Linda Shear (born 1948 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and piano player.

Musical career

On May 13, 1972, she and percussionist Ella Szekely performed in the first known out-

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

concert in the U.S. at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus. The Chicago Women's Liberation Rock Band was also on the bill that evening. Soon after, Shear began performing with her band, Family of Woman, which included Szekely, violinist Joan Capra, and guitar players Sherry Jenkins, Judy Handler, and Susan Abod. Susan Kahn served as their sound technician, and they played nationally as the first known out lesbian band in the country, including at the second National Lesbian Conference at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1973. Following the dissolution of Family of Woman, Shear began touring and released her album ''A Lesbian Portrait'' on her own independent record label, Old Lady Blue Jeans, in 1976.

Elana Dykewomon Elana Dykewomon (; October 11, 1949 – August 7, 2022) was an American lesbian activist, author, editor, and teacher. She was a recipient of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. Early life and education Dykewomon was born Elana Mich ...

reviewed the album positively in ''DYKE, A Quarterly.'' She performed in concert and at

women's music Women's music is music by women, for women, and about women. The genre emerged as a musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement as well as the labor, civil rights, and peace movements. The movement (in the USA) was started by lesbian ...

festivals, including the

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, was a feminist women's music festival held annually from 1976 to 2015 in Oceana County, Michigan, on privately owned woodland near Hart Township referred to as "The La ...

. She was a supporter of

lesbian separatism Feminist separatism is the theory that feminist opposition to patriarchy can be achieved through women's separation from men.Christine Skelton, Becky Francis, ''Feminism and the Schooling Scandal'', Taylor & Francis, 2009 ,p. 104 Because much of ...

, and in 1976 began requesting that her audiences be limited to lesbians only. In the early 1970s, Shear helped found the Chicago-based lesbian newspaper, '' Lavender Woman.'' Although Shear had little commercial success, she remains an icon in some lesbian circles. Her music and story was featured by JD Doyle in 2001. She was interviewed in the 2002 documentary ''

Radical Harmonies ''Radical Harmonies'' is a 2002 American independent documentary film directed and executive produced by Dee Mosbacher that presents a history of women's music, which has been defined as music by women, for women, and about women. The film was s ...

'', and she appeared on the breast cancer research benefit CD ''High Risk.'' In 2010, she was interviewed by

Tracy Baim Tracy Baim is a Chicago-based LGBT journalist, editor, author, and filmmaker. She is also the publisher of the Chicago Reader newspaper. Biography Baim’s degree from Drake University in 1984 was in journalism. Career Baim came to the Reader ...

for her project, Chicago Gay History.

Personal life

In 1974, Shear moved to

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

with her partner Tryna Goldsmith. In 1975, they were involved in a custody battle for their eleven-year old daughter, which they ultimately lost. On September 28, 2008, after 25 years of domestic partnership, Shear married Windflower Townley. They live in Northern California with their two dogs, Emma Rose and Skylar Grace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shear, Linda 1948 births Living people American folk singers American LGBT songwriters American LGBT singers American lesbian musicians American LGBT rights activists Singers from Chicago Women's music Lesbian singers Lesbian songwriters 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people