When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love and Revolution by Jeanne Córdova
1.) Before reading this novel, did you know who Jeanne Córdova was, or the work she has done?
2.) The memoir centered around the board of the Gay Community Services Center (GCSC) firing 16 lesbian-feminist staff members, due to the board deeming the women as “dissidents” for trying to introduce feminist ethics and practices to the organization. This event causes Córdova to question if boycotting the center will end the sexist actions, or cause destruction of a gay space. What would you have done in this situation?
3.) In the introduction of the book the author talks a briefly about radical ideas and ideology in a “then vs. now” point of view. It is really fascinating to think about how our ideas of what is liberal and radical, will be seen as conservative to another generation. What were your thoughts about what was seen as radical then, versus what is the norm, or rather what is becoming more normalized, today?
4.) Many reviews have stated that this memoir read like a fiction novel, did you feel the same? What aspects, if any, made you feel that way?
1.) Before reading this novel, did you know who Jeanne Córdova was, or the work she has done?
2.) The memoir centered around the board of the Gay Community Services Center (GCSC) firing 16 lesbian-feminist staff members, due to the board deeming the women as “dissidents” for trying to introduce feminist ethics and practices to the organization. This event causes Córdova to question if boycotting the center will end the sexist actions, or cause destruction of a gay space. What would you have done in this situation?
3.) In the introduction of the book the author talks a briefly about radical ideas and ideology in a “then vs. now” point of view. It is really fascinating to think about how our ideas of what is liberal and radical, will be seen as conservative to another generation. What were your thoughts about what was seen as radical then, versus what is the norm, or rather what is becoming more normalized, today?
4.) Many reviews have stated that this memoir read like a fiction novel, did you feel the same? What aspects, if any, made you feel that way?