Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"LAVENDER MENACE"

Date Range From

2017

Date Range To

2019

Materials

PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Diameter

3.75

Description

PURPLE LESBIAN-FEMINIST BUTTON; FRONT OF THE BUTTON IS LAVENDER PURPLE WITH WHITE TEXT “LAVENDER MENACE”. BACK OF BUTTON IS WHITE PLASTIC WITH SILVER METAL C-CLASP. BUTTON EDGES ARE CRIMPED TO THE BACK; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON JULY 25, 2019, GALT MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT AND COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ELISABETH HEGERAT REGARDING HER DONATION OF PRIDE MATERIALS. ON THE BUTTONS COLLECTIONS, HEGERAT NOTED, “LAVENDER MENACE IS ONE OF THE HISTORICAL REFERENCES, AND I SPECIFICALLY WANTED TO BUT SOME OF THOSE IN BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR SOME OF THE YOUNGER MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW OUR HISTORY…LAVENDER MENACE IS A FEMINIST REFERENCE TO FIRST WAVE FEMINISM, I THINK IN THE ‘70S. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF FEMINISTS THAT DIDN’T WANT THE LESBIANS AFFILIATED WITH THEIR MOVEMENT AND ONE OF THEM FAMOUSLY CALLED THEM A LAVENDER MENACE AND IT BECAME A THING THAT PEOPLE CLAIMED WITH PRIDE. I KNOW THAT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE AT THE GENDER STUDIES DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY POUNCED ON THAT ONE WHEN THEY SAW IT. IT IS ONE OF THE ONES THAT WE DEFINITELY MADE A SMALLER BATCH OF.” “[THE LETHBRIDGE PRIDE FEST SOCIETY] HAD A BUTTON MAKER AND WE WERE GOING TO MAKE SOME BUTTONS FOR MERCHANDISE. A FEW OF US THOUGHT WE SHOULD DO A VARIETY OF THE FLAGS REPRESENTING DIFFERENT IDENTITIES IN THE QUEER COMMUNITY, TO MAKE SURE AS MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY FELT REPRESENTED. ALSO, THERE [ARE] A BUNCH OF BAD PUNS AND THAT IS MY FAULT AND DERRICK ANTSON’S FAULT, BECAUSE THE TWO OF US EGGED EACH OTHER ON. THERE IS ALSO SOME HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM…AND SOME THAT REFLECT THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME. THE FIRST BIG BATCH OF THEM ARE ALSO 2017, AND FOR PRIDE FEST IT HAS BEEN (LIKE WITH MANY OTHER PRIDES ACROSS AMERICA) TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT’S NOT JUST THE CIS-GENDERED, GAY, MALE AND PREDOMINATELY WHITE COMMUNITY REPRESENTED. IT IS ALWAYS A STRUGGLE AND SOMETHING TO STRIVE TOWARDS. [BUTTONS WERE] A REALLY EASY WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE FELT SEEN. I REMEMBER WHEN WE TOOK THE BUTTONS OUT TO EVENTS AND THE PEOPLE GOT REALLY EXCITED WHEN THEY FOUND THEIR FLAG, AND WE HAD SOME REQUESTS FOR OTHERS WHEN WE TOOK THEM OUT, AND WE WERE ABLE TO WHIP A FEW MORE OFF FOR PRIDE IN THE PARK.” “THERE [WAS] A BUNCH OF ZIP-LOCK BAGS AND A LITTLE SIGN HOLDER THAT [HAD] A SHEET WITH A LEGEND ON IT. SO, IT IS NOT AS WELL ORGANIZED AS IT COULD BE, LIKE MANY THINGS IN SIMILAR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS, BUT SOME OF US ARE INTENDING TO MAKE MORE THIS YEAR AND WE SHOULD GET OURSELVES A LITTLE MORE ORGANIZED. AT ONE POINT