if they can start defining us, why shouldn't we define ourselves? It is a feminist vision that helped bring us here today as lesbian and writers and … - Jewelle Gomez

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if they can start defining us, why shouldn't we define ourselves? It is a feminist vision that helped bring us here today as lesbian and writers and editors and publishers-we must not forget that. It was all the movements that came before the lesbian-feminist move ment that brought us here today. And we should not forget that. And not only should we not forget it; we should learn to use it. It's one thing to just simply quote it and say, "Yes, I know that," but what is it that you learned? What is it that you do differently now? Because you understand the oppression of women in this society and the exclusion of women and people of color and poor people from this society. What is it that you learned that makes you do things differently?