“The notion that my sordid personal life had some sort of larger import was strange, but seductive.” (Bechdel, 80)
At this point in the narrative, Allison has begun to explore her identity through literature available at her college. Unlike the literary texts she’d been reading in her household as a child, she is able to find texts that articulate parts of her identity yet to be examined. In this space, Allison finds power in her new found visibility. In the confines of her home, her experiences were never centered, but this different sphere offers new literary realms that counter her feelings of isolation. In addition to finding literary comfort, Allison finds physical spaces on campus that offer networks of support and friendships. In this same time frame, Allison is simultaneously exposed to feminist theory. In this particular panel, Allison is at a “Gay Dance,” where she overhears the comment “Feminism is the theory. Lesbianism is the practice,” (Bechdel, 80) bringing up the conflation of political affiliation with sexuality in terms of feminist ideologies and lesbian identity. Although this is problematic, it made me think about Adrienne Rich’s “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” and the negation of lesbian existence in these circles as a way to combat stereotypes about feminists. This is problematic because it not only renders lesbian identities invisible; it undermines the importance of women loving individuals and their possible contributions to feminist theory.
The spaces and relationships she encounters in college really show the importance of representation, especially for Allison since the literature in her home was either very straight or involved only queer men. This reminds me of Sedgwick explaining how she picks the materials for the courses she teaches and how many straight students would complain about not being able to see themselves in the story. But the comment about lesbianism being the practice of feminism definitely negates many schools of feminist thought. Perhaps even just changing the language to “women-centric relationships” would be better (although probably unlikely to be uttered in the 1970s by white college-aged women) and would not exclude non-lesbian women-loving-women and the profound importance of friendship between women.