Karla Jay
Encyclopedia
Karla Jay is a professor of English
and the director of the Women's and Gender Studies
program at Pace University
. A pioneer in the field of lesbian and gay studies, she is widely published.
Jay was born Karla Jayne Berlin in Brooklyn, New York, to a conservative Jewish family. She attended the Berkeley Institute, a private
girls' school in Brooklyn now called the Berkeley Carroll School
. Later she attended Barnard College
, where she majored in French
, and graduated in 1968 after having taken part in the student demonstrations at Columbia University
.
While she shared many of the goals of the radical left-wing of the late 1960s, Jay was uncomfortable with the male-supremacist behavior of many of the movement’s leaders. In 1969, she became a member of Redstockings
. At around the same time she began using the name Karla Jay to reflect her feminist principles.
When activists founded the Gay Liberation Front
(GLF) in the wake of the Stonewall Riots
of June 1969, Jay, openly
lesbian
, was an early member, and became an active participant, balancing attendance at meetings with working and attending graduate school
at New York University
, majoring in comparative literature
. She was one of the few women actively involved in the early gay rights movement on both coasts.
Working with Allen Young (writer)
she edited Out of the closets a pioneering anthology
which gave voice to the Radicalesbians, Martha Shelley
and writers such as Rita Mae Brown
.
At Pace University's 10th Annual Dyson Distinguished Achievement Awards, that took place April 6, 2006, Karla Jay was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Award.
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and the director of the Women's and Gender Studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
program at Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
. A pioneer in the field of lesbian and gay studies, she is widely published.
Jay was born Karla Jayne Berlin in Brooklyn, New York, to a conservative Jewish family. She attended the Berkeley Institute, a private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
girls' school in Brooklyn now called the Berkeley Carroll School
Berkeley Carroll School
The Berkeley Carroll School is an independent, nonsectarian, coed day school, enrolling about 800 students from pre-kindergarten through high school...
. Later she attended Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, where she majored in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and graduated in 1968 after having taken part in the student demonstrations at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
While she shared many of the goals of the radical left-wing of the late 1960s, Jay was uncomfortable with the male-supremacist behavior of many of the movement’s leaders. In 1969, she became a member of Redstockings
Redstockings
Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a radical feminist group that was founded in January of 1969...
. At around the same time she began using the name Karla Jay to reflect her feminist principles.
When activists founded the Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
(GLF) in the wake of the Stonewall Riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
of June 1969, Jay, openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, was an early member, and became an active participant, balancing attendance at meetings with working and attending graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, majoring in comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
. She was one of the few women actively involved in the early gay rights movement on both coasts.
Working with Allen Young (writer)
Allen Young (writer)
Allen Young is an American journalist, author and editor who is also a social, political and environmental activist.-Early life:Allen Young, born in Liberty, N.Y., on June 30, 1941, to Rae Young and Louis Young. His parents, both secular Jews, spent their youth in New York City, then relocated to...
she edited Out of the closets a pioneering anthology
which gave voice to the Radicalesbians, Martha Shelley
Martha Shelley
-Life and early work:Martha Altman, later Martha Shelley, was born on December 27, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents of Russian-Polish Jewish descent. Samuel R. Delany was a Bronx High School of Science friend. She was involved in a group based on the work of Harry Stack Sullivan which led to...
and writers such as Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel Rubyfruit Jungle. Published in 1973, it dealt with lesbian themes in an explicit manner unusual for the time...
.
At Pace University's 10th Annual Dyson Distinguished Achievement Awards, that took place April 6, 2006, Karla Jay was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Award.
Works and Publications
- The Gay Report: Lesbians and Gay Men Speak Out about Sexual Experiences and Lifestyles (Summit Books, 1979)
- The disciples of the tenth muse : Natalie Clifford BarneyNatalie Clifford BarneyNatalie Clifford Barney was an American playwright, poet and novelist who lived as an expatriate in Paris....
and Renee VivienRenée VivienRenée Vivien, born Pauline Mary Tarn was a British poet who wrote in the French language. She took to heart all the mannerisms of Symbolism, as one of the last poets to claim allegiance to the school...
(Ph.D thesis, 1984) - The Amazon and the Page: Natalie Clifford Barney and Renée Vivien (Indiana University Press, 1988)
- Tales of the Lavender MenaceLavender MenaceThe Lavender Menace was an informal group of lesbian radical feminists formed to protest the exclusion of lesbians and lesbian issues from the feminist movement at the Second Congress to Unite Women in New York City on May 1, 1970...
(Basic Books, 1999)
Edited anthologies
- Series editor of The Cutting Edge: Lesbian Life and Literature
- Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation, co-editor with Allen Young (Pyramid Books, 1972)
- After You're Out. co-editor with Allen Young (Jove, 1975)
- Lesbian Texts and Contexts: Radical Revisions, co-editor with Joanne Glasgow. (NYU Press, 1990)
- Lavender culture (NYU Press, 1978, 1994)
- Lesbian Erotics (NYU Press, 1995)
- Dyke Life: A Celebration of the Lesbian Experience (Perseus, 1996)