As y’all are chatting about food (which I do enjoy!), I wanted to say, congratulations to all our sisters in the UK on your hard-fought win in the Supreme Court! Respect, solidarity, and admiration from Australia!!!
And of course congrats on your book Julie! I can’t wait to read it!
I remember the Lavender Menace period of the early seventies, reputedly coined by Betty Friedan, who was convinced that lesbians were a threat to the movement, although, I read that she'd slightly softened her approach. The phrase was then taken up by lesbian feminists, and in 1973 Alix Dobkin released her album, Lavender Jane Loves Women, inspired by the Lesbian resistance.
Since this podcast was recorded, of course we've had the Supreme Court judgement. I can't wait for next weeks podcast response to that! Huge joy, relief and celebration mixed with fury at the time, energy, money and anguish wasted whilst waiting for the Supreme Court to state the bleeding obvious. Two high spots. Julie's book, which is on my shelf, but I'm also listening to on Audible...and Kathleen's delicious Unherd article, How Women Won the Gender Wars...which led to my favourite quote in living memory..."Transubstantiation by means of lip gloss".
People of a certain age remember Sally Ride. She was a little before my time, but I remember hearing the story of the NASA engineers asking her how many tampons she would need for a one week mission:
"Is 100 the right number?” they asked. “No. That would not be the right number,” she replied.
I loved the mention of Sally Ride who was also mentioned on various US media for a few weeks. She was an immensely talented woman who did not seem to feel the need for self-promotion.
Please don't stop with stories about asexuals, I really enjoy them. I don't even think that the asexuals mind, the fact that everybody makes fun at them, is what keep them (and all their sub-groups) together. Without it it's just random people that don't feel like having sex. So keep making asexuals items so they wouldn't lose their A in the gay alfabet.
First, thank you for everything you both do to keep the world sane. Julie’s piece in UnHerd on the grooming gang scandal was devastating. Kathleen killed it with her article on the success of the Scottish women in the gender wars. But more than your writing about these issues, your actions and commitment to challenging the injustice of gender ideology, misogyny and violence against vulnerable women and girls are inspirational.
Etiquette question: I am a devoted listener to The Lesbian Project Podcast but am not gay. (Funny story: when I once wrote in about a math error, you commented that it was so lesbian to notice, which I took as a great compliment!) Anyway, I got tickets to Julie’s book launch, hoping I could get to London for it. I was wondering if it would be inappropriate to bring my husband, who is one of the most supportive people (man or woman) of women I know–towards his many women friends, business colleagues, his two daughters, me. My daughters thought that it would have been fine had it been a different event, but that at a book launch that is specifically lesbian, he might be either seen as out of place or would be made to feel uncomfortable. Would love your thoughts.
Finally, listening to this most recent podcast, I think the anti-space stuff came off as pretty strident. Many years ago, I had a discussion with said husband about exploration and conquest, which I thought was aggressive and guy-coded, and he pointed out that it might be but without that kind of attitude we’d all still be sitting in mud huts. Going to space is not my jam, and I’m no fan of celebrity space tourism, but people interested in space (many men and some women, like Sally Ride) have contributed to advances in satellite technology and other innovations that we all use to make our lives more convenient and safer. These are tradeoffs that we make as a society, and it’s better to engage with other sides of the discussion in good faith than to berate them for having different interests and priorities than we do. Anyway, just a thought.
I know some science communicators who work in astronomy and say that the Trump and Musk stuff has caused damage to their field. less people see the value in innovations from astrophysics and searching for life on other planets and whatnot because it's been so tainted by the uncool male fantasy of space colonialism that people like Musk stand for.
Sometimes I'm impressed by the inverse Midas touch of these people. They managed to make SPACE uncool !!! Space, the thing that literally every kid has been fascinated with from books about astronauts and Star Wars!
what do actual gay men think about Heartstopper ? I know about 1 gay man who's seen it and thinks it's a cute escapist fantasy, all the other fans of it i know are female.
