch. I really wanted to go into the Army but my mother wouldn't let me. My mother said, "Nothing but queers and whores in the Army."
Janice, born 1940
I usually use lesbian nowadays. That’s what I hear most. At first it was hard. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like to say it, I didn’t like to use it, and I didn’t. But it’s gotten so common, it works all right. Well, when I first identified as interested in females, there wasn’t a word. The only word that I knew was “queer.”
Annalee, born 1927
There was no vocabulary and I knew no one else ... there was nothing. It's not like today where you have "gay" and "lesbian" in the paper, news, phone books and all kinds of places where you can find somebody, although I think it's more difficult in the rural area. But there was none of that and I didn't know anything until I finally got into college, where I picked up the word "homosexual."
Ellie, born 1917
Dorm life was where I had a first experience with other women, what we would now call lesbians. And that was a very light relationship, really, nothing heavy or steady. A lesson or two, when you would visit in Philadelphia with somebody’s friend, or something of that sort, but no exposure, actually, to the lesbian and gay thing. This was the 1930s, pre-WW II and the word ‘lesbian’ was never used.
Dorm life was where I had a first experience with other women, what we would now call lesbians. And that was a very light relationship, really, nothing heavy or steady. A lesson or two, when you would visit in Philadelphia with somebody’s friend, or something of that sort, but no exposure, actually, to the lesbian and gay thing. This was the 1930s, pre-WW II and the word ‘lesbian’ was never used.
Dorothy, born 1917
We had fun together, but there was no talking about it, let alone even knowing that there was such a word as lesbian. Well, I knew there was such a word. I had heard about it from time to time when I'd been a child. Lesbian was a bad word.
