Author Rita Mae Brown celebrates a birthday today
The author is best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel Rubyfruit Jungle which was released in 1973.
In the 1970s Brown was active in a number of civil rights campaigns and criticised the marginalisation of lesbians within feminist groups.
Her writing career began in the late 1960s in New York where she wrote for feminist publication Rat and also contributed to the newspaper Come Out! that was published by the Gay Liberation Front.
Brown does not consider herself to be a lesbian writer, and has expressed the belief that most people are bisexual.
In a 2015 interview with The Washington Post she spoke about the different labels applied to sexuality and gender.
“I love language, I love literature, I love history, and I’m not even remotely interested in being gay. I find that one of those completely useless and confining categories. Those are definitions from our oppressors, if you will. I would use them warily. I would certainly not define myself — ever — in the terms of my oppressor. If you accept these terms, you’re now lumped in a group. Now, you may need to be lumped in a group politically in order to fight that oppression; I understand that, but I don’t accept it.” Brown said.
Brown has been a prolific author writing poetry, mystery novels, screenplays and works of non-fiction. All together she’s authored over 80 different works.
In Willy Russell’s acclaimed play Educating Rita the central character picks the name Rita for herself after reading Rubyfruit Jungle.
