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money. My research (research,<br />
Donna,' not political wishfulthinking)<br />
revealed that it isn't just<br />
because we putatively eam less<br />
than men (still an unproven<br />
poin~ in my mind) but because<br />
dykes are often closeted about<br />
the fact that they do have money<br />
and are, as women, less weI/socialized<br />
to deal with the macho<br />
particularities of economic<br />
power. Indeed, I mentioned all<br />
those "nameless" dykes who<br />
.won't lift a finger for anything<br />
but their credit cards. Lesbians<br />
•<br />
need to take some responsibility<br />
for what we do and do not have,<br />
Donna, instead of twirling<br />
around in a tired old dance of fin-<br />
.ger-pointing and retrograde<br />
political analyses.<br />
My article was about rich<br />
dykes talking for themselves and<br />
about themselves. If you don't<br />
like these women, categorically,<br />
.because they have money, then<br />
you have a little work to do on<br />
your notions of sisterhood. Oh,<br />
and Donna, valorizing poverty in<br />
a city that is crumbling with desperate,<br />
hungry people is sick to<br />
the point of being obscene, in<br />
my mind, If you would prefer a<br />
world where everyone is "downwardly<br />
mobile and proud" as<br />
opposed to a world where everyone<br />
had an equal and decent<br />
economic chance to make it in<br />
this sick capitalistic culture, then<br />
you can have your goddamned<br />
.revolution. I myself am sick of<br />
eating spaghetti every night for<br />
dinner and fending off creditors<br />
until my anns are black and blue.<br />
Wake up, Donna Minkowitz, and<br />
take off your own rose-colored<br />
glasses. Eat the rich, indeed.<br />
REAL RICH DYKES<br />
Regarding Maria Maggenti's<br />
excellent piece on wealthy lesbians,<br />
Iwas sony to see her seem<br />
to support the notion that wealth<br />
is a big exception in the lesbian<br />
world. She did this primarily by<br />
focusing on lesbians who inherited<br />
money rather than those who<br />
get it "the old-fashioned way."<br />
Such an editorial focus contributes<br />
to the widespread myth<br />
that dykes are generally poor. We<br />
are not Overlooked Opinions in<br />
Chicago, the only reputable company<br />
that accurately surveys the<br />
queer community, did a major<br />
economic poll of lesbians and<br />
.gays last year. They found that<br />
while the national median income<br />
of all American households is<br />
around $30,000, the national<br />
median income of lesbian households<br />
is $41,000 and that of gay<br />
male households is $44,000.<br />
While this clealty shows that gay<br />
men earn somewhat more than<br />
dykes, it also clealty shows that<br />
dyke households earn more than<br />
average Ameticans. It certainly<br />
explodes the PC myth that dykeS<br />
are universally poor•<br />
That myth is extrapolated<br />
from the fact that women earn<br />
less than men, and that dykes,<br />
as women, must therefore be<br />
poorer than practically anybody<br />
else. But that theory is offset by<br />
. many factors that contribute to<br />
lesbian economic success. Lefs<br />
leave aside for the moment ;the,<br />
obvious (to me) fact that dykes<br />
are simply smarter than mo,"".<br />
. people and look at data even the;~<br />
average straight man would have<br />
to agree with: 1) Dykes often<br />
realize from adolescence that<br />
we're unlikely to get married;,<br />
and thus begin planning careel'$<br />
at an earty age; 2) dykes tend, as<br />
a generality, to be more se1f-suf~<br />
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