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1970 Lavender Menace 2
1media/Screen Shot 2023-04-03 at 3.19.10 PM_thumb.png2023-04-03T22:19:44+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a4911Rita Mae Brown, in Lavender Menace T-shirt, at the Lavender Menace Action, May 1st, 1970. The term "Lavender Menace" originated as a negative term for the association of lesbianism with the feminist movement, but it was later reclaimed as a positive term by lesbian feminists. The phrase "Lavender Menace" was reportedly first used in 1969 by Betty Friedan, president of The National Organization for Women (NOW), to describe the threat that she believed associations with lesbianism posed to NOW and the emerging women's movement. Friedan, and some other heterosexual feminists, worried that the association would hamstring feminists' ability to achieve serious political change, and that stereotypes of "mannish" and "man-hating" lesbians would provide an easy way to dismiss the movement.plain2023-04-03T22:19:44+00:00May 1, 1970Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49