by Jeff Johnson
This question came up inside GLS a few years ago. We notified subscribers of a survey about the name of the group in the July/August 2020 issue of TRACKS. Information from the survey responses was included in the September/October 2020 issue. After some discussion, and without a general consensus about a better name, we made some adjustments but did not change the name.
More recently, as we approach our 40th anniversary, the subject is coming up again, from inside the Sierra Club and outside. Times have changed. Language and labels have changed. Many more self-recognized sex- and gender-related minorities want to be recognized, and we want to welcome them. Sometimes we hear that people can’t tell whether they will be welcome if they don’t identify as gay or lesbian1. So I thought we could revisit the question: Why “Gay and Lesbian Sierrans”?
GLS was created in the 1980s, after Stonewall, at the height of AIDS activism. Sierra Club members in the Los Angeles chapter who were gay and lesbian wanted a section in the chapter that included them explicitly and comfortably. When the section was created, it was Gay and Lesbian Sierrans.
If we were going to give GLS a new name in 2020, we wanted it to be generally appealing, to not be confusing. and to be plain English.
“LGBTQIA+” etc. is the default approach to this labeling conundrum these days. But this does not slip off the tongue, it’s not plain English, and do we have to keep updating it as new minorities are recognized? And then, have you ever asked people: What do those initials stand for — all of those initials? Ask three people and they won’t all agree. This approach works better to describe a group rather than to name a group.
“Queer” is a candidate label that seems like it ought to be able to cover all people who are not cis gender and/or not straight. But people object: “Queer is how people used to taunt me, I don’t want to be called queer.” “I’m not queer, I’m gay.” “What does queer even mean?” These days, “queer” as a term of identity feels like an intentional nudge at comfortable social norms, and/or like a radical chic identity label. It’s unappealing to some people who would rather fit in than stand out, and that’s a lot of people. And it’s unappealing to people who don’t want to identify with people who make a point of standing out. If it’s divisive or ambiguous, it’s probably not a good choice for us.
There are at least two counter arguments in favor of “queer” as a label. First, it’s plain English and everyone can spell it. Second, taking ownership of the insult and pushing it into standard usage and social recognition would be progress. Look what happened to the word “gay,” it’s now a word for which there is no acceptable substitute in everyday conversation. “Queer” might work for us if we were more a cutting edge political group than a social group, but we don’t seem to be that today.
“Rainbow” is another candidate label. The Gay and Lesbian Sierrans group in the San Francisco chapter of the Sierra Club has restyled itself as Rainbow Sierrans.
“Rainbow” also has a history. Fred Hampton’s Rainbow Coalition that was active at the end of the 1960s inspired the political activities and rhetoric of many leaders who followed, but it had little to do with gay liberation. There’s Gilbert Baker’s classic 1979 six-color rainbow flag, a metaphor for a rainbow that includes all the colors of light. That six-color rainbow flag is also associated with a period when gay liberation seemed to be for and about white men, and other minorities felt excluded. That iconic flag led to more complicated flag designs intended to make up for those exclusionary associations, but they are still rainbow flags. Today, “rainbow” is a symbol that is, if a little dated, still cheerful, bright, widely used, and universally recognized.
There are also arguments in favor of keeping the original name. The GLS founders struggled with the difficulties and politics of the 1980s to create GLS. The name “Gay and Lesbian Sierrans” reflects those times and should be honored as a product and part of that history. Do people today suggest that the NAACP should change its historic name because no one refers to “colored people” in the same way now?
And there are also practical reasons not to change the name. When GLS wanted to change one of the signers on our bank account, it was a ridiculously complicated and time-consuming project for several GLS management committee members. No one would look forward to the fire drills required to adjust our established corporate presence inside the Sierra Club and at the bank.
In the end, in 2020, we chose a relatively low-key response to the question:
- The name Gay and Lesbian Sierrans was subtitled “A rainbow outdoor group”
- Our website home page says that GLS is “by and for GLBTQ+ people and their friends and families”
- Our Meetup page has similar text. (You can see events listed on our Meetup page if you subscribe to our group there.)
And that is where we are still today.
If you have thoughts on the subject, please send them to the editor at: contact@glstracks.org.
- Anyone is welcome on GLS outings if (A) they are able and prepared to do the hike and (B) if they are happy to spend the time with a bunch of GLS people. ↩︎
