Tag: books

Dorothy

July 2, 2014 by 55Upitty

I have always been open about my age, but I am particularly comfortable, and proud, to say that I am eighty. When I was about three, I can remember having a sense of another presence around me, a comforting presence. I always felt there was something beyond me. I was brought up a Methodist, and then the Methodist church became part of the Uniting Church. I am so glad I had a father who was a radical thinker. I never […]

Categories: Christian, Lesbians, Mothers, Uncategorized • Tags: African National Congress, age, ageing, ageism, anti-apartheid movement, australia, australian politics, books, Catholicism, clergy, clerical collar, Death, fascist, feminism, feminist, gay, God, graffiti, grandchildren, grandmother, human rights, Human Rights Medal, journalism, lesbian, LGBTI, love, Macquarie University, Methodism, Methodist, minister, mission, mother, neo-Nazi, neo-Nazism, ordain, ordination, Pitt Street Uniting Church, politics, protest, racism, racist, Redfern, relationships, sex, sexuality, South Sydney Herald, Synod, Tasmania, Uniting Church, vietnam, Waterloo, White Australia policy, woman, women, women's movement, Woprld Council of Churches

Beatriz

January 14, 2014 by 55Upitty

I’m old. Not inside. Inside I’m still very young. But I’m proud to say that I am seventy one. I grew up in Rosario, in Argentina. When I was eighteen I saw a documentary about Bondi Beach, and I really wanted to come and see it. When my father died, I asked my sister if she’d come here with me. My mother was against it. She asked; “Why do you want to go there? There’s no women there.” But it […]

Categories: Academics, Artists, Feminist, Grandparents, Lesbians, Mothers, Professionals • Tags: abortion, acting, Argentina, art, australia, Bondi, books, Buddhism, Catholicism, children, counselling, creative writing, discrimination, Doctorate, drag queen, education, feminism, feminist, gay, gym, Kerry Fluhr, lesbian, mother, psychologist, psychology, relationships, sex, shoes, Spanish, sydney, TAFE, theatre, yoga

Lyn

December 11, 2012 by 55Upitty

…people saw me as cute, oh, like a Chinese doll. Except I had a horrible temper. They soon found out I wasn’t such a sweet little thing. I’ve had to grow my personality to cope with being different, and I could either choose to be a victim or I could choose to think of myself as special… My sexuality is the central theme of my experience. Again, I am part of a minority, and I am very proud of […]

Categories: Activists, Disability, Fashion, Feminist, Lesbians, Professionals, Race, Sport • Tags: aboriginal health service, abortion, abortion clinic, abortion history, abortion protest, age, ageing, ageism, asian, asian australian, australia, australian politics, ballroom, books, brisbane, child, childhood, chinese, consciousness raising, dance, disability, discrimination, doctor, exercise, fashion, feminism, feminist, feminist medicine, foucault, gay, golf, gym, health, history, homophobia, hong kong, immigrant, immigration, juliet mitchell, latin, latin dance, law, lawyer, legal, legal system, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTI, LGBTIQ, mardi gras, medicine, migrant, migration, older people, our bodies ourselves, pauline hanson, people with a disability, photography, politics, portraits, protest, queensland, queer, race, racism, refugee, refugee review tribunal, relationships, retirement, right to protest, safety, salsa, same sex ballroom dance, same sex dance, separatism, sex, sexism, sexual identity, sexuality, social security tribunal, style, swimming, swing, sydney, sydney gay and lesbian mardi gras, sydney gay and lesbian mardi gras 2014, tennis, vietnam, vietnam war, visibility, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, woman, women

Liz

November 13, 2012 by 55Upitty

…I don’t see being gay as a lifestyle, it’s not just that I prefer women, it’s more than that because I am in a world, and in a culture where that is not the norm. You can only deal with it by having a political framework… I think sex is wonderful. Always was, hopefully always will be. And you really shouldn’t neglect it…For me, it hasn’t changed as I’ve got older. I talk about my age like a little kid. […]

Categories: Academics, Activists, Artists, Feminist, Grandparents, Lesbians, Mothers, Sport, Uncategorized • Tags: age, ageing, ageism, art, artist, australia, australia centre for gay and lesbian research, australian politics, bodybuilder, bodybuilding, books, bowler hat, butch, cats, children, conjoint professor, dance, discrimination, dyke, edna ryan, edna ryan award, ednas, emeritus professor, exercise, fashion, female bodybuilder, female bodybuilding, feminism, feminist, first mardi gras, gay, gay and lesbian arts association, gay games, gay games 2002, gay games sydney, gold medal, gold medal gay games, governor of NSW, gym, health, history, homosexual, illustrator, lesbian, lesbian aging, lesbian art, lesbian art an encounter with power, LGBT, love, mardi gras, Marie Bashir, mother, newcastle university, older people, order of australia, painter, pets, photography, politics, portraits, power, professor, protest, queer, relationships, retirement, sex, sex in public, sexuality, student, sydney, teaching, university, university of NSW, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, woman, women

Gabrielle (Gail)

June 2, 2012 by 55Upitty

… I don’t think much about age. Mind you, it’s very strange to feel more or less the same as you have always felt but catch sight of yourself in a mirror every now and then and wonder, who is that? To have been beautiful, and to accept wrinkles and still feel beautiful. I like queer as a label – to me, it’s inclusive. I don’t like phobia of any kind – and early on I had to stand up […]

Categories: Fashion, Feminist, Lesbians • Tags: 1978, 78er, 78ers, age, ageing, ageism, androgyny, anzac day, art, beauty, bessie smythe clinic, bicycle, bike riding, books, bookshop, cats, conference, discrimination, dyke, exercise, F collective, feet, feminism, feminist, feminist bookshop, first mardi gras, gay, germaine greer, green, gym, health, international womens day, international womens year, LGBT, lilyfield, love, mardi gras, medal of the order of australia, older people, older people and technology, painting, pets, photography, pilates, politics, portraits, protest, purple, queer, relationships, retirement, revolution, riding, sexuality, simone de beauvoir, strong seniors, suffragette, sydney, technology, transphobia, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, watercolour, woman, women

Teresa

April 18, 2012 by 55Upitty

Being seen as an older woman is another new challenge. I notice a general disdain for older people, and I’m becoming very attuned to ageism – it’s everywhere. Older women are invisible, it seems. Or “cute”. Either way, we’re not perceived as having any power or status. So, we’ll have to take it, grab it with both hands and shake it. It was a traumatic time for me – I didn’t know a single other lesbian, I didn’t know that […]

Categories: Fashion, Lesbians, Librarians, Mothers, Vegetarians • Tags: ageing, ageism, art, australia, australian politics, books, children, cufflinks, discrimination, dyke, england, fashion, feminism, feminist, gay, gay parenting, hair, history, homosexual, homosexuality, invisibility, jewellery, lesbian, lesbian mother, lesbian parent, librarian, library, literature, mother, motherhood, older people, patricia chingwile, pearl, pearls, photography, politics, portraits, queer, quiff, relationships, retirement, rockabilly, sexuality, shoes, suits, sydney, vegetarian, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, woman, women