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Queer Trivia
She was an American activist.
She was born in New York in August 1926. From 1944 to 1947, she studied at the Pratt Institute School of Art, earning a certificate in advertising graphic design and illustration. She then worked for sixteen years at the East Coast daily newspaper Newsday, before relocating to Los Angeles in 1971.
She became aware of her same-sex attractions early in life, with her first crush being her first-grade female gym teacher. In an interview with The Lavender Effect, she shared, “I fell in love with every gym teacher I ever had in my life.”
Although she was attracted to women, she did not pursue same-sex relationships due to the societal expectations of the time. She became engaged to several men, but most lasted only a few weeks before she ended it. On January 12, 1952, she married Eddie, who would be her husband for sixteen years.
In the lead-up to their wedding, she began experiencing physical symptoms that affected her ability to swallow food. Her doctor diagnosed the issue as anxiety-related and referred her to a psychiatrist. During their sessions, she confided that she was attracted to women, but the psychiatrist dismissed the idea, insisting she was not homosexual. He advised her to distance herself from her friends and interests and fully commit to her upcoming marriage. She followed his guidance, but her feelings for women remained unchanged.
Years later, a coworker introduced her to the National Organization for Women (NOW), and in 1966, she became a founding member of its New York chapter. After being elected president of the chapter in 1968, she publicly came out as a lesbian. Shortly afterward, she left her husband and began living with a woman in New York City.
Her memoir, The Liberation of [redacted]: A Memoir of Love and Activism, was published by Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company in November 2018.
She passed away in Florida on February 25, 2021, at the age of 94.
Do you know her name? The answer is at the bottom of the email.
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