Just listened to Julie on Woman’s Hour. Julie was great but I do agree that the ‘some people will be offended’ line of questioning was simply lazy and ill-informed. When I was at the BBC we always tried to know what the other side of the argument was, whether we agreed with it or not.
'But you've never thrown an ornament; you've just thrown Madonna tickets' - possibly the gayest sentence EVER. The icing on a big old cake of a week. For this, and everything, thanks!
Congratulations on publication of your book, Julie! Just marvelous.
I didn't know Sally Ride or her sister Bear, but I have a friend who knew both. Part of the publicity surrounding Ride's 2012 death concerns the fact that her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy, did not receive federal survivor benefits because of the Defense of Marriage Act. I believe that gays and lesbians, who have an option to stay closeted, have a responsibility to instead be proactively out; this was no less true as a matter of principle when the stakes were considerably higher, as in Ride's generation (and my own). Silence colludes in the type of injustice O'Shaughnessy experienced. Now, of course, Ride is remembered as the first "LGBTQIA2S+" astronaut. I'm surprised she has not been retroactively transed, like other strong women.
Totally agree with the views on space travel by rich celebs and boys with their toys. Unfortunately your or my disapproval isn't going to stop them. New frontiers to be conquered and colonised...
Once again I feel moved to comment as one of the younger retinue of Lesbian Project listeners! I'm 27 odd minutes in and had to stop to say "that knee business" is pretty common and well known even today! It's a meme all of its own now, originating from tiktok naturally - "the knee thing".
Not your fault, but I have to complain about UnHerd, and warn others. I tried to sign up to Unherd Club just to see your live (online). They took my money but didn't give me access to any subscriber content, nor have they answered my email about cancelling the subscription.
As y’all are chatting about food (which I do enjoy!), I wanted to say, congratulations to all our sisters in the UK on your hard-fought win in the Supreme Court! Respect, solidarity, and admiration from Australia!!!
And of course congrats on your book Julie! I can’t wait to read it!
I remember the Lavender Menace period of the early seventies, reputedly coined by Betty Friedan, who was convinced that lesbians were a threat to the movement, although, I read that she'd slightly softened her approach. The phrase was then taken up by lesbian feminists, and in 1973 Alix Dobkin released her album, Lavender Jane Loves Women, inspired by the Lesbian resistance.
Since this podcast was recorded, of course we've had the Supreme Court judgement. I can't wait for next weeks podcast response to that! Huge joy, relief and celebration mixed with fury at the time, energy, money and anguish wasted whilst waiting for the Supreme Court to state the bleeding obvious. Two high spots. Julie's book, which is on my shelf, but I'm also listening to on Audible...and Kathleen's delicious Unherd article, How Women Won the Gender Wars...which led to my favourite quote in living memory..."Transubstantiation by means of lip gloss".
Thanks women xx
People of a certain age remember Sally Ride. She was a little before my time, but I remember hearing the story of the NASA engineers asking her how many tampons she would need for a one week mission:
"Is 100 the right number?” they asked. “No. That would not be the right number,” she replied.
I loved the mention of Sally Ride who was also mentioned on various US media for a few weeks. She was an immensely talented woman who did not seem to feel the need for self-promotion.
00:42 how are you?, food, etc.
12:21 women in the space
19:58 the lavender scare
28:08 LGB self-harm
38:17 Murder in the Valleys
52:25 asexuals
1:01:05 Julie on Woman's Hour
Thank you! that's actually very useful 😄
Please don't stop with stories about asexuals, I really enjoy them. I don't even think that the asexuals mind, the fact that everybody makes fun at them, is what keep them (and all their sub-groups) together. Without it it's just random people that don't feel like having sex. So keep making asexuals items so they wouldn't lose their A in the gay alfabet.
DO NOT ASSUME - Some asexuals have sex and some reproduce by budding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexual_reproduction).
Please don't stop with asexuals
Dearest Aunties,
First, thank you for everything you both do to keep the world sane. Julie’s piece in UnHerd on the grooming gang scandal was devastating. Kathleen killed it with her article on the success of the Scottish women in the gender wars. But more than your writing about these issues, your actions and commitment to challenging the injustice of gender ideology, misogyny and violence against vulnerable women and girls are inspirational.
