"I'm Julie Bindel and I want to recruit you!"

[blahflowers]

And now, something that might amuse auntysarah: Julie Bindel on her sexual liberation.

At 15 then, having only ever had one, non-serious, boyfriend, I came out as a lesbian. Three years later, I moved to Leeds... [and] finally met the R[adical] F[eminist]s. The RFs told me that, to them, lesbianism was a choice that women could make, and not a "condition" we are born with. "All women can be lesbians" was the mantra. I loved the sense that I had chosen my sexuality and rather than being ashamed or apologetic about it, as many women were, I could be proud, and see it as a privilege.

I wonder if Julie is now going to consult her girlfriend about the possibility of legal action against herself for implying that she chose to be a lesbian? Sadly there is no comments feature on the Guardian page in order to ask this important question.

EDIT: Interesting, people could start commenting after midday. I wonder why there was a delay in allowing this to happen?

Comments

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

"Political lesbian" isn't synonymous with "lesbian by choice." "Political lesbian" has historically implied "fake lesbian," i.e., "lesbian who isn't actually attracted to women at all but merely calls herself a lesbian anyway."

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Indeed not, but if she's stating (as she has several times) that she "chose" to become a lesbian because it aligned with her views of feminism, then reporting on rumours that she's a political lesbian is hardly defamatory, as she's seeding them herself.