'The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle' Book Talk, "Question and Answer: Part 1 of 16", Lillian Faderman, 2015/10/18

Audience member: Hi Lillian, this is just a comment that’s interesting about Robbie Kaplan. She was very closeted and very ashamed of being a lesbian and–very, very. In 1991 she decided to go to a therapist, and she went to a therapist for two sessions, and the therapist was Thea Spyer. And so when an activist asked to take this case that nobody in the movement would touch, she realized, and she went over to talk to Edie Windsor, and she was very excited because she went back to the very apartment in which she had the two sessions and Thea Spyer had told her, “There’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian and I have a very, very happy relationship for 25 years and it’s Edie Windsor.” So that case was kind of full circle. Thank you for your book, it’s the most brilliant book I’ve read on the movement and it’s the only one that I’ve ever read that had so many stories about lesbians in it and so many–there’s been so many books out and we have been left out of so many of them, all of us, out of so many of the books, so thank you very much for spending the years that you and Phyllis spent tracking down the truth like lesbian bloodhounds. Thank you. [applause]

Faderman: Let me just say that Phyllis is my wonderful partner of 44 years and she’s sitting there. [applause] And I could live no part of my life without her. But I have to say too that she has been indispensable to my research; at one point she told me that four eyes are better than two [laughter] and yes, she has worked by my side. I dedicate this book–well I know it by heart–it says, “To Phyllis, who is and always has been necessary to it all’ and that is so true. [applause] I want to say too that Roberta Kaplan has written her own wonderful book that came out just about two weeks ago, and she begins with that story–she actually told me that story about going into Edie Windsor’s apartment. The story is that Edie Windsor, as I said earlier, could not get anyone to take her case and she called Roberta Kaplan and she told her age–by then I think she was already in her eighties, she’s now something like eighty-six. And Roberta Kaplan said, “Well, where do you live” and she told her and Roberta Kaplan said, “Well, that’s on my way home so afterward I’m going to stop off” and she said she walked into the apartment and it immediately looked familiar and she realized that it looked so familiar because she had gone for those two sessions for psychotherapy to Thea Spyer. And it was partly that that made her take the case, she really felt that she owed Thea and Edie something, and that is her happy life as a lesbian. She’s now married and they’re raising a child. And also Edie–I’m sure all of you have either seen pictures of her or seen her speak in person–she’s absolutely irresistible. She’s just, she’s intelligent, really sharp, really lovely, and so it was an ideal case to represent all of us at the supreme court. [applause]

[END OF VIDEO]


Interviewee: Lillian Faderman
Interviewer: Audience member
Transcriber: Anna H.
Formatter: Serena R.
Recording Date: October 18, 2015
Release Date: October 25, 2015
Location: City Council Chambers in West Hollywood, California
Interview Length: 00:03:58