Table Of ContentBABY, YOU ARE MY RELIGION
GENDER, THEOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY
Series Editor: Lisa Isherwood, University of Winchester
Gender, Theology and Spirituality examines the gendered nature of theology
and spirituality. Volumes in the series explore a range of topics, often
employing materialist and radical readings, and frequently questioning the
notion of gender itself. The series aims to expand the boundaries of theology
and spirituality through an engagement with embodied knowledge and
critical praxis.
BABY, YOU ARE MY RELIGION
Women, Gay Bars, and Theology Before Stonewall
Marie Cartier
First published 2013 by Acumen
Published 2014 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© Marie Cartier, 2013
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
isbn: 978-1-84465-894-7 (paperback); 978-1-84465-649-3 (hardcover)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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To all of the gay women who came before me, cleared the path for me, and
walked the path with me … butch, femme, kiki, androgynous, lesbian, queer,
and transgender … who dared to walk into a gay women’s bar and acknowl-
edge themselves and their community and made a community for me … to
walk into.
To my mother—Joanne Marie (Curtin) Cartier—a woman who came of
age in the 1950s.
To all of my informants, especially Rae Hamilton, who gave me so much
support, as well as stories.
To those informants and friends, that I know of, who passed before this
book was completed: Jo Duffy, Bobreta Franklin, Yolanda Retter, Mary
M artinez , Lee Glaze, Mari Lamy… and most especially to Virginia “Ginny”
Borders, Heather Hamm, Stella Miller, Myrna Kurland and Elsie Solay.
May the “Last Dance” always be a sweet one.
May the stories collected herein encourage many more stories.
I’ve had butch women say to me,
“Baby, you are my church. You are my ... religion.”
Marie Cartier, Ballistic Femme
Well, I had insomnia.
I used to phone up all the gay bars,
just to hear them answer the phone.
I would just hear the noise
and the laughter in the background.
I just wanted to be there.
Excerpt, Myrna’s Story
PCOONLTIECNTYS
Acknowledgments ix
Preface: Myrna’s story xi
1. It was the only place 1
Part I: Interviews
2. The 1940s: “Thank God the Japanese surrendered.” 33
3. The 1950s: “I should have made a list of my girlfriends!” 51
4. The 1960s: “It was … Hollywood! We did a girlfriend …
daisy chain!” 79
5. The 1970s: “We were … women in overalls dancing with
women in overalls. They kicked us out.” 101
6. The 1980s: “I really did think I was Jess from Stone Butch
Blues reincarnated.” 136
Part II: Theological history and contexts
7. Historical antecedents 158
8. Theological strands 164
Part III: The nature of “theology”
9. Experience is primary 172
10. What is theelogy? 194
11. Four tenets of theelogy 213
12. Conclusion … Last Call! 218
Appendix A: Demographics 221
Appendix B: Sources 227
Bibliography 233
Index 245
vii
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ACkNPOOWLLPEOIDCGLMYIEC NYTS
Thank you to my informants, especially the Women of Forty Plus in Long
Beach, California, founded by Heather Hamm, whose members welcomed
me into their circle.
For helping me find informants—Marilyn Taylor, Toni Wallace, Deejay
Rhonda, Carole Damoci-Reed, Pat Lamis, Darlene Boyar, Ginny Borders,
Nancy Alperin, Rae Hamilton, Jeanne Cordova, Lisa Samson, Nancy Valverde,
Kimberly Esslinger, Rorri Feinstein, Shirley Horowitz, Bill Huff, Ken Davis,
Tanya Gilbert, Older Lesbians Organizing for Change, the Coalition of
Older Lesbians in Los Angeles, Comunidad of St. Matthew’s in Long Beach,
California, and Anna Totta.
I thank especially my doctoral dissertation committee chair, Zayn
Kassam—this could not have happened without her; and also Monica Cole-
man, Karen Jo Torjesen, and Alex Juhasz. Also thanks to Jack Coogan, Anne
Taves, Laura Harris, Lillian Faderman, Jackie Huntzinger, Margo Goldsmith,
Jackie Hughes Heacock, Emily Silverman, and Catherine Tuell.
For their support I thank Mary Duvall and Laura B. Hill, the community
and baristas of Hot Java, and proprietor Ken Davis, my Claremont writing
group Three Degrees of Separation, and Kahena Viale and also Lisa Samson.
I especially thank Mary Sellars.
I thank the June Mazer Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles—especially Jeri
Deitrich, Marcia Schwemer, and Angela Brinskele. I also deeply thank Joan
Nestle and the Lesbian Herstory Archives, especially Maxine Wolf and the
Archives Bar Project; also the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco; the
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC, as well as the Kinsey
Institute.
I thank those who offered me an audience: Raedorah Stewart for the ONE;
the Women of Forty Plus Group; the Laguna Beach Lavender Group; Jacob
Hale and The Center for Sex and Gender; Alicia Gaspar de Alba, UCLA;
Lucas Hildebrand, UCI; the Lesbian-Feminist Issues in Religion Group,
American Academy of Religion; Lisa Isherwood and the feminist theology
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