Lesbians Women Society

First published in 1980, Lesbians, Women and Society presents an analysis of lesbianism as a phenomenon that developed from a ‘personal problem’ or ‘individual deviance’ to a social movement with political ambitions. Social lesbianism, an important concept introduced in the text, refers to the emergence of a public expression of lesbianism and is a stage in the process of establishing a lesbian group identity. It thrusts the issue into the public eye, and lends vitality to society’s awareness. Two groups of ‘social lesbians’ are visible: those fearful of change who cling to traditional and social views, ‘sick but not sorry’; and those who wish to challenge such traditional views in favour of a more public approach, ‘sorry, but we’re not sick.’ But regardless of their relationships to the dominant sexual ideology, as a group, ‘social lesbians’ threaten the structure of power in society. This critical analysis thus challenges many people’s views of lesbianism, and points out to the uninformed observer the complexities which are involved in the contemporary lesbian experience. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, gender studies, feminist theory, and sexuality studies.

In the 1960s, a youthful and ambitious lesbian movement began taking shape in Canada. After decades of being pathologized, disparaged, or erased from public view, lesbians were ready to make a scene – both by calling attention to themselves and by creating places to come together and forge their own culture. Making a Scene tells this story, revisiting the spaces lesbians created across rural and urban Canada, from physical locations, such as bars, bookstores, and members’ clubs, to ephemeral sites, such as conferences, festivals, and protest marches. Enriched with interviews, this volume captures the exuberance and challenges of this transformational period.

Sociaal-historische achtergronden van het lesbische leven in de V.S., gevolgd door beschrijving van lesbische gemeenschappen en hun activiteiten. Aandacht voor lesbische moeders.

The lives of many lesbians prior to 1965 remain cloaked in mystery. Historians have turned the spotlight on upper-middle-class “romantic friends” and on working-class butch and femme women, but the lives of the lower-middle-class majority remain in the shadows. Awfully Devoted Women offers a portrait of middle-class lesbianism in the decades before the gay rights movement in English Canada. This intimate study of the lives of women who were forced to love in secret not only challenges the idea that lesbian relationships in the past were asexual, it also reveals the courage it took to explore desire in an era when women were supposed to know little about sexuality.

Lesbian feminism has often been scorned as a marginal political dogma. Susan Cavin, a lesbian feminist sociologist, advances a new theory of women's oppression and women's liberation, based on cross-cultural data. She holds that original human societies were woman-centered, with females greatly outnumbering males; men occupied a marginal position. When armed men overthrew women's societies they integrated themselves into society, breaking women's power.

When most lesbians had to hide, how did they find one another? Were the bars of the 1940s and 1950s more fun than the bars today? Did Black and white lesbians socialize together? Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold is a ground-breaking account of the growth of the lesbian community in Buffalo, New York from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s Drawing on oral histories collected from 45 women, it is the first comprehensive history of a working-class lesbian community. These poignant and complex stories provide a new look at Black and white working-class lesbians as powerful agents of historical change. Their creativity and resilience under oppressive circumstances constructed a better life for all lesbians and expanded possibilities for all women. Based on 13 years of research, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold ranges over topics including sex, relationships, coming out, butch-fem roles, motherhood, aging, racism, work, oppression, and pride. Kennedy and Davis provide a unique insider's perspective on butch-fem culture and trace the roots of gay and lesbian liberation to the determined resistance of working-class lesbians. The book begins by focusing on the growth and development of community, culture, and consciousness in the bars and open house parties of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. It goes on to explore the code of personal behavior and social imperative in butch-fem culture, centering on dress, mannerisms, and gendered sexuality. Finally the book examines serial monogamy, the social forces which shaped love and break-ups, and the changing nature and content of lesbian identity. Capturing the full complexity of lesbian culture, this outstanding book includes extensive quotes from narrators that make every topic a living document, a composite picture of the lives of real people fighting for respect and for a place that would be safe for their love.

"This courageous and groundbreaking book documents human rights violations against women in 30 countries around the world and discusses the strategies that lesbian activists and other human rights advocates have employed to challenge such oppression." "Placing lesbian rights within the framework of the broader struggle for women's human rights, this book demonstrates how women's rights and lesbian rights are linked in substantive ways. Both issues highlight how human rights distinctions between the private and public, as well as reluctance to address female sexuality, have perpetuated violations of women and kept them invisible. Furthermore, the defence of lesbian rights is integral to the defence of women's right to determine their own sexuality, to work at the jobs they prefer and to live as they choose with women, men, children or alone. Homophobia, it is argued, is used as a tool to keep women in line and force them to accept their society's assigned gender roles and limitations."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved