A Secret Love Movie Analysys (Sociological Perspective)

During one of the most dangerous times to be queer, documentary, “A Secret Love” chronicles the history of two queer women on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel. From the day they met when they were practically kids, to the day their relationship ended due to the inevitable This modern take on a not-so-modern situation was directed by Chris Bolan (their nephew) and composed by my personal favorite producer, Ryan Murphy. 

As a point of clarification, I may use the terms such as “queer” and “lesbian” interchangeably. This is in no way intended to diminish the individuality of these labels. As an LGBTQ+ person myself, I understand the sensitivity and importance of language. However, these two ladies rotate terms themselves their identity and I don’t want to pigeonhole them based on my perspective or limited knowledge of their relationship.

I watched the film on a rainy day with a bowl of popcorn. I knew just by seeing the trailer that this would be the feel-good film I needed, and I was right. After a satisfying and moving first watch of “A Secret Love” on Netflix, I went through Google’s audience reviews to see if any. I stumbled across some comments that criticized the film; seemingly disproportionate to how I experienced it. I didn’t think too much of it until I noticed a pattern in many of them. 

One comment that really stood out to me the most was written by Rachel Stephens, who gave this docu-film a three-star review. She felt that it “didn't feel like a LGBT documentary.” She then went on about how the two women didn’t go into depth about their relationship in a way that incorporated their queer identities, rather the personal struggles they went through. This is in no way an inaccurate statement because they really didn’t talk about these things. But comments like these make a good point by its very nature: If it’s not blatant, it doesn’t make it nonexistent. 

What I mean by that is... why do you think they didn’t discuss it? Whether they were/are able to see it or not, what they went through as queer women in such an unaccepting time was extremely traumatic. And to the trained eye, it shows. During this time (namely the 30s, 40s, 50s), the intersectionality of their womanhood and queerness spoke loudly. When they finally moved in together in Illinois during early adulthood, they still hid their relationship. 

Women were just introduced into the mainstream workforce, aside from jobs seen as typical or expected such as nursing, teaching, etc. So when the couple decided that they’d work at the same interior design office, they were not ready to blow their chances at making a living for themselves. And being queer? Forget about it. They knew what went on: bar raids, gangs, riots. They made the conscious decision not to even go where they were supposedly “accepted” like underground gay bars or support groups.

So here’s my take: LGBTQ+ documentaries… or really any film including marginalized groups... aren’t always gonna just be about the warm fluffy stuff, talking about pride and hope and happiness. It won’t always be on the flip side either, discussing the traumas. Life is filled with both of them and sometimes when they both come together, it can sort of flatten out in a dull tone if you aren’t looking for the right things. Additionally, the human experience isn’t exclusive to just the peaks and the pits. Sometimes gay people just watch TV. Sometimes black people just eat dinner. Sometimes disabled people just do laundry. Sometimes people just live their lives. And I think this film really captured the humanness of what it means to be an LGBTQ+ person. Did I like it? Yes, very much so. While watching, I found myself to be more emerged in this documentary than any other I’ve seen before. I genuinely felt like I was part of Pat and Terry’s family. 

To summarize and conclude my feelings about this film, I’d like to share an exchange of dialogue during a scene between her and one of the interviewers:

Terry: “All of us [girls] that played ball in the 40s broke the rules.”

Interviewer: “You kind of broke the rules your whole life.”

Terry: “Yes, I have…” *chuckles* “That's why I’m happy.”

Terry cont’d: “No regrets, I'd do it all over again. I think love is love, and that’s the most important thing.” 

Theresa (Terry) Paz Donahue, who reshaped the lives of many, passed away on March 14th, 2019 at the age of ninety-three after a tough battle with Parkinson’s Disease.