Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence

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Back in those days it is entirely likely that “celibacy” was interpreted as refraining from potentially procreative sex, not as refraining from any sexual contact. In the 60's and 70's, when the majority of these nuns entered the convent, the cloistered walls offered a perceived haven from marriage, an opportunity to obtain a college education, and a sanctuary/respite from dating pressures for those with confused sexual identities. I still love this book and I give major props to anyone who is willing to speak their own truth and speak out no matter what. Among the contributors to “Lesbian Nuns,” seven have been officers in the National Organization for Women at local and national levels.

Out of print for two decades, Lesbian Breaking Silence, the explosive international best-seller, is back with a new foreword analyzing the unprecedented impact it had on the lesbian community and mainstream culture. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).Contributions to New Ways Ministry are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. While my childhood friends were fantasizing about marrying their college sweetheart and what the babies would look like, I was fantasizing moving far, far away from home and family so I could figure out who the heck I was.

On the shelves for only a month, the book will complete a third printing today, bringing the number of copies in print to 150,000. I think it's so important to look at history and see ourselves, and Catholic/ex-Catholic women in the lesbian/bi community can definitely find parts of their histories in this book to relate to. The authors have been interviewed by the Dublin Herald Tribune; and an Italian publisher is apparently impatient to be granted rights to translate the book into Italian. There is some indication that the church has relaxed its policy of silence on the topic of homosexuals in religious life.In fact, regardless of readers’ connections with Catholicism or other religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, I think this book has something for everyone to recognize in themselves. As a young girl, I thought that I would become a religious sister because the idea of living in a community of women seemed much preferable to getting married. The particular brand of homophobia within Catholicism is illustrated beautifully here, offering many perspectives from people from different backgrounds. I'm not sure how representative that is of lesbian ex-nuns as a whole (or ex-nuns as a whole—I can only think of one I know myself, and she's very much of the radical-activist bent), but, well, it's lovely to see them pushing the boundaries of what one thinks when one thinks nun.