Drescher, Marlene, 2018 July 31

Marlene was born March 1951 in Port Huron, Michigan. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. In 1969, Marlene went to the University of Michigan, and later to law school at Northeastern University. Marlene knew she was a lesbian when she was in college. Marlene talks about the protest movements she was involved in, and being arrested. She also discusses the various law cases she worked on during her time as a law student. She mentions her lesbian collective household, their affinity with the SDS, and her feminism. Marlene visited the West Coast, and moved to Oregon. She worked in a law firm with Mike Goldstein in Eugene starting in 1979. She refers to Eugene as the “Lesbian Mecca.” She talks about discrimination and harassment cases she worked on. Marlene was put on retainer by Starflower Natural Foods & Botanicals, and discusses the Starflower cases and the nature of Starflower. Marlene describes social life in the lesbian community, and attitudes about sexuality. She talks about a legal case involving Golden communal land. She talks about various cooperatives in Eugene, which attempted to run businesses in positive and egalitarian ways. After eight years in private practice, Marlene took a job at the University of Oregon as Director of Student Advocacy. In 1988, she represented two gay men who challenged the University of Oregon policy that married student housing was only available for heterosexuals. She talks about the anti-gay political measures in Oregon. She discusses the Baleboostehs Jewish women’s group. She discusses her experience foster-parenting, and then adopting her daughter. She discusses Nadia Telsey and the services of the Rape Crisis Network and the Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS). Marlene ponders why so many social services organizations in Eugene were run by lesbians.

Key terms: Abortion; Affirmative action; Associated Students of University of Oregon (ASUO); Baleboostehs; Cabbage Lane; Civil rights movements; Climate changes; Collectives; Cooperatives; Cormier, Margaret; Domestic abuse; Domestic Violence Clinic; Drug abuse; Drug use; Feminist bookstores; Garbagio’s; Golden Communal Land; Group decision making; Heterosexuality; Homophobia; Income disparity; Health care; Judaism; Karate; Lesbian mothers -- United States; Lesbian separatism – Oregon; Marriage equality; Marijuana; Mother Kali’s Books; Newman, Connie; Non-traditional working-class skills; Planned Parenthood; Poverty; Practice of law – United States; Race discrimination; Racism; Spirituality; Rainbow Rascals; Riviera Room; Sex discrimination against women; Sexual harassment; Sheklow, Sally; Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.); Trucking; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest movements -- United States; Wages – women; Women lawyers; Womenspace (Eugene, Or.)