— Updated May 1 ’16 —

The Active Voice Column: Anecdotes of a Semi-Retired Lesbian Activist and Her Friends!
by P. Kristen Enos

Note: The “Semi-Retired” refers to the “Activist” part only.

(All rights reserved.)

“Active Voice” was the name of my column in the Orange County Blade Gay and Lesbian Magazine. It ran for about four years in the mid-90’s before I just frankly burnt out in writing it (and activism in general). I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a few hundred words a month on real life adventures of being an out lesbian in ultra-conservative Orange County, California. And it was just as much a collection of experiences of my friends (and co-workers).

So why try to resurrect it?

Simply because I have stories to tell from the perspective of a semi-retired lesbian activist with a devilish way of looking at life. And people seem to like them.

Update of May 1 ’16: See The Active Voice Comic
A new section of this website to feature stories from the comic collection that will be printed by the end of 2016.

Listed in order of most recent on top:

Special Announcement on Nov 8 ’11: Read this special announcement about my column returning to the Blade California magazine!

A Different Reality Indeed (Originally posted Sep 25, ’11)
A recent volunteering experience gave me a rare opportunity to chat with a lesbian teenager to see what coming out was like now versus when I did it (over twenty years ago.)

My Victim Limit (Originally posted Sep 8, ’11)
My worst experience with a school bully and how it changed me.

Poster Patrol (Originally posted Sep 2, ’11)
An experience from the college days with my best friend when we unexpectedly became the face of the gay and lesbian student community to outsiders.

Corporate Social Un-Networking (Originally posted Aug 22, ’11)
An LGBT article on my employer’s website creates unfortunate responses.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Advertising? (Originally posted Aug 11, ’11)
A visit to a random motel in San Diego made me wonder at being a member of a desired demographic.

The Experiment That Just Needed To End (Originally posted Aug 4, ’11)
The official story of growing out my hair for a year and a half.

Miss Price (Originally posted Mar 1, ’11)
This one is about my very, very, very first memories of being attracted to a woman. Kind of in the spirit of the Valentine’s Day month, even though I missed it by about half an hour (local time.)

Invading My Own Privacy (Originally posted Jan 31, ’11)
My one year anniversary on Facebook is marked with a dubious milestone.

The Measure of a Cool Mom (Originally posted Dec 23, ’10)
A friend excitedly tells me about how her teenage daughter comes out to her.

It Ain’t Over, Darlin’! ~ My Vince Croome Memorial (Originally posted Apr 16, ’10)
How a group of us said our farewells to one of AIDS most recent victims.

Judging A (Hot Pink) Book By Its Cover (Originally posted Jan 23, ’10)
How I accidentally designed the cover of my lesbo ero novella to be enticing for the completely wrong target audience.

Fashion Check Challenge (Originally posted Jan 3, ’10)
How dealing with Hangry & Angry at Chibi Japan Expo – France made me have to face with my life-long lack of interest in fashion.

Wonderland (Originally posted Oct 17, ’09)
When my mind played a prank on me in the world of dreams.

The Ache of Those Left Behind (Originally posted Oct 5, ’09)
To me, the best evidence of the ultimate worth of a person in the face of sudden death.

The Prim and Proper Path to Me… No, Seriously (Originally posted Sep 28, ’09)
My experience of being a semi-retired, lesbian activist as less shocking than being a non-alcohol drinker who’s not a recovering alcoholic.

Giving An Unexpected Answer To An Unexpected Question (Originally posted Sep 3, ’09)
The story of the evolution of coming out in the work place starting from a need of respect and equal treatment to being a butthead.

My Lesbian Root Cause? Don’t Know, Don’t Care! (Originally posted Sep 2, ’09)
After years of doing gay and lesbian panels, I’m finally asked the question of “How did I become gay?”