Monika Jaeckel

Monika Jaeckel spent many years as a sociologist researching women’s and family policy topics at the Deutsches Jugendinstitut in Munich. Then she moved to Amsterdam and founded the company M & M – Coaching & Research in Social Innovation together with her wife Marieke van Geldermalsen.
Musically, she was still active in various women’s bands in Munich after the Flying Lesbians, including “Witch is Witch”, “Rhythm and Romance” and “Velvet and String”.

On 6.11.2009 Monika Jaeckel died of uterine carcinoma. She described her feelings and her development during the illness regularly in newsletters. In the days before her death, she saw a radiant light and a wide circle of people singing and dancing dreamily. She imagined she would swing over there in a sort of hammock. So it became a nice, peaceful transition.
This and further from and about Monika Jaeckel can be read here: www.monikajaeckel.com

Biographical

I only joined after the first gigs – when the tours started in the West German cities. From the beginning I was literally a Flying Lesbian. Because I lived in West Germany and came to the exercise dates of the band flown to Berlin.

anecdotal

The song “We are the homosexual women” was the result of a wet, happy evening around the campfire at an international women’s camp in southern France. Previously, we had caused a riot on the beach when we collectively reported a “grappler” to the police.

What was the most important thing at the Flying Lesbians back then?

We had messages, we had visions, we had discovered the appreciation for our own gender. We were proud of our love for women. The band and the women’s festivals offered a wonderful platform to express everything: loud, celebratory, cocky, with pleasure !! We questioned role stereotypes and touched on taboos. We built the plane while flying it.

How do you see the meaning of Flying Lesbians today?

Every movement needs its songs, its rituals, its cult. This creates identification and establishes common ground. The Flying Lesbians gave the women and lesbian movement sound and voice and transported the spirit of optimism of the early years – rebellious, cross-border, partisan, megalomaniacal. We offered women and the women’s movement an identification area to celebrate themselves.