Thread by @felixmooreactor

There was so much incredible material that I just couldn't fit into this piece. The most moving were the expressions of support for Sandy I found from women writing in lesbian-feminist newsletters and magazines from the time. #TransHistory #LesbianHistory #TransWomenAreWomen 🧵

There were certainly hostile responses to the Olivia scandal, but there was also pushback against that. In 1978 Lesbian Connection printed ten letters responding to an open letter criticising Olivia for working with a trans woman. Eight of those ten disagreed, siding with Olivia.

Some of the letters describe loving personal and romantic relationships between cis and trans lesbians. #LWithTheT #TransWomenAreWomen #TransHistory #LesbianHistory

One woman writes of her trans lover: ‘ I think that to be male and become female and love women is the greatest expression of true lesbianism there is. She could have stayed male and loved women without society telling her that she was wrong.’ #LWithTheT

‘Among my dearest friends is a beautiful feisty lesbian transsexual, and through her I have met others, and felt their pride in their womanhood. Those of us who were born female cannot, I'm sure, cherish our womanhood as profoundly as do those to whom it comes later on in life.’

This line in particular certainly resonates today: ‘In a time when the real oppressors are becoming more powerful, it is unfortunate that the first people we attack are our sisters.’ #LWithTheT

This letter continues: ‘We have all come to our lesbianism through different routes and none of us should be denied lesbian support because of anything we were or did in the past.’ #LWithTheT

'Sandy has gone through a very difficult transition, though doubtless one that she wanted very much. How much more difficult being trapped in a man's body when you feel that you are essentially a woman, than to ever have a second thought about being a woman in a woman's body.'

One compared the anti-trans writer to anti-gay Anita Bryant: ‘But there is a qualitative difference between her and Anita: she is a bigot outside the lesbian "community", Margulies is a bigot within it. She does not threaten the feminist/lesbian "community" but Margulies does.’

TL;DR: Trans lesbians are not a new phenomenon. Cis and trans lesbians were in loving relationships with one another half a century ago. Trans lesbians were, and are, part of the lesbian community. Happy belated #InternationalLesbianDay 💗🧡🤍🧡💗