DOB questionnaire reveals

SOME FACTS ABOUT LESBIANS

I. Introduction

In an effort to make a small beginning in the collecti on of descriptive data on Lesbians, THE LADDER in Juno of 1958 mailed out a four-page questionnaire to all subscribers, covering items of general information, family, and personal history. Of the more than 500 que stionnairos sent out, 160 completed replies were received over the following 12 months, of which 157 were considered usable. The number of replies was disappointingly small, but the results have nevertheless been tabulated, analysed in part, and are presented herewith as having some interest, not only for the merely curious reader, but for those wishing to see an eventual extension of the meager knowledge now available in this field.

The purpose of the questionnaire was preliminary and exploratory. It was hoped (1) to gather some general data on Lesbians who probably do not otherwise come to the attention of the public or of researchers; (2) to gain some ideɛ of the degree of response to such questionnaires by subscribers to THE LADDER; (3) to gain some experience in the framing and handling of the questionnaires, and (4) to stimulate interest by publication of results so as to encourage further research.

LIMITATIONS

No particular hypothesis or theory was meant to be tested by the questionnaire, though obviously certain questi ons (such as: Number of brothers or sisters? By whom reared? Favorite parent? etc.) were suggested by generally held conceptions as to what are important factors in human development. Even in the case of que sti ons such as these, however, the smallness of the sample, and the absence of any "control" group, would make it impossible to rigor-

4