FREE ESSAY ON FADERMAN VS. EPSTEIN

FADERMAN VS. EPSTEIN

Homosexuality is a topic that has been discussed and debated for many years. There are
several different viewpoints as to the origin of homosexuality, and as to the way in
which homosexuals should be treated in the general society. Two distinguished authors
that discuss homosexuality and it's relation to the surrounding world are Steven Epstein
and Lillian Faderman. In Epstein's article Gay and Lesbian Movements in the United States
and in Faderman's book Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers there are many distinguishing
characteristics between there styles of writing. Although different in style both of the
writings prove to be useful in understanding the ways in which the homosexual community
was founded and the direction that the movement underwent.
The first chapter of Faderman's book is devoted to examining the beginnings of the
lesbian community in the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century.
It begins, for middle-class women with the start up of female colleges in America, where
ambitious women...could go to college, educate themselves for a profession, earn a living
in a rewarding career, and spend their lives with they women they loved(Faderman 12). The
start of the colleges allowed, for the first time, an opportunity for women to meet other
women with interests similar to theirs, outside of the family unit. Faderman states that
it was not what the women learned in college, it was that the young women's relationships
with one another while away at college helped to make them new people (19). After leaving
college the women were granted 1economic freedom from men, and therefore could continue
to live the lives that they wanted to live with women. These romantic friendships(15)
allowed women to live in same-sex households known as Boston marriages(15) and continue
with the lives that they desired. 
In the second chapter of her book, Faderman begins to discuss the works of sexologists
and the impact that they had on the creation of the lesbian community. Sexologist begin
to study the relationships that developed between working-class women who moved away from
home, and frequently shared rooms [with each other], sometimes on a long-term basis (38).
The sexologists were primarily medical men with middle-class backgrounds(39) and they
were prone to be able to see these lower-class women as deviant, rather then those of
their own class (39-40). In order to make more money these lower class women cut their
hair, and wore men's clothes(42) in order to be able to take on men's jobs and to make
men's wages. When the sexologists found about these types of women they assumed that a
masculine-looking creature must also have a masculine sex instinct(43).
Unlike Faderman, Epstein's article does not trace the details of the formation of
homosexual communities, but rather the movement of homosexuals for equality and justice.
He approaches the topic with a linear history of the homosexual movement beginning with
the 1950's, when the United States...witness[ed] its first social movement organizations
concerned with the status of homosexuals(Epstein 34). Epstein shows the rise and fall of
each of the organizations that attempted to make some political and social change in the
lives of the homosexual, such as; the Gay Liberation Front(38), the Gay Activists
Alliance(41), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force(44), and many other groups. One
thing that Epstein takes notice of in the organizations is that they were narrow in their
social composition - largely white and, with the increasing gentrification of property
within them, largely middle class(43). This is a major issue for Epstein as he sees that
the formation of quasi-ethnic communities proved central to the rise of the lesbian and
gay rights movement(43). Epstein does cover the topic of lesbianism as a sole entity
briefly when he writes that the 
mainstream lesbian and gay rights movement provided lesbians with inadequate space to
articulate a feminist critique of gender inequality and the traditional family, lesbian
feminism put such politics at the center but made it hard to analyze the place of
sexuality itself within sexual politics(49). 
He then moves on to discuss the AIDS epidemic and how 
many lesbians became involved... Thereby tightening, at least temporarily, the political
and personal connections between lesbians and gay men(53). 
Epstein ends his article discussing the 1990's and the strengthing of the homosexual
movement through the desire for marriage and to be treated as equals in the work place.
Although strikingly different in the content of their writings Faderman and Epstein both
strive to reach a central goal of teaching the reader of the creation and the struggles
of the homosexual movement as it has made its way through United States history. Faderman
focuses on the lesbian movement, and Epstein gives an overview of not only the
lesbian/gay movement, but also the movement of the queer society(62). Faderman allows the
reader to get a close personal connection with the individual women involved; such as
Carey Thomas who worked with her romantic partner Mary Garrett to promote the movements
of women(Faderman 30), and Dr. Sarah Josephine Baker, who had to where men's clothing to
work so as not to cause a disturbance(21). Epstein on the other hand focuses on the
actions of large organizations and does not allow a personal deep connection to be
formed, yet this method is also effective as he is able to state more facts in order to
teach the reader.
The movement of homosexuality in the late 19th century and the early 20th century was
dramatically different then the one that occurred after the 1950s. This in one way
explains the differences in the presentation of both of the writings, as they both had
different subject matter to discuss. They were writing to tell the story that they
perceived to be important in the homosexual movement, and they did it using their own
ideas and assumptions. The Faderman book may be easier for some to read and more
enjoyable as it gives a more in-depth personal history and a more personal connection.
The Epstein article might, on the other hand, be desired by others as it contains more
facts laid out in a timeline. The two different styles, both appear to be very effective
and allow the reader to obtain the necessary information.
Epstein and Faderman's writings were both directed at teaching people of the struggles
and triumphs of the homosexuality. They chose different tactics to enlighten their
readers and they developed their papers in different ways, yet the effect was the same
for both of them. The outcome was two articles that give backgrounds for lesbianism in
the late 1800's and for queers in the last forty years, in a manner that works to
preserve the great history of homosexuality. The two articles share similarities and at
the same time have distinct differences, yet just like other homosexual writings they
accomplish the task of preserving the history of homosexuality and the pioneers from
other generations.