Some more of the les/etc books I’ve gotten lately and why I’m looking forward to reading them.
How could I resist the cover of Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds by Judy Grahn? Answer: I could not. It is amazing. It also seems to about gay and lesbian culture, history, language, and symbols, which sounds fascinating.
Lesbianism and the Women’s Movement seems to have come out of that brief period when feminists decided that lesbianism was the best course of action. Obviously, not all feminists, but I like to think it was one incredible lesbian who had the brilliant idea of making lesbianism a political statement and converting all her feminist friends. It also has two essays by Rita Mae Brown in it, and I loved Rubyfruit Jungle, so that’s enough to sell me.
Sister & Brother: Lesbians & Gay Men Write About Their Lives Together edited by Joan Nestle and John Preston addresses something that I have found interesting: how lesbians and gay men are often slotted together in one category, even though they really have nothing in common other than their shared oppression. We don’t identify as the same gender and we aren’t attracted to the same people. But that shared oppression has been enough to form a community, and Sister & Brother is about those relationships.
Woman Plus Woman: Attitudes Toward Lesbianism by Dolores Klaich is one of the 
many outdated nonfiction books I’ve collected about lesbians. Why? Because I think that even if the information is outdated, knowing the history of the attitudes towards lesbians is a good way to build a narrative about lesbians now and then. This one also promises “frank interviews and blunt answers to a number of anonymous questionnaires”, which will reveal the thoughts of the invisible lesbian population, which are “unstudied and untabulated” . Sweet, invisible lesbians.
The Lesbian Path edited by Margaret Cruikshank has a delightfully 70s cover. This is a collection of personal stories, which I don’t think ever get outdated. It also seems to include some poetry. I love reading lesbians’ coming out stories. Also, it has a whole chapter on lesbians and literature!
