I have certainly learned a great deal about women through our women's studies class, but I have probably learned even more about women through my job. For close to a year now, I have worked at a sorority house. The house is managed by an eccentric older woman who, among other things, is very talkative and opinionated. Not only is Ms. Lohse a character in herself, but she is charged with the well being of the nearly sixty young women living with her, a position exerting no mean influence. It was this combination of traits that led me to select Ms. Elizabeth Lohse for my interview assignment.
Elizabeth Lloyd Lohse was born in June of 1948, making her fifty nine years old. Affectionately known as “Ms. Liz”, Lohse was the youngest of three in her Cincinnati, Ohio home. Her parents were both college graduates who instilled the value of education into their children's minds from an early age. Lohse's mother worked as a zoologist until she began having children, at which point she became a full time mother. This practice continued until Lohse's eighth birthday, at which point the elder Lohse resumed gainful employment. Gender roles between father and mother were very orthodox, but Ms. Liz enjoyed a rather less traditional female childhood. Building things from scrap wood or sailing with her father were common ways of spending a Saturday afternoon. Around age seven, Lohse decided the teachings of her Episcopal Sunday school class were insufficient and told the teacher to “shove it”. Such behaviors embody the very open-minded, academic attitude within the family.
Education is a strong trend throughout all of Ms. Liz's family. Both of her grandmothers received college degrees before the turn of the twentieth century. There are a total of twenty three women in Lohse's family with higher education degrees. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for a woman to reach that level of schooling in a time when females lacked the right to vote. An example of such hardship can be seen in Lohse's own sister, Martha. After receiving a full ride to Smith State University, Martha became pregnant and very soon thereafter married. Apparently marriage and/or pregnancy were deemed incompatible with higher education, because Martha's scholarship was revoked. This unfortunate setback failed to faze Ms. Liz however, who went on to earn three degrees from Smith State, Miami of Ohio, and UGA, respectively.
Although she identifies as a feminist today, Lohse says it wasn't always that way. “Its hard to put a name on history while you're living it,” she says. The practice of feminism was introduced to Lohse at a very early age by older women of the family who had all been suffragettes. It was not until later that she became familiar with the abstract philosophy of the women's movement. One of Lohse's favorite feminist themed books is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Safe by Fannie Flag. Ms. Liz also mentioned Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique without any prompting, but then immediately went on to confess that she had never read the book. The excuse that she offered was straightforward enough, simply that living women's liberation in everyday life left little time for more abstract reflection. Spending much of her life in a liberal education setting, Ms. Liz was also able to surround herself with other progressive thinkers. In this environment, the notion of women's rights would have been much less out of place than in general society. When I asked for her definition of feminism, Lohse simply replied that feminism was being bold. I was rather surprised by a one word answer from such a typically verbose woman, but her description makes more sense with some thought. The word bold beautifully fits the attitude of a feminist. It denotes courage, unconventional thinking, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Ms. Liz certainly lives and has lived the life of an empowered female. Before the interview even started, Lohse began to show me the myriad of letters, magazines, plaques, and photographs she had gathered for our talk. The most interesting thing was a small trophy from Smith State University, naming Ms. Liz as the founder of women's athletics there. Such a grand achievement started of rather ironically; Lohse wanted to meet more men. Pursuing a home economics major in the sixties essentially meant that all Lohse's classmates were girls. Eager for more coeducational interaction, she jumped at the chance to join a club gymnastics team being formed at the time. As Lohse's talent grew and she became more intimately involved with school athletics, she realized that there was a need for official women's sports. Changing school policy is no small task, especially when change would mean less funding for current programs. However, by organizing the female athletes and tenaciously protesting at athletic department meetings, Lohse was finally able to secure ten percent of the athletic budget for female use. Throughout the interview, Ms. Liz constantly reiterated the need to ask for more than you want. This philosophy ties directly back into the idea of being bold, of striving towards a goal without restraint. It also reminded me of several class discussions concerning the extremist rhetoric in some of our readings. These authors likely held the same view that Ms. Liz does, namely that striving for excess makes the fulfillment of basic needs appear more reasonable to those in power. Lohse consequently graduated as a professional athlete, two years before title nine was instated.
While she certainly advocates being aggressive, Ms. Liz said she has never strayed outside the bounds of society in the pursuit of her goals. To the contrary, Lohse enjoys making use of the established system as a catalyst for change. Perhaps this is why she cites women in leadership roles as being the most profoundly positive achievement of feminism today. She particularly admires Golda Meir, the former prime minister of Israel, Nancy Pelosi, the congresswoman from California, and Sally Ride, the first woman in space. Lohse also feels that improvements in feminine hygiene products and technology have provided women with much greater freedom of movement, as have more physically liberating clothes. The latter are particularly important to Ms. Liz, who played three varsity sports in her life. “Newer clothing styles and materials allow women to achieve their full physical potential,” she says.
Throughout her life, Ms. Liz has always identified as a heterosexual female. Since I draw many of my opinions of feminism from my interactions with women, I thought it only appropriate to ask Ms. Liz about her interactions with men and how these have effected her view of gender roles and feminism. Lohse married her college sweetheart and was very active in his fraternity. They were married for six years, at which point Ms. Liz “divorced the bastard”. She actually asked specifically that I include the word bastard, the purpose of which I can only guess at. Her explanation was that “the man i married was not the man I divorced.” Lohse's love life became increasingly less traditional from then on. Her next relationship was an affair with a boss, a man she admired greatly but had no intent of marrying. The following two relationships were romantic but not sexual, one involving Ms. Lohse assuming the role of surrogate mother. Ms. Liz's last romantic foray involved a trucker from Georgia. The man in question asked her out to dinner but was critically injured in an accident before the date could ever occur. This series of diverse relationships covers a broad range of the themes and attitudes we have discussed: traditional monogamy, love without sex, and sex without love. Aside from what I was told in the interview, Ms. Liz is clearly a very sexually liberated woman. She has a favorite joke about “blank” happening about the time she has her next orgasm. Its actually quite funny to hear the way she blends extreme sexual openness with antiquated, prudish words and phrases. To be more specific, I have heard much more about Ms. Liz's sex life than I feel comfortable printing here, however the last story I was told made extensive use of the word “knowing” (in a biblical sense).
One of the main reasons I wanted to interview Ms. Liz is that I was curious how she used her role as house mother to influence the younger generation of women. She spoke briefly about how difficult it is for the girls and her to relate at times, but emphasized leading through example. Based on my observations however, Ms. Liz likes to take a more proactive approach. It is not uncommon to hear what I might call “public service announcements” during dinner, addressing topics ranging from “lady like behavior” to nutrition.
Having spoken in depth with Elizabeth Lohse, I am amazed by how thoroughly her life parallels what we have studied in class. She is truly ahead of her time. I admire Lohse's pragmatic approach to personal realization, and her willingness to challenge the norm. This interview has made me aware of how much personal narrative remains wasted, a problem our project will work towards solving.
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