Eight Bullets One Womans Story Of Surviving Anti – Gay Violence – Claudia Brenner

It was easy to see them as “respectable citizens.” My coming out, far from being a surprise to Denny and Don, had actually eliminated any lingering suspicions that was not telling the complete truth. Virtually positive from the first day that I was a lesbian, they came to see me as an honest, strong, sociable woman.

I was a real person, the survivor of a violent crime. And the women whom the police dealt with ev- ery day at the hospital in Hershey, who cared for me in a way that few families or communities can muster, these women who were lesbians did not fit Denny or Don’s stereotypes of “dykes” either. So when Lew and I finished the composite, it was the final element in the fortuitous mix solidifying my—and my community’s—bond with the Pennsylvania state police.

Several hours had passed since we finished the composite. We did not expect Denny back that night. Anne was taking a break, and my mother and Gina were with me, my mother in a chair to my left, Gina on the end of the bed. My mother and father had been back and forth to Hershey several times that week. Even though my chosen family and community were a bit foreign to them, my parents were supportive of me and seemed comfortable with everyone at the hospital.

The head of my bed was cranked up, so I was almost sit- ting, and I could see out the windows on the wall behind my mother. It was dark outside. The three of us were looking at the map of Michaux State Forest that Denny had brought us earlier. It was identical to the one Rebecca and I had used, the one with the blood on it that I had given to the state police.

Rebecca had been dead for a week, almost to the hour. I was recreating every segment of our journey a week earlier. “Right now, we were just setting up camp.” “Now, a week ago, I was still walking along the state forest road. That Blazer had probably passed > 98 • me already/ 7 We were looking at the map, tracing my movements. It was then that we noticed the name of the road on which Rebecca and I had parked: Dead Woman’s Hollow Road.

Suddenly, Denny burst into the room, bags showing under his eyes, but exhilarated. The composite was a gold mine, he told us.

Selections from this book, in earlier versions, appeared in Femicide: The Poli- tics of Woman Hating by Diana E. H. Russell, and Hate Crimes: Confronting Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men, edited by Kevin T. Berrill and Gregory M. Herek. Copyright © 1995 by Claudia Brenner All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, except in the case of reviews, without permission from Firebrand Books, 141 The Commons, Ithaca, New York 14850.

Book and cover design by Nightwood Design Printed in the United States on acid-free paper by McNaughton & Gunn 10 987654321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brenner, Claudia, 1956- Eight bullets : one woman’s story of surviving anti-gay violence / by Claudia Brenner with Hannah Ashley, p. cm. ISBN 1-56341-055-9 — ISBN 1-56341-056-7 (paper) 1.

Lesbians—Crimes against—United States. 2. Lesbians—Crimes against Pennsylvania. I. Ashley, Hannah, 1969- . II. Title. HV6250.4.H66B74 1995 364. 1 523 ‘092—dc20 [B] 95-4327 CIP ’ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Nancy Bereano for supporting this book throughout. And to my many friends for making this project a priority in their busy lives—remember- ing, reading, and making suggestions: Karen, Kris, Gina, Satya, Rhoda, Linda, Evelyn, Chris, Kevin, Andrea, fill, and especially Anne, who at times cared more about this book than I did. May this book be a tool to help eliminate the fear and the hatrdfi in our lives.

Claudia Brenner I would like to thank my family for supporting me in being a writer and a lesbian, the Dinner Collective for their encouragement, Anndee and Alexis for their comments on the manuscript, Toba for loving and listening to me, and Claudia for asking me one Shabbat dinner to write a book with her. Hannah Ashley « \ t For Rebecca Wight October 17, 1959-May 13, 1988 “I only hope that heaven is not so big a place that we can’t find each other…”

(From the AIDS Quilt panel for Charles Catine) Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781563410550 J Most survivors seek the resolution of their traumatic experience within the confines of their personal lives.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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