THE SIGN CAME ALONG WITH A DUO TANG THAT HAD EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT THEY ALL WERE, BUT IT HAS BEEN LOST TO THE AGES. WE ALSO FOUND THAT PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT TO STAND THERE AND FLIP THROUGH A THING, THEY JUST WANTED TO POINT AND SAY, ‘WHAT’S THAT ONE?’” “[IT WAS A] FUNDRAISER/STEALTH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT I GUESS. THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD THE WHOLE SELECTION A COUPLE OF OTHER PEOPLE AND I DRAGGED THEM OUT TO ALMOST EVERY PRIDE FEST EVENT WHERE IT IS CONDUCIVE TO SELL MERCHANDISE AND SET THEM UP.” “WE [MADE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FROM BUTTON SALES] THE FIRST YEAR…I THINK THAT WAS ALL IN. JUST ME COUNTING THE CASH AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, NOT COUNTING THE SUPPLIES. [THE PROFIT] GOES TOWARDS ALL THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS PRIDE FEST OFFERS. SOME OF IT MIGHT GO TOWARDS BUYING MERCHANDISE FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT WE DON’T PUT THE BUTTON MONEY STRAIGHT BACK INTO MAKING BUTTONS. IT ALL GOES INTO A GENERAL REVENUE.” “[WE SOLD BUTTONS FOR] TWO DOLLARS EACH AND THREE FOR FIVE. PRIDE FEST AT THE TIME BOUGHT, I WILL KINDLY SAY, THE MOST ECONOMICAL BUTTON MAKER AVAILABLE TO THEM. I’M LOBBYING TO GET A NEW ONE BECAUSE…IF YOU LOOK AT THE BACK OF SOME OF THE BUTTONS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS PLASTIC INSTEAD OF METAL. THE BUTTON MAKER IS A GIANT PAIN, YOU HAVE TO GET IT EXACTLY RIGHT. THE BETTER ONES ACTUALLY COME FROM THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY QSA KIDS HELPED OUT WITH SOME BUTTON MAKING, AND THEY USED THE BUTTON MAKER IN THE LIBRARY TO MAKE A BUNCH. IT MEANT THAT THEY PICKED OUT THE ONES THEY LIKED BEST AND MADE ALL OF THOSE.” “A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD PICK THROUGH AND END UP WITH A WHOLE HAND FULL AND GO, ‘OH I HAVE TO PUT ONE BACK,’ OR , ‘I NEED TO GET ONE MORE,’ JUST TO GET THAT THREE FOR FIVE. BUT WE SAW, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUNGER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO WERE COMING TO MORE THAN ONE EVENT, THAT THEY WOULD COME BACK AND SAY, ‘OKAY I BROUGHT MORE MONEY THIS TIME,’ AND BUY MORE BUTTONS. IT IS AN INEXPENSIVE REALLY EASY WAY TO CLAIM AN IDENTITY; VISIBLY CLAIM AN IDENTITY.” “I HAVE SEEN SOME OF [THE BUTTONS] OUT IN THE WILD. I HAVE SEEN A COUPLE ON CO-WORKERS, AND WE HAVE SEEN SOME OF THEM POP UP THE NEXT YEAR OF PRIDE. AND PEOPLE HAVE COME BACK HERE YEAR TO YEAR, ‘OH I NEED ANOTHER ONE,’ OR, ‘OH I WANTED TO GET THAT ONE LAST YEAR.’ IT HAS BECOME A THING.” “I THINK [THE BUTTONS] ARE IMPORTANT TO HAVE OUT THERE BECAUSE OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE AND BECAUSE THEY ARE INEXPENSIVE. ESPECIALLY…TO SOME OF THE YOUNGER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, OR ANYBODY ELSE WHERE COST MIGHT BE A BARRIER. THE BUTTONS IN GENERAL DO HAVE A HISTORICAL ROLE IN TERMS OF ACTIVISM AND VISIBILITY, BOTH WITHIN THE QUEER COMMUNITY AND BEYOND. THE OTHER THING ABOUT THE BUTTONS TOO IS THAT WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN AND CUSTOMIZE THEM…WE DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON SOMEBODY ELSE TO BE MASS PRODUCING THAT MERCHANDISE. WE CAN USUALLY WHIP SOMETHING UP IN RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER IF WE HAVE DISCOVERED WE HAVE MISSED SOMETHING IMPORTANT, OR SOMETHING WE OVER LOOKED.” HEGERAT ELABORATED ON THE BUTTON DESIGNS, SHARING, “IN MOST CASES, IT IS NOT LIKE THERE IS AN OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR THESE FLAGS. THEY ARE GRASSROOTS, COMMUNITY DRIVEN AND IN SOME CASES WE FIND MORE THAN ONE VARIATION. I JUST, LIBRARIAN TO THE CORE, POKED AROUND ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND ONES THAT SEEM TO BE MORE COMMONLY USED OR THAT AN ORGANIZATION WAS USING.” “DERRICK [ANTSON] MIGHT HAVE CREATED SOME OF THE GRAPHICS, BUT I SEARCHED FOR OPEN SOURCE, CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGES WE COULD USE WITHOUT COPYRIGHT. I JUST LOOKED IN A COUPLE OF PLACES AND MUCKED AROUND WITH MY INCREDIBLY RUDIMENTARY GRAPHIC SKILLS TO PUT THEM TOGETHER, AND THEN DERRICK MADE A BUNCH OF THEM PRETTIER…WE TRIED NOT TO PICK ANYTHING WHERE THERE WERE CONTRADICTING OPINIONS ABOUT THE SYMBOL, BECAUSE WE TRIED TO PICK THE ONES THAT WERE RELATIVELY UNIVERSAL.” “I WAS LEFT UNSUPERVISED WITH THE BUTTONS AND I ENDED UP SORTING A BUNCH INTO THEME PACKS TOO, AND I THINK THOSE WERE LIKE, TEN FOR TWELVE. [EACH THEME PACK HAD A TITLE] THERE WAS TRANS ACTIVIST, QUEER HISTORY, THERE WAS A SNARK FEST ONE [MORE SARCASTIC PUNS]. THERE WAS A LESBIAN BUTTON THAT SAID, ‘YES WE’RE, NO YOU CAN’T WATCH,’ I THINK IT WAS ON A BLACK BACKGROUND, OR, 'LET’S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT. I’M NOT,' SO SOME OF THE ONES LIKE THAT WENT INTO THE SNARK FEST ONE. BOY MEETS BOY, GIRL MEETS GIRL. THERE WAS A FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONE TOO, THAT ONE HAD A RAINBOW BUTTON THAT SAID, ‘ALLY,’ AND THAT ONE WENT INTO THAT PACK WITH SOME OTHER STUFF LIKE, ‘THE GSA’S ARE A’ OKAY,’ AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS.” ACCORDING TO THE WIKIPEDIA ENTRY, “LAVENDER MENACE” [HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/LAVENDER_MENACE ], “THE LAVENDER MENACE OR REVOLUTION WAS AN INFORMAL GROUP OF LESBIAN RADICAL FEMINISTS FORMED TO PROTEST THE EXCLUSION OF LESBIANS AND LESBIAN ISSUES FROM THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT AT THE SECOND CONGRESS TO UNITE WOMEN IN NEW YORK CITY ON MAY 1, 1970…THE ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE "LAVENDER MENACE" IS THAT IT WAS FIRST USED IN 1969 BY BETTY FRIEDAN, PRESIDENT OF NOW [THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN], TO DESCRIBE THE THREAT THAT SHE BELIEVED ASSOCIATIONS WITH LESBIANISM POSED TO NOW AND THE EMERGING WOMEN'S MOVEMENT. FRIEDAN, AND SOME OTHER HETEROSEXUAL FEMINISTS, WORRIED THAT THE ASSOCIATION WOULD HAMSTRING FEMINISTS' ABILITY TO ACHIEVE SERIOUS POLITICAL CHANGE, AND THAT STEREOTYPES OF "MANNISH" AND "MAN-HATING" LESBIANS WOULD PROVIDE AN EASY WAY TO DISMISS THE MOVEMENT. UNDER