Edith Windsor & Dr. Thea Spyer Residence (By Julia Wilkinson)

             

                           Edith “Edie” Windsor and Dr. Thea Clara Spyer Residence 

This particular site is the Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer residence in New York City. They lived in an apartment in Greenwich Village, which was known to be a great historical hub of gay life and community in New York City.

Personal Backgrounds

The two people associated with this site are, as previously mentioned, Edith “Edie” Windsor and her wife Dr. Thea Clara Spyer, who was a psychologist. They met in 1963 but didn’t become romantically involved with each other until 1965, leading to their eventual marriage in 2007 in Toronto, Canada. Windsor was very cautious of their relationship, as she was concerned the government would find out and fire her from her job. But Windsor showed her determination in all aspects of her life, her job included. After attending NYU, she went on to work with computer programming at IBM and managed men (which they most often weren’t too happy about). But, before Windsor became widely known for challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, both women were extremely involved in the gay community. In fact, after working at IBM for about sixteen years, Windsor decided to quit and spend her time volunteering and becoming involved in gay community organizations. For example, “they were active in groups like the East End Gay Organization on Long Island, for which they hosted a yearly party over Memorial Weekend.” (1) Additionally, “throughout their lives the two were active in LGBT organizations including SAGE, where Windsor served on the board. They were among the first to register for domestic partnership when New York City began the process in 1993.” (2) SAGE stands for Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders. Both women were described as extremely intelligent, witty, fiery, with great leadership and advocacy skills. But unfortunately, Spyer had several health conditions: progressive multiple sclerosis and aortic stenosis, which caused the heart complications that led to her death in 2009. They purchased their apartment in 1986, and lived there together until Spyer passed away, and Windsor lived there until her death in 2017. The apartment, in particular, was the catalyst for Windsor’s activism relating to the legalization and American government recognition of same sex marriage. 

Significant Events 

Spyer's death initiated Windsor's passion as an advocate for marriage equality. When she passed, she left Windsor as the sole beneficiary of her estate. Windsor was required to pay a large amount of money in federal estate taxes, $363,053 to be exact, because the government did not recognize same-sex marriage. This is blatantly unfair; if Windsor were married to a man, she wouldn’t have had this problem. As noted by the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project , “had the federal government recognized their marriage, Windsor would’ve qualified for an unlimited spousal reduction, resulting in no estate taxes.” (3) The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) stood in the way of this. In 1996, DOMA, passed and signed by President Clinton, made sure it was clear that marriage was defined as the union between a man and woman, and a man and a woman only. This Windsor and Spyer residence is important, as progression made towards the legalization of same-sex marriage might not have happened as quickly if it weren’t for the estate taxes left behind for Windsor to pay. Windsor was known for her activism in the early 2000s involving these estate taxes, and she became an important figure in the marriage equality movement. She was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor, and Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (which codified non-recognition of same-sex marriages for all federal purposes) was successfully overturned in this landmark legal victory. Windsor fought hard and unwaveringly, frequently mentioning how she knew that Spyer would have been proud of her.     

Why is This Important? 

It is important to know the history of this site because of the pivotal and (shockingly) recent events that ensured due to the mere existence of this residence. Windsor's personal growth goes hand in hand with her planting the seeds of growth in the gay community towards marriage equality, and it deserves to be recognized and addressed. Windsor was once fearful of her identity and uncomfortable within the community. During the 1960s, there was a barrier between gays and drag queens, but after the Stonewall riots, Windsor realized it was irrational that lesbians and gays were embarrassed to be associated and grouped with drag queens. When the AIDS epidemic was at its all time high, the barrier between lesbians and gay men also came crashing down. Windsor observed these changes with great wisdom and found that even though these were very intense, brutal, and dangerous times, it brought this vast community closer together. And so, she took it upon herself to be another change-maker, and to plant those seeds. And those seeds grew extraordinarily. They blossomed into something Windsor never anticipated. “The momentum was with [Windsor]. In 2011--for the first time in history, according to Gallup--a majority of Americans supported legalizing gay marriage.” (4) Just like the Stonewall riots and the AIDS epidemic, the path to same sex marriage raised much awareness and shone a much needed spotlight onto the gay community. Edith Windsor contributed to a historic movement, all the while showing that activism has no age limit. She was often referred to as the “Matriarch of the Gay Rights Movement,” which is a beautiful and highly appropriate title for her. And although the more expansive Supreme Court Case, Obergefell V Hodges, was the case that ultimately ruled in favor of the legalization of same sex marriage in 2015, a little apartment in New York City and the power of Edith Windsor built that foundation.

Footnotes

(1) Gray , Eliza. “Database Login.” Reed Library Login, December 23, 2013. http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect.

(2) NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. “Larry Kramer Residence / Edie Windsor & Dr. Thea Clara Spyer Residence.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2017. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/larry-kramer-residence/.

(3). NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. “Larry Kramer Residence / Edie Windsor & Dr. Thea Clara Spyer Residence.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2017. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/larry-kramer-residence/.

4. Gray , Eliza. “Database Login.” Reed Library Login, December 23, 2013. http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect.

Bibliography

Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. “Database Login.” Reed Library Login, 2015. http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect.

Gabbatt, Adam. “Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer: 'A Love Affair That Just Kept on and on and on'.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, June 26, 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/26/edith-windsor-thea-spyer-doma.  

Gray , Eliza. “Database Login.” Reed Library Login, December 23, 2013. http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect. 

NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. “Larry Kramer Residence / Edie Windsor & Dr. Thea Clara Spyer Residence.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2017. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/larry-kramer-residence/.   

Waxman, Olivia B. “Edith Windsor Dies at 88: How LGBTQ Activist Got Her Start.” Time. Time, September 12, 2017. https://time.com/4938601/edith-windsor-death-obituary/.