Butterfly Effect - ressourcesfeministes

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8 Bhadravati Boudicca Cowslip Sybilla. The names of some of the cows in the “Self
Sustaining Community of Lesbian Cows”.
9 Cow. Gertrude Stein’s long poem, Lifting Belly, explores the language of lesbian
sexuality, creating a whole new range of metaphors for lesbians. She writes:
“Twenty six. / And counted. / And counted deliberately. / This is not as difficult
as it seems. / Lifting belly is so strange / And quick. / Lifting belly in a minute. /
Lifting belly in a minute now. / In a minute. /Not to-day. / No not to-day. /
Can you swim. / Lifting belly can perform aquatics. / Lifting belly is astonishing. /
Lifting belly for me. / Come together.” In Gertrude Stein. 1989. Lifting Belly,
pp. 53-4. For more on the cow metaphor see Rebecca Mark’s introduction,
especially p. xxxi. In 1975, there was a lesbian newsletter in Columbus, Ohio, called
The Purple Cow. This information appeared in a listing of lesbian resources in
Gina Covina and Laurel Galana (Eds.). 1975. The Lesbian Reader, p. 246.
10 Jumped over the moon. The songs Bessie (1996) and The Mystery at Ogwen’s Farm
(1981) are both by Jane Siberry and can be found on The Jane Siberry Anthology.
Originally produced by Sheeba. If Mother Goose Stories are stories about a great
goddess, then perhaps the story of the cow jumping over the moon could be read
as a story about the great orgasm of a goddess!
11 Saraswati. Hindu goddess of writing. It is possible to connect philologically the
names Saraswati and Sappho. See “India Sutra”, this collection. The Saraswati
River is an invisible underground river and, therefore, shares some of the attributes
of lesbian existence.
12 geese and wet hens. “Watch us – mother hens, slick chicks, silly geese, all of us – after
centuries of being cooped up, centuries of brooding in our roosts, we’re finally
going to spread our wings.” Jovette Marchessault. 1983. The Saga of the Wet Hens. p.
128. Marchessault goes on to invoke the history of women who have challenged
the status quo, to call up their spirit of rebellion.
13 red beaked black swans. “I am no Leda ... // I am moved / to transformation / by
another // black feathered, / red beaked / female swan.” Leda. Susan Hawthorne.
In Susan Hawthorne, Cathie Dunsford, and Susan Sayer (Eds.). 1997. Car
Maintenance, Explosives and Love and Other Contemporary Lesbian Writings, p. 129.
The black swan existed in spite of the protestations of scientists and logicians that
such a thing could not be. It was, they said, unnatural and impossible.
14 gobbling. Christina Rosetti uses the word “goblin” to great effect in her long poem,
“Goblin Market”. The old meanings of the word “gob” are interesting, ranging
across mouth (as in shut your gob, or the rather large lollies called gob-stoppers),
language (as in the gift of the gab), to talk incessantly, (as in gabble). To gobble,
means to swallow noisily, rather like a turkey. The word “gob” was in much more
frequent use in 1862 when Christina Rosetti published her poem. “Goblin pulp and
goblin dew” were the words which prompted these thoughts, but there are other
references in the poem which are even more suggestive of lesbian sexuality. “Did
you miss me / Come and kiss me. / Never mind my bruises, / Hug me, kiss me,
suck my juices / squeezed from goblin fruits for you, / Goblin pulp and goblin
dew. / Eat me, drink me, love me; / Laura, make much of me.” Christina Rosetti.
1994. Goblin Market and other poems, p. 13.
15 tree-climbing workshops. An ideal profession for lesbian tomboys who have a
penchant for climbing trees, just like the apple pickers of Sappho’s time.