Robyn Marie Westbrook: Robyn Marie Westbrook is a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology at the University of Southern California. She is doing research on teenage parents, bisexuality among women, and counseling issues related to the coming out process for lesbians, gays and bisexuals. She also works at the University of Southern California's Counseling Center.
Gays and lesbians have, for the most part, been invisible in Scottish history. Scottish society has systematically silenced the visible homosexuals, resulting in their status as ‘Other'. Consequently, the status of either nonexistent (ie: invisible) or ‘other' has bred pain, isolation and shame throughout many generations of gays and lesbians. In Footsteps and Witnesses, Cant has compiled twenty two personal narratives of Scottish gays and lesbians to ascertain their existence, to deconstruct the notions of ‘otherness' and to help build the rich tapestry of Scottish gay and lesbian history.
Although the narratives vary tremendously, there is a common sense of integrity. Irrespective of personal or political adversity, all contributors to this book have fought for and established a pride in their sense of self. They have all found meaning in their lives. Footsteps and Witnesses captures these people's ability to locate their strengths, beauty and viability. Examples of passages from the text support this claim.
Edwin Morgan states “I don't think anyone really enjoys living with a secret life going on underneath, but I don't at all regret having done it” (p. 23). Other participants in the book also alluded to the difficulty inherent in leading a gay or lesbian life. Moira Dixon says “There are few tears here and there but they won't destroy you. I am happy to be a lesbian and I've no dislikes of anyone else who leads different life styles” (p. 29). Family relations are also heavily entrenched in the dominant culture. This can complicate the lives of gays and lesbians. As Ken Cowan reports “I had told my parents that I was gay when I was eighteen and I had made them a promise that I would not act on my feelings. When I got involved with Frank, it was two years before we spoke to each other properly. I remember my mother saying that she'd have to move if the neighbors found out. It's transferred shame. She's better now but the truth is that we have not made up. I always wanted a nice liberal middle class family where they just said- that's O.K. There were always conditions put on me by my mother- I love you if… I love you but… and that is very much the culture of the West of Scotland” (p. 155)” Religion is another element of the culture that appears to further isolate homosexuals. Lois McPhail maintains that “The faith that I discarded, it came back. I can cope now with being gay” (p. 77). All of these men and women were forced to find strength within themselves and their beliefs rather than depend on external forces, which were primarily oppressive. It was through difficulty in which Ken Cowan was able to look inward. He states: “Some of my experiences at AA helped after the diagnosis because they encourage you to look at yourself and see how you are rather than try to change the world. I learned more since I stopped drinking and since I was diagnosed than in the previous ten years” (p. 157). According to Roy Scott, “It's better to be hated for what one is, than loved for what one is not” (p. 198).
These passages are only but a few of the numerous examples of Scottish gay and lesbian integrity. This book imparts the experience of these men and women, and more importantly, begins the dialogue of the history of the erasure of gays and lesbians.
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