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46 – Lesbians
Raynes: By the way, I have to go in about ten minutes, and I have two topics I’d like to address just briefly. It occurs to me, sitting here, that we are talking mostly about gay men and gay male couples and male priesthood. One of the reasons we don’t really access women is that for some reason parents of gay and lesbian children don’t advocate for their daughters the same way they do for their sons. Lesbian women in the Church whom I’ve talked to sort of think the Church is irrelevant. “We’re second-class citizens to start with, since we don’t have the priesthood, so this is sort of two-for-two. It doesn’t mean spirituality or a connection to God is irrelevant; it’s just that the structure doesn’t work, so I’m out of here.” And nobody goes after trying to get their stories. So most of what has come about, in my mind, has been from the grassroots up, to people such as yourself. They self-formed in some ways. But women don’t do that. I can name any number of lesbian LDS women, whether they have stayed or left, but nobody takes the time or interest to seek them out.
(Marybeth Raynes, April 7, 2013)