GLBT History

 
Odd Girls & Twilight Lovers
by Lillian Faderman
Faderman charts the evolution of the concept of the "lesbian" as a 20th-century social construct and shows how love between women, once known at the turn of the century by such terms as "romantic friendship" or "sentimental friendship," came to be called "lesbianism." What was once not a realistic alternative to marriage became possible as women became educated, demanded equal rights, and came out of the home and into the workforce. With increased opportunities for independence, women no longer needed men's financial support to survive and, as a result, love between women was no longer perceived as innocently as it had been in the past. This is a much-needed book and is highly recommended for all public libraries both for its information about the perception and treatment of this particular minority group in America, as well as for its historical and sociological contribution. Its scholarly approach and content also make it a necessity for women's studies collections.
 

 
Sappho
by Jane McIntosh Snyder
Although just a small fragment of the ancient Greek poet Sappho's work remains, Snyder uses it and other sources to reconstruct the artist's life and give readers a picture of Greek and Aegean Island life around 600 B.C. What emerges is a remarkable portrait of a woman who wrote "songs" of lesbian desire at a time when poetry writing and homosexuality were considered exclusively male domains. She wrote of other subjects as well, of course, and Snyder offers a balanced account of the poet's life and work without downplaying lesbianism. Snyder also looks at how Sappho has been interpreted through the centuries and how she has served to inspire many twentieth-century women poets

 
Boots of Leather, Slippers
of Gold
by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, Madeline D. Davis
This first ethnography on the development of working-class lesbian communities from the 1930s to the 1960s focuses on a Buffalo, New York, lesbian community. Unlike gay men, gay women, by dressing the way they wanted, going to bars regularly, being financially independent from their families of origin and from men, and by boldly seeking out the company of other women like themselves, unwittingly created a community of their own. The authors argue that because the women in the community gave one another the support necessary to respond aggressively and "with pride" when facing an often disapproving and hostile society, they effectively built the real foundation of the gay and lesbian liberation movement. The oral histories of 45 women tell of victimization by their families, straight men, and one another but also recount the joys these women experienced by allowing themselves to be who they really were. Conducted over a 13-year period, these interviews contribute a massive amount of original research to the anthropology of American culture as well as to lesbian history.