the lone, white, heterosexual, middle-upper-middle class feminist and her main street debut.

I was reading an essay written by Cheshire Calhoun (awesome name) called "Separating Lesbian Theory from Feminist Theory". It is what it sounds like. Basically, (so far into the essay, because I'm not done), lesbians had to break away from the fights of feminists and of gay men because neither cause was exactly what they were fighting for. Gay men were not talking about women's oppression, they were simply on the subject of gay rights (which sort of makes sense). Heterosexual women were not discussing anything that dealt with sexual "deviance", but rather gender equality was their main focus. Even NOW's (National Organization for Women) Betty Friedan claimed that "lesbians posed a 'lavender menace' to the women's movement. Other NOW members agreed, saying the deviance of lesbians "undermined the credibility of women's rights claims". Under this much pressure, a group of "Radicalesbians" made a statement in response, and blah blah blah. This whole description painted a picture in my head of a large group of women marching down some Main Street in some town with signs and banners, chanting and raising their fists in the air. Suddenly, an onlooker notices there aren't any black women because they've marched off onto some side street, and a group of plainclothes women realize they aren't facing the same inequalities as their better-off sisters, so they march off down a different side street. Smaller groups break off, and then a larger group, that might consist of women who are the "others" to heterosexuality. Finally, all that's left are a handfull of white, heterosexual women with their hair done and their nails polished--hollering something about how their (male) bosses requested a sexual favor in exchange for a raise or about how their husbands still expect dinner on the table when they come home from work, even though they both work full-time jobs. The point isn't that each woman's fight isn't equally important, the point is that they were hollering and chanting different demands from the very beginning. They weren't listening, and they continue to close their ears to the awkward echo of words that clash, rather than notice that the reverberations off of the Main Street buildings are very different from what emanates from their own pores and passions. Don't think this vision is putting the blame on the handfull who remain marching straight into the next town. It seems that the groups that branched off were so insulted that the other women weren't singing the same song they were, that they refused to explain what they were fighting for or against. The white, heterosexual, middle/upper class women simply failed to notice how much colder and quieter it got when all of the other women left. This vision really troubles me but I'm not really sure what to do about it.