Best of
Lesbian

1997

Beyond the Pale


Elana Dykewomon - 1997
    The richly textured novel details Gutke Gurvich’s odyssey from her apprenticeship as a midwife in a Russian shtetl to her work in the suffrage movement in New York. Interwoven with her tale is that Chava Meyer, who was attended by Gurvich at her birth and grew up to survive the pogrom that took the lives of her parents. Throughout the book, historical background plays a large part: Jewish faith and traditions, the practice of midwifery, the horrific conditions in prerevolutionary Russia and New York sweatshops, and the determined work of labor unionists and suffragists.

Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology (Revised and Updated Edition)


Evelyn Torton Beck - 1997
    With a new section on mother/daughter relationships, new and updated material on Israel, and new poetry and photographs.

Nothing but the Girl: The Blatant Lesbian Image


Susie Bright - 1997
    They discuss the themes which have fuelled their work, from sex, gender, race, fashion, the body and nature. the photographers featured include Della Grace, Jill Posener, Morgan Gwenwald and Honey Lee Cottrell.

The New Civil War: The Lesbian and Gay Struggle for Civil Rights


Diane Silver - 1997
    Through biographies, histories, and primary source materials, readers will witness the contributions these men and women have made through history as well as their continuing struggle for civil rights and an equal position in society.Across the United States, conservative and religious groups are challenging attempts by gay organizations to gain equal protection under law. From concepts of the right to privacy to gay marriage, there is no issue left untouched by this controversy. Author Diane Silver presents each side's perspective in a cogent, lucid manner. The result is a book that takes an evenhanded approach to one of the most inflammatory issues of our times.

Social Perspectives in Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Reader


Peter M. Nardi - 1997
    Through it, students will be able to follow the story of how sociology has come to engage with gay and lesbian issues from the 1950s to the present, from the earliest research on the underground worlds of gay men to the emergence of queer theory in the 1990s. Bringing together classic readings and the best work of younger scholars from all parts of the English-speaking world, this reader will be an invaluable resource for courses at undergraduate and graduate level in all areas of the sociology of sexuality and gender. Separate sections cover: * theoretical foundations * identity and community making * institutions and social change * challenges for the future. Each section begins with an introduction giving readers a brief guide to the readings in that section, contextualises them and relates them to one another and the book ends with an afterword by Ken Plummer summing up the present state of play and looking forward to the future

As Naughty As She Wants to Be (Adventures of Midge the Bitchy Bitch)


Roberta Gregory - 1997
    The lead character in most is Bitchy Bitch, the perma-nently PMS'd and PO'd embodiment of the female id, who also stars in her own series of cartoon shorts on the Oxygen Network's X-Chromosome animated series.The raunchiest collection, focusing on Bitchy's sexual excapades.

In Changing Times: Gay Men and Lesbians Encounter HIV/AIDS


John H. Gagnon - 1997
    In less than two decades, the disease has profoundly changed the lives of gay men and lesbians. Not just a biological and viral agent, HIV has become an opportunistic social invader, reshaping communities and the distribution of wealth, altering the social careers of gay professionals and the patterns of entry into gay and lesbian life, and giving birth to groups like ACT UP and Queer Nation. The distinguished contributors to this volume discuss the ways HIV/AIDS has changed collective and individual identities, as well as lives, of gay men and lesbians, and how these alterations have changed our perceptions of the epidemic. They cover such topics as the impact of the epidemic on small towns, cultural barriers to AIDS prevention, gay youth and intergenerational relations, and the roles of lesbians in AIDS organizations. This collection provides compelling insights into the new communities among gay men and lesbians and the new kinds of identities and relationships that are emerging from the social and cultural ferment engendered by HIV/AIDS. Contributors include Barry D. Adam, Lourdes Arguelles, Rafael Miguel Diaz, John H. Gagnon, Gilbert Herdt, Gregory M. Herek, Nan D. Hunter, Peter M. Nardi, John L. Peterson, Anne Rivero, Gayle S. Rubin, Beth E. Schneider and Nancy E. Stoller.

Femme: Feminists, Lesbians and Bad Girls


Laura Harris - 1997
    As a feminist project, Femme offers an alliance between many communities of women previously passed over by feminism. Contributors: Leah Lilith Albrecht-Samarasinha, Barbara Cruikshank, Madeline Davis, Heather Findlay, Jewelle Gomez, Kelly Hankin, Leslie Henson, Amber Hollibaugh, Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, Mabel Maney, Katherine Millersdaughter, Joan Nestle, Lisa Ortiz, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Rebecca Ann Rugg, Gaby Sandoval, Marcy Sheiner, Alex Robertson Textor.

Virginia Woolf: Lesbian Readings


Eileen Barrett - 1997
    Such traditional institutions as The New York Review of Books now pair her with William Shakespeare in promotional advertisements; her face is used to sell everything from Barnes & Noble books to Bass Ale. Virginia Woolf: Lesbian Readings represents the first book devoted to Woolf's lesbianism. Divided into two sections, Lesbian Intersections and Lesbian Readings of Woolf's Novels, these essays focus on how Woolf's private and public experience and knowledge of same-sex love influences her shorter fiction and novels. Lesbian Intersections includes personal narratives that trace the experience of reading Woolf through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Lesbian Readings of Woolf's Novels provides lesbian interpretations of the individual novels, including Orlando, The Waves, and The Years. Breaking new ground in our understanding of the role Woolf's love for women plays in her major writing, these essays shift the emphasis of lesbian interpretations from Woolf's life to her work.

A/K/A


Ruthann Robson - 1997
    Margaret Smyth is an escort for women who assumes different names and identities for each of her clients while struggling to finish law school to ensure your future. BJ, a soap opera actress under the name Jill Willis, has a melodramatic personal life that rivals that of the charater she plays on television. Initially strangers, as their identities begin to unravel, these two women are drawn--to each other and to salvation.