The GLBTRT has been reviewing books and movies in its newsletter since the early 1990s. Trace the evolution of queer publishing through these historic reviews. This review was originally published in Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer 1992.
This is the twentieth anniversary edition of this landmark book which is an anecdotal account of what it means to be a lesbian. The authors, partners for 38 years, write with great affection about what it was like for them and their friends and acquaintances to be lesbians in the fifties and sixties. The book is written in a story-telling, conversational style as if you were sitting around the living room chatting over coffee. It is very readable and enjoyable.
Martin and Lyon address many aspects of ordinary living as well as dealing with some of the more charged issues and concerns which are still very much alive in the lesbian community today. They talk about the idea of butch/femme roles; about coming out; about the influences of mainstream religion and mainstream society in opposition or support of homosexuality. They talk about lesbians in relation to the women’s movement and in relation to the gay liberation movement. They talk about the founding and the demise of the Daughters of Bilitis, an organization which the authors established in 1955 to “to aid the Lesbian in discovering her potential and her place in society.”
As part of this twentieth anniversary edition, there is an lengthy “Update 1991” where, in segments of a few pages in length, the authors provide progress reports about how far lesbians and the lesbian/ gay liberation movement has come – or stalled – in the intervening years since Lesbian/Woman was first published.
Overall, this is an accessible cultural account of lesbians in the United States since the fifties. It makes no attempt to be scholarly or definitive. There are no footnotes, no bibliography, no index. This is written as homey vignettes about normal lesbians leading normal lesbian lives – or trying to in the midst of general cultural non-acceptance of the lifestyle. Lesbians of all ages should find this a useful overview.
Highly recommended, especially for public libraries. Even for those libraries that already have the 1972 edition, the price is not too steep as ft includes the “Update 1991.” An appropriate addition for academic libraries that have lesbian and women’s studies materials and do not own an earlier edition.
Reviewed by Jo McClamroch
University of Minnesota
Duluth, MN
