The New York Times
February 1, 2009
By SARAH KERSHAW
THEY called it a lesbian paradise, the pioneering women who made their way to St. Augustine, Fla., in the 1970s to live together in cottages on the beach. Finding one another in the fever of the gay rights and women’s liberation movements, they built a matriarchal community, where no men were allowed, where even a male infant brought by visitors was cause for debate.
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I found this article interesting. Upon reading the entirety of the article, it is evident that the women of the aformentioned community have a strong distrust towards men in general. This is due, perhaps, to the manner in which these women were treated by the opposite sex, either in prior relationships, or based on their sexual preferences. Furthermore, the region in which this community resides has a reputation of being rather intolerant towards any digression from normality; especially during the time of the establishment of said community. That being said, it is clear that these women chose to live isolated from society in order to avoid intolerance, and in doing so, found happiness; or so they preach.
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with the women of this community, and perhaps there was a point in time where such a community could be desirable, however, I do not think that many people today, or any point in time for that matter, would find disconnecting themselves from all of their friends and family in order to move to an isolated wilderness in Alabama very appealing. Furthermore, I find the actions of these women to be very cowardice, rather than to fight for integration and acceptance, they chose to ignore the problem at hand and isolate themselves in a society of their own. Should the world today suddenly change in their favor, that is, in the annihilation of all members of the opposite sex, I find it highly unlikely that they would remain in their old community, and would creep out as insects under a floorboard.
I think this article is very interesting. I think it is amazing that these women chose to completely isolate themselves from any label that could be directly attached with "men." They even went as far to change the word from women to woman. I think it is empowering for these woman to be able to create a community for themselves that they feel comfortable. I can understand why these women have to go to such extremes because of the world we live in and the stereotypes society has put onto each gender. I would hope that the world could change in the favor of these woman so that there would not be such a division and these woman would not have to create their own community. I think this is a hard article to analyze because I do not think the woman are being cowardly I think they are trying to provide the most comfortable and free lives for themselves as possible. It is unfortunate that society has forced them into this position but it is also empowering that they are taking actions for themselves.
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