Normally, an object such as a quilt would not cause people to be divisive (the AIDS quilts notwithstanding).
However, it is exactly such an item that is generating controversy in DeKalb. The DeKalb Quilt Guild banned the L Word Quilt (named after the Showtime TV series about lesbians) from its show this past weekend at Clinton Rosette Middle School. Windy City Times spoke with Diane Johns, the woman behind the quilt, the day before the show about the disagreement, the future, and her role as an activist.
Windy City Times: Please describe the quilt.
Diane Johns: It's a small wall hanging about two feet square. It has a mostly white background with a rainbow-colored border on two sides. I printed personal and historical words and phrases onto specially treated fabric. I fused that to the top of the white area of the quilt and stitched around it with glitzy threads. I couched other glitzy threads on it and quilted that. Then, I stitched buttons and things that corresponded with the words and phrases on the border—things like a ladybug for 'ladybug lesbian.' I was trying to be whimsical and tie in some of the words with items on the quilt.
WCT: Now why is it called 'The L Word?'
DJ: I heard about this TV show called The L Word, which is the lesbian equivalent of Queer as Folk. I like the idea of the L word because I have a Ph. D. in English and have been playing with words for years. This quilt was my statement to come out. I tell people that I wasn't born a lesbian and I have been getting an education the last few years.
I was taken aback [after] I had submitted the quilt to the guild. I didn't think it'd be that big of an issue. I gave them a snapshot for the entry form. They sent me a letter stating that if they could've read the words on the quilt, they would've rejected it from the outset. However, because they couldn't read the words from the picture, they accepted it. Then, they felt the quilt was inappropriate and felt that children would take it the wrong way—and I got upset.
I don't fault the president of the guild; I think she really wanted to put my quilt in the show. My partner and I presented the quilt to the board [on Oct. 5] and I explained what some of the terms meant. After I left, I realized that they had made up their minds before the meeting even started.
Four people have pulled their quilts from the show as a sign of protest. Other people plan on boycotting the show. I'm taking those other quilts as well as my own and we're going to have our own little show at the Unitarian Universalist Church; our show is called the Banned Quilt Show and it's going to be this weekend—the same weekend as the [Quilt Guild] show. [The events were held this past weekend.]
WCT: Will you submit another quilt for the next Guild Show [in two years]?
DJ: I don't know if I'll be in the guild after this weekend. I'm willing to talk to them. It's a question if they learn from this or if they become more entrenched. I'm not sure I can share anything with them at this point.
I don't think this is necessarily a gay issue. Another quilter said that her stuff had been censored (in Wisconsin) because there are female figures and people have said that 16-year-old boys might become aroused.
WCT: Do you see yourself as an activist?
DJ: Oh yes! I don't know if I did before; I was pretty introverted and private. However, I did grow up Jewish. I know what it's like to be a member of an oppressed minority. [Laughs] I can't live being afraid. In the space of 24 hours, I became a community educator, crusader, and activist rolled into one—but I don't regret anything that I've done.