Identities In The Lesbian World

Investigates the rise and fall of US American lesbian cultural institutions since the 1970s. 2018 Over the Rainbow Selection, presented by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association LGBT Americans now enjoy the right to marry—but what will we remember about the vibrant cultural spaces that lesbian activists created in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s? Most are vanishing from the calendar—and from recent memory. The Disappearing L explores the rise and fall of the hugely popular women-only concerts, festivals, bookstores, and support spaces built by and for lesbians in the era of woman-identified activism. Through the stories unfolding in these chapters, anyone unfamiliar with the Michigan festival, Olivia Records, or the women’s bookstores once dotting the urban landscape will gain a better understanding of the era in which artists and activists first dared to celebrate lesbian lives. This book offers the backstory to the culture we are losing to mainstreaming and assimilation. Through interviews with older activists, it also responds to recent attacks on lesbian feminists who are being made to feel that they’ve hit their cultural expiration date. Bonnie J. Morris is Adjunct Professor of Women’s Studies at both George Washington University and Georgetown University. She is the author of several books, including Eden Built by Eves: The Culture of Women’s Music Festivals and Lubavitcher Women in America: Identity and Activism in the Postwar Era, also published by SUNY Press.

Discover the courageous, vibrant similarities and differences of lesbians in East Asia How are same-sex relationships similar or different in the cultures of East Asia? “Lesbians” in East Asia: Diversity, Identities, and Resistance is a unique examination of research and vital issues involving lesbians and lesbianism in East Asia, using perspectives by academics and activists who typically are rarely published in English. Contributing experts from Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, and Korea discuss a variety of topics, including solidarity and conflicts between lesbians and feminists, identities and identity politics, lesbian lives and families, and representation in mainstream culture. Asia, because of its inherent language and cultural differences from Western society, is a location of a vast unrealized fount of knowledge about same-sex relationships and the societies in which they interact. “Lesbians” in East Asia: Diversity, Identities, and Resistance begins to fill this gap in knowledge, going beyond “East-West” divisions by gathering in one volume studies in Asia lesbian/queer studies of both the West and Asia. The text’s emphasis is on points of connection and cooperation across the cultures within Asia and between this region and other areas of the world. Diverse viewpoints and research on lesbians in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan are presented showing issues and concerns that may be different—and often are very similar—to regions beyond those borders. Topics in “Lesbians” in East Asia: Diversity, Identities, and Resistance include: lesbian rights and feminism in Korea emotional damage suffered in family, work, and school contexts, including self-denial analysis of Internet exchanges in China, highlighting those feeling that they should maintain a low profile and others showing disdain toward the lesbian lifestyle gender inequality and discrimination and their effects on self-sufficiency the effects of expectations of marriage or remaining single on economics, legal standpoints, and in school ignorance and intolerance in Korean and Japanese societies identity politics conflicts of ideas between lesbians and feminists and much more! “Lesbians” in East Asia: Diversity, Identities, and Resistance is important, illuminating reading for academics and students in women’s studies, gender studies, queer/sexuality studies, East Asian studies, and activists in feminist movements.

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In What Is She Like? Rosa Ainley looks in depth at how lesbians see themselves and at the questions of identity that have defined and divided the lesbian community. Covering the period from the 1950s, with its repressive influence on sexuality in general, through so-called sexual liberation in the 1960s, to the freedoms and limitations of (lesbian) feminism in the 1970s, she brings exciting and illuminating perspectives to bear on lesbian lives in the 1990s, when lipstick lesbians were the darlings of the mainstream media. Ainley deconstructs the bizarre popular myths and stereotypes which often surround the twilight world of lesbianism, substituting for them a celebration of the multifarious nature of the lesbian subculture which evolved during the late 20th century. In a series of fascinating interviews interspersed with the text, over 20 women, of varying ages, races and backgrounds, talk frankly about their lives and lifestyles as lesbians, focusing on their own identity in terms of politics, leisure pursuits, fashion and affiliations.

This anthology comprises 52 articles based on presentations at colloquia sponsored by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) during its first decade (1986-96) at the CUNY Graduate School. Arrangement is in five sections covering identities as they revolve around gender and sexuality; the terrains of homosexual history; mind- body relations; laws and economics; and policy issues related to gay youth, AIDS, and aging. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals--often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT--are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People assesses the state of science on the health status of LGBT populations, identifies research gaps and opportunities, and outlines a research agenda for the National Institute of Health. The report examines the health status of these populations in three life stages: childhood and adolescence, early/middle adulthood, and later adulthood. At each life stage, the committee studied mental health, physical health, risks and protective factors, health services, and contextual influences. To advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, the report finds that researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People is a valuable resource for policymakers, federal agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), LGBT advocacy groups, clinicians, and service providers.