Etiquette question: I am a devoted listener to The Lesbian Project Podcast but am not gay. (Funny story: when I once wrote in about a math error, you commented that it was so lesbian to notice, which I took as a great compliment!) Anyway, I got tickets to Julie’s book launch, hoping I could get to London for it. I was wondering if it would be inappropriate to bring my husband, who is one of the most supportive people (man or woman) of women I know–towards his many women friends, business colleagues, his two daughters, me. My daughters thought that it would have been fine had it been a different event, but that at a book launch that is specifically lesbian, he might be either seen as out of place or would be made to feel uncomfortable. Would love your thoughts.
Finally, listening to this most recent podcast, I think the anti-space stuff came off as pretty strident. Many years ago, I had a discussion with said husband about exploration and conquest, which I thought was aggressive and guy-coded, and he pointed out that it might be but without that kind of attitude we’d all still be sitting in mud huts. Going to space is not my jam, and I’m no fan of celebrity space tourism, but people interested in space (many men and some women, like Sally Ride) have contributed to advances in satellite technology and other innovations that we all use to make our lives more convenient and safer. These are tradeoffs that we make as a society, and it’s better to engage with other sides of the discussion in good faith than to berate them for having different interests and priorities than we do. Anyway, just a thought.
Thanks again for all you do.
P.S. I like the food talk!
I know some science communicators who work in astronomy and say that the Trump and Musk stuff has caused damage to their field. less people see the value in innovations from astrophysics and searching for life on other planets and whatnot because it's been so tainted by the uncool male fantasy of space colonialism that people like Musk stand for.
Sometimes I'm impressed by the inverse Midas touch of these people. They managed to make SPACE uncool !!! Space, the thing that literally every kid has been fascinated with from books about astronauts and Star Wars!
what do actual gay men think about Heartstopper ? I know about 1 gay man who's seen it and thinks it's a cute escapist fantasy, all the other fans of it i know are female.
Just listened to Julie on Woman’s Hour. Julie was great but I do agree that the ‘some people will be offended’ line of questioning was simply lazy and ill-informed. When I was at the BBC we always tried to know what the other side of the argument was, whether we agreed with it or not.
'But you've never thrown an ornament; you've just thrown Madonna tickets' - possibly the gayest sentence EVER. The icing on a big old cake of a week. For this, and everything, thanks!
Lesbian space witches save space for humanity!
How do we send a dilezza? What email address can we use?
thelesbianprojectpod@substack.com
Congratulations on publication of your book, Julie! Just marvelous.
I didn't know Sally Ride or her sister Bear, but I have a friend who knew both. Part of the publicity surrounding Ride's 2012 death concerns the fact that her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy, did not receive federal survivor benefits because of the Defense of Marriage Act. I believe that gays and lesbians, who have an option to stay closeted, have a responsibility to instead be proactively out; this was no less true as a matter of principle when the stakes were considerably higher, as in Ride's generation (and my own). Silence colludes in the type of injustice O'Shaughnessy experienced. Now, of course, Ride is remembered as the first "LGBTQIA2S+" astronaut. I'm surprised she has not been retroactively transed, like other strong women.
Totally agree with the views on space travel by rich celebs and boys with their toys. Unfortunately your or my disapproval isn't going to stop them. New frontiers to be conquered and colonised...
Once again I feel moved to comment as one of the younger retinue of Lesbian Project listeners! I'm 27 odd minutes in and had to stop to say "that knee business" is pretty common and well known even today! It's a meme all of its own now, originating from tiktok naturally - "the knee thing".
An article here (beware it's quite ridiculous and talks about vulva-havers, but you'll get the drift so to speak): https://www.theknot.com/content/knee-thing-tiktok-trend
Not your fault, but I have to complain about UnHerd, and warn others. I tried to sign up to Unherd Club just to see your live (online). They took my money but didn't give me access to any subscriber content, nor have they answered my email about cancelling the subscription.