The marginalization of lesbian-feminism at Towson State College during the 1970s

Abstract

[From paper]: As a college traditionally dominated by women in the heart of metropolitan Baltimore, Towson’s college campus (then called TSC, or Towson State College) was not only a living site for the women's liberation movement; it also bore witness to the gay liberation movement’s revitalization, which took place after the Stonewall Riots reinvigorated the cause across the U.S. Naturally, these two movements were bound to interact.

At Towson in the 1970s, lesbians were marginalized such to the extent that they were virtually absent from the mainstream women’s liberation movement on-campus. They were pushed to the periphery of the movement due to “lavender menace” anxiety that was circulating in liberal feminist circles at the time, and their isolation out of these spaces was only further exacerbated by the uphill battle being fought by all gay students for their visibility and rightful spot in TSC’s community.