Working for Lesbian Line/Switchboard
1980
Barbara worked for the Switchboard
for a while in the late seventies / early eighties. ?For people who weren?t
part of the gay or feminist movement, or even the more standard butch ? femme
scene which was still out there ? making contact was quite difficult and people
would phone up, not about forming relationships, but just about finding other
lesbians, making friendships and becoming part of and belonging to that.
Although there weren?t huge numbers of events you could say, ?There?s a disco on
such a date?, and people would take the trouble to go and meet them beforehand.
The Lesbian Line part operated a couple of nights a week, there weren?t many
volunteers, on a shoe string. Bridget said there wasn?t any lesbian literature
so the number must have been in the local press.
Contributed by: Barbara Carter, 53, Bridget Malin, 62