Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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Anne Lister was the first Modern Lesbian (although the word "lesbian" wasn't coined until 50 years after her death).  She was born in 1791, all four of her brothers died leaving her an enviable estate, she wore all black, she referred to marriage as "prostitution", and she kept diaries documenting all her sexual exploits filling 27 volumes.  Sound like someone you know....like Betty Dodson? (FYI - I convinced Betty to release her memoir as an ebook for xmas.)

Fearing scandal, her family took her diaries and boarded them up behind a panel at their family home.  A century later they were discovered.  A historian, Helena Whitbread, translated the diaries and now the BBC is turning them into a television series. I can't wait to watch it!  Anne seduced many a noble and talked about "knowing how to please a woman".  She documented her orgasms by placing an "X" on her diary page. 

Like Betty, Anne made a life for herself on her own terms.  It was an uphill battle, her girlfriends kept getting married, and she wanted desperately to be active in politics and, in the least, have the right to vote.  They nicknamed her "Gentleman Jack". 

Whenever I get down about our work being censored or feel like we should sell out and push the gspot or relationship advice, I'm going to remember Anne Lister and how hard it must have been for her to live outside the mainstream.  But SHE DID IT and now her life will be celebrated and she'll have her true place in history.

My favorite Anne Lister quote: "I know my own heart and I understand the human race. But I am not like anyone else I have ever met and I dare say I am not like anyone else in the whole world." She had found her licence to be different.