HER DIRECTION, NOW ATTEMPTED TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM LESBIAN CAUSES—INCLUDING OMITTING THE NEW YORK CHAPTER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS [DOB] FROM THE LIST OF SPONSORS OF THE FIRST CONGRESS TO UNITE WOMEN IN NOVEMBER 1969. FRIEDAN'S REMARKS AND THE DECISION TO DROP DOB FROM THE SPONSOR LIST LED LESBIAN FEMINIST RITA MAE BROWN TO ANGRILY RESIGN HER ADMINISTRATIVE JOB AT NOW IN FEBRUARY 1970. ON MARCH 15, 1970, STRAIGHT RADICAL FEMINIST SUSAN BROWNMILLER QUOTED FRIEDAN'S REMARKS ABOUT THE "LAVENDER MENACE" AND DISMISSED HER WORRIES AS "A LAVENDER HERRING, PERHAPS, BUT NO CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" IN A NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE ARTICLE. WHILE THE TERM "LAVENDER MENACE" ORIGINATED AS A NEGATIVE TERM FOR LESBIANISM, IT WAS LATER RECLAIMED AS A POSITIVE TERM BY LESBIAN FEMINISTS.” “RITA MAE BROWN SUGGESTED TO HER CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING GROUP THAT LESBIAN RADICAL FEMINISTS ORGANIZE AN ACTION IN RESPONSE TO BROWNMILLER'S COMMENTS, AND THE PUBLIC AIRING OF FRIEDAN'S COMPLAINTS. THE GROUP DECIDED TO TARGET THE SECOND CONGRESS TO UNITE WOMEN IN NEW YORK CITY ON MAY 1, 1970, WHICH THEY NOTICED FEATURED NOT A SINGLE OPEN LESBIAN ON THE PROGRAM. THEY PLANNED A ZAP FOR THE OPENING SESSION OF THE CONGRESS, WHICH WOULD USE HUMOR AND NONVIOLENT CONFRONTATION TO RAISE AWARENESS OF LESBIANS AND LESBIAN ISSUES AS VITAL PARTS TO THE EMERGING WOMEN'S MOVEMENT. THEY PREPARED A TEN-PARAGRAPH MANIFESTO ENTITLED "THE WOMAN-IDENTIFIED WOMAN" AND MADE T-SHIRTS, DYED LAVENDER AND SILKSCREENED WITH THE WORDS "LAVENDER MENACE" FOR THE ENTIRE GROUP. THEY ALSO CREATED ROSE COLORED SIGNS WITH SLOGANS LIKE "WOMEN'S LIBERATION IS A LESBIAN PLOT" AND "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THE LAVENDER MENACE" WRITTEN ON THEM, WHICH WERE THEN PLACED THROUGHOUT THE AUDITORIUM. “AFTER THE INITIAL STUNT, THE "MENACES" PASSED OUT MIMEOGRAPHED COPIES OF "THE WOMAN-IDENTIFIED WOMAN" AND TOOK THE STAGE, WHERE THEY EXPLAINED HOW ANGRY THEY WERE ABOUT THE EXCLUSION OF LESBIANS FROM THE CONFERENCE AND THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT AS A WHOLE. A FEW MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE TRIED TO TAKE BACK THE STAGE AND RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM, BUT GAVE UP IN THE FACE OF THE RESOLUTE MENACES AND THE AUDIENCE, WHO USED APPLAUSE AND BOOS TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT. THE GROUP AND THE AUDIENCE THEN USED THE MICROPHONE FOR A SPONTANEOUS SPEAK-OUT ON LESBIANISM IN THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT, AND SEVERAL OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE "ZAP" WERE INVITED TO RUN WORKSHOPS THE NEXT DAY ON LESBIAN RIGHTS AND HOMOPHOBIA. STRAIGHT AND GAY WOMEN FROM THE CONGRESS JOINED AN ALL-WOMEN'S DANCE.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENENT FILE P20190020001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190020023

Acquisition Date

2019-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail