"I'm trying to remember a cheeky quote for this spot"
No matter how many times I've viewed this film for various classes, and this has been no less than half a dozen times, I thoroughly enjoy both the interviews, and utterly kitchy, over-the-top acting, time and time again. It's a testament to the women's stories and the film makers' talents, and sense of humor, that Forbidden Love has become such a classic in such a short amount of time. In Montreal a short time ago, my partner and I hopelessly wandered around the city for hours trying to find the world famous St. Viateur's bagel shop. Frustrated, cranky and hungry, I kept thinking about the illusive Greenwhich Village Lesbians from the film, and laughing my head off. In a most hilarious manner Forbidden Love explores issues of identity, whether this be straight, gay, butch or femme, or Greenwhich Village lesbian. Lesbian and gay communities of previous generations garner little attention, and are mostly invisible to the majority of Canadians. Women seem to become more and more invisible as they age in our culture as well. Hearing the stories of lesbian women in Canada from the 1940's, 50's and 60's is therefore doubly illuminating. While I struggle to imagine the inhospitality of this time and place for lesbian women, those interviewed look back for the most part, with an almost mischievous fondness and sense of humor at their subversion of the norm. Several of the women discuss the police raids in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, the general harassment, and family dynamics. There are genuinely heartbreaking moments in these interviews. There is tone however, that seems absent from much of the discussion today, at least as far as I can tell.
As I write this though, I am struck by the potential parallels of second-wave feminism and Women's Studies as discussed in the book Troubling Women's Studies. Was there more of a cohesiveness and solidarity for lesbians in the 40's, 50's and 60's? In my written response to Troubling Women's Studies I saw this largely as an idealization of history, as well as a generational gap. As Women's Studies moves farther away from the margins, defining ourselves as oppositional becomes harder and harder to do. Our identities become more fragmented, which I argue is a good thing. It would be interesting to explore literature on the parallels, and differences among shifting identities within GLBT communities as well. I have gotten somewhat of track in my discussion of Forbidden Love, but ultimately the film is also identity. Wonder where those Greenwich Village lesbians were hiding out anyways?
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