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Edith Windsor Speaks

A wide-ranging interview with the crusader to end DOMA

by
Adam Chandler
May 03, 2013
Edith Windsor(WaPo)
Edith Windsor(WaPo)

Edith Windsor, who is chief among the many central Jewish figures involved in the Supreme Court case to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, is featured in the weekend Times interview.

In it, she talks about the Clintons, Senator Rob Portman’s change of heart, her lawyer Roberta Kaplan (subject of a stellar Allison Hoffman profile here), feminism, gay men, and her case, which the Supreme Court is due to rule on in the coming weeks.

But here were a few of my favorite parts including Windsor’s retraction of her opposition to topless protesting. Enjoy!

Do you have any kind of celebration planned if you win?



I want to have a street party, that’s all I know. I am going to be one of the grand marshals in the gay-pride parade.



Did you participate in the Dyke March the day before gay pride?



Well, I loved it, I thought it was great. I sang with them. Some went topless. I used to wish they would put on clothes. I was once saying something about disliking some of the extreme stuff to a straight friend, and she said, “Edie, somebody has to keep pushing the envelope.” I said: “I think you’re right. I apologize for everything I thought.”

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.