BUILDING A LESBIAN COMMUNITY IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA ...

the individual lesbian is an act ofdefiance for all women regardless ofsexual orientation. As
Sidney Abbot and Barbara Love's well-read book entitled Sappho was a Right-On Woman: A
Liberated View ofLesbianism published in 1972 proclaims:
Lesbianism is a way ofliving with the assumptions on the nature and meaning ofthe self;
it constitutes a kind ofstatement ofbeliefofindependence and freedom for all females.
Society denies itselfthe opportunity to learn more about women and how they can
function by making the lesbian seal offher lesbianism in all interactions with society. 47
Ettorre compares the life experiences ofthe "out" lesbian to the closeted lesbian. The closet
causes lesbians to present a false persona to others affecting her self-concept. The out lesbian, on
the other hand, declares her lesbianism by defining herselfin relation to an oppressed social group.
In doing so, she risks social disapproval and possible homophobic violence, but discovers a sense
ofsecurity through her contact with other lesbians.
Individuals who identify as lesbian or gay construct their identities in relation to the
particular cultural and historical contexts made available to them. In other words, as Arlene Stein
points out:
Women make identities- but not exactly as they please. Individuals forming their sexual
identity bring a sense ofselfthat is at least partly formed, and in constructing a lesbian
identity they use the accounts or repertoires ofmeaning, that are available. 48
The social construction theory on homosexuality owes much to feminism and the study ofsex and
gender roles. Radical lesbian-feminist theory emphasizes sexual choice making it possible for a
greater number ofwomen to identify with lesbianism. Individual sexual identities form with
explicit links to relationships and culture rather than in isolation. However, individual differences
47 Sidney Abbot and Barbara Love, Sappho was a Right-On Woman: A Liberated View of
Lesbianism (New York: Stein& Day, 1972), 65.
48 Stein, 20.
13