link Archives

Mary Jane

April 30, 2014 by 55Upitty

I’d urge everyone to enjoy each period of life. Try not to get too consumed with what’s ahead and what’s behind. I don’t mind being this age, but I’d like the fitness and energy I had when I was 25. I’m 62 years of age, but I have to think about it to be sure. I am a family therapist and counsellor, and I also work with people who have drug and alcohol dependence. Both privately and in a psychiatric […]

Categories: Fashion, Feminist, Lesbians, Mothers, Professionals, Uncategorized • Tags: aboriginal, accident, addiction, addicts, brain damage, Catholic, Catholicism, children, Christian, Christianity, club foot, convent, counselling, counsellor, Death, discrimination, drug addiction, drug addicts, equal marriage, euthanasia, family therapy, feminism, feminist, Foster Care Association, fostering, head injury, Indigenous, lesbian, lesbian uniform, marriage, mother, motorbike, Northmead High, novitiate, nun, nurse, Palm Island, perpetrators, Point Piper, psychology, retirement, retiring, school, secrecy, sex, sexual abuse, sexuality, shame, talipes, therapist, travel, women's health

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

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

Ludo

September 19, 2012 by 55Upitty

I knew I was different when I was sixteen, but couldn’t put my finger on it, metaphorically speaking. Dusty Springfield was the only person I’d ever heard of who was a lesbian. I couldn’t do the big hair… These days, I’m a retired lesbian. Women have been the focus of my life, but I’ve got to the point where I think, ‘that will do’. I have a wide circle of friends and I never really was the domestic or […]

Categories: Activists, Feminist, Lesbians, Musicians • Tags: 1970s, activism, activist, age, ageing, ageism, animals, architecture, assisted suicide, aunt, Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing House, cancer, children, chosen family, coming out, discrimination, dog, domestic violence, Dusty Springfield, DV, dying, dyke, edinburgh, elsie women's refuge, euthanasia, feminism, feminist, france, friends, gay, Gay Liberation, history, homeless, homeless women, homosexual, horse, industrial protections, industrial reform, jillaroo, Kent University, lesbian, lesbian feminist, lesbian feminist conference, LGBT, LGBTI, LGBTIQ, life, Margaret Coulson, music, musician, older, older people, older woman, older women, Older Women's Network, oral history, paris, pets, photography, politics, portrait, portrait photography, punk, queer, refuge, relationships, retire, retirement, Robin Archer, rock climbing, saxophone, scooter, sex, sexuality, Stray Dags, surfing, sydney, violence against women, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, women's liberation conference, women's movement, women's music, women's warehouse, work, youth

Jude

July 3, 2012 by 55Upitty

…the older I get the more serenity I find. When I was a young feminist we called respected older women crones – that would suit me. As time passes I grow more comfortable with myself – age empowers me… I saw the film of Calamity Jane when I was ten, and it just stuck with me. I always wanted a cowgirl suit, not one with a skirt, the boy’s one with pants. When I see that film now the lesbian sub-text is such […]

Categories: Academics, Fashion, Feminist, Grandparents, Lesbians, Mothers • Tags: academia, academic, adventure, age, ageism, annapurna, australia, australian centre for lesbian and gay research, calamity jane, campervan, children, corporatism, cowgirl, creative writing, crone, difference, discrimination, doris day, dress, dyke, east timor, equality, exercise, family, feminism, feminist, french, friendship, gay, gender, gender equality, girlfriend, grandma, grandmother, grandparent, gym, health, himalayas, homeless, homelessness, homosexual, horses, hunter valley, inca trail, inequality, injustice, jodhpurs, language, lesbian, lesbian feminist, LGBT, mardi gras, motorbike, older people, partner, phd, photography, politics, portraits, professor, purple, queer, relationships, retirement, riding, sexuality, social justice, social work, social worker, soul mate, style, sydney, transgender, travel, university, violence against children, violence against women, viv mcgregor, viv mcgregor photography, walking, west, woman, women, youth, youth homelessness

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