Bette Tallen

Bette Sharon Tallen
Born(1950-05-08)May 8, 1950
DiedNovember 15, 2023(2023-11-15) (aged 73)
EducationCity College of New York
University of Michigan (PhD)
Known forFeminist lesbian activist
Spouse
Carol Ann Thomas
​
(m. 2019)​

Bette Sharon Tallen (1950-2023) was an American scholar and activist. She taught women's studies and political science and led diversity and inclusion training for students and faculty. She taught the first accredited college course in New York on Lesbianism. Tallen was part of the radical lesbian feminist separatist movement and gained recognition for her early academic contributions in the field.[1] Tallen, along with other Second Wave lesbian feminists including Mary Daly, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Rita Mae Brown, were rejected by then establishment feminists such as those at National Organization for Women. She compared the need for separate women's spaces to the need for separate, focused movements for other marginalized groups, such as Black Nationalism. Throughout her career she supported efforts to center women, decenter male privilege, and challenge patriarchy.

Her later work focused on diversity programming, affirmative action, and a feminist critique of twelve step programs.[2] She was an active member in the National Women's Studies Association and the Southeastern Women's Studies Association (now called Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies South).

Early life and education

Bette Sharon Tallen was born on May 8, 1950, in New York City to Nathaniel and Anne G. Tallen.[3] She grew up in a Jewish household in Washington Heights. Although her parents were nonobservant, Bette was sent to a girl's Jewish sleep away camp for eight weeks when she was nine years old. At her request, the family became more observant attending synagogue in the reform tradition. She attended the same camp for ten years, ending as a camp counselor.

After graduating from Hunter College High School, Tallen received a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from the University of Michigan.[3]

Career

Tallen taught at Ramapo College, Rollins College, and the University of Central Florida.[3]

Congruent with her teaching, Tallen was active in many campus community programs and student groups. She worked in a shelter for women victims of domestic violence,[3] and revived the Women's Services and Lesbian and Gay Alliance at the State University of New York. After retiring from teaching at the University of Central Florida, Tallen represented at-risk children in legal proceedings through the Guardian Ad Litem program.[3]

Personal life

Tallen came out in 1979 while working as a full time women's studies Professor in New York. In a 1986 interview with The Windy City Times, Tallen states, "I was the first full time women's studies professor in the whole New York system. I was living in a small upstate town in New York and I came out in 1979. I came out in the context of a very strong rural women's community. I felt it was just a part of my regular intellectual growth. It was an extension of where I had been going."[4]

Tallen was in a long-term relationship with Rosemary Keefe, author of Lesbian Nuns Breaking Silence.

Tallen married Carol Ann Thomas on November 16, 2019.[3]

Tallen died on November 15, 2023. At the time of her death, she lived in Winter Park, Florida.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Phelan, Kate M.; Lawford-Smith, Holly (October 31, 2023). "Feminist Separatism Revisited". Journal of Controversial Ideas. 3 (2): 1. doi:10.35995/jci03020006. ISSN 2694-5991. Archived from the original on March 2, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ Hendrix, Kathleen (April 19, 1992). "When Women Turn to Matters of the Mind : As More and More Women Become Psychologists, Psychiatrists and Psychoanalysts, Theories That Once Seemed Unshakable Are Being Questioned, and 'Far Out' Ideas Are Moving Into the Mainstream". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 18, 2026. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bette Sharon Tallen Obituary November 15, 2023". Newcomer Orlando. Archived from the original on April 18, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ Shani (April 24, 1986). "Creative Women's Studies programming at UNI". The Windy City Times.
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