hi! you post some of my fav resource/ref posts, and I was wondering if you had any suggestions of resources on lesbians/homosexuality? most everything that I'm finding while searching myself is pretty watered down libfem garbage that is just not helpful at all. thanks in advance and much love!
i only put books i own for the most part (though i haven’t read all of them) on this list, but hopefully it’s helpful! i think all of these can easily be purchased on amazon, but i would recommend checking your library and third-party sellers first.
another mother tongue: gay words, gay worlds by judy grahn
baby, you are my religion: women, gay bars, and theology before stonewall by marie cartier
changing our minds: lesbian feminism and psychology by celia kitzinger
lesbian culture, an anthology: the lives, work, ideas, art and visions of lesbians past and present; edited by julia penelope and susan wolfe
the celluloid closet: homosexuality in movies by vito russo
the disappearing l: erasure of lesbian spaces and culture by bonnie j. morris
the highest apple: sappho and the lesbian poetic tradition by judy grahn
the lesbian fantastic: a critical study of science fiction, fantasy, paranormal and gothic writings by phyllis m. betz
the lesbian menace: ideology, identity, and the representation of lesbian life by sherrie a. inness
vampires and violets: lesbians in the cinema by andrea weiss
between women: friendship, desire, and marriage in victorian england by sharon marcus
boots of leather, slippers of gold: the history of a lesbian community by elizabeth lapovsky kennedy and madeline d. davis
charity and sylvia: a same-sex marriage in early america by rachel hope cleves
immodest acts: the life of a lesbian nun in renaissance italy by judith c. brown
lesbian decadence: representations in art and literature of fin-de-siècle france by nicole g. albert, tr. nancy erber and william peniston
lesbian nuns: breaking silence; edited by rosemary curb and nancy manahan
love between women: early christian responses to female homoeroticism by bernadette j. brooten
loving women: being lesbian in unprivileged india by maya sharma
odd girls and twilight lovers: a history of lesbian life in 20th-century america by lillian faderman
passions between women by emma donoghue
sakhiyani: lesbian desire in ancient and modern india by giti thadani
sapphistries: a global history of love between women by leila j. rupp
surpassing the love of men: romantic friendship and love between women from the renaissance to the present by lillian faderman
the sexuality of history: modernity and the sapphic, 1565-1830 by susan s lanser
to believe in women: what lesbians have done for america-a history by lillian faderman
wayward lives, beautiful experiments: intimate histories of riotous black girls, trouble women, and queer radicals by saidiya v. hartman
women’s sexualities and masculinities in a globalizing asia; edited by saskia e. wieringa, evelyn blackwood, and abha bhaiya
unspeakable love: gay and lesbian life in the middle east by brian whitaker
dispatches from lesbian america: 45 short stories and memoirs by lesbian writers; edited by xequina maria berber, giovanna capone, and cheela romaine smith
fun home: a family tragicomic by alison bechdel
in the dream house by carmen maria machado (i think machado identifies as queer but she’s married to a woman and this is a book about her experiences being in an abusive lesbian relationship, so it counts)
my lesbian experience with loneliness by nagata kabi (a warning, this novel involves a woman’s experience with a lesbian escort)
rubyfruit jungle by rita mae brown
sister love: the letters of audre lorde and pat parker, 1974-1989 by audre lorde and pat parker
the secret diaries of miss anne lister: volume 1: i know my own heart by anne lister
the secret diaries of miss anne lister: volume 2: no priest but love by anne lister
vita and virginia: the lives and loves of virginia woolf and vita sackville-west by sarah gristwood
zami: a new spelling of my name by audre lorde
fiction, poetry, and plays: (this list is lacking because i’m not combing through every single kindle book mostly because my computer can’t handle it, so i only put books i know are written by/about/for lesbians)
bleeding earth by kaitlin ward
carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu
desert of the heart by jane rule
disobedience by naomi alderman
fingersmith by sarah waters
fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg
her body and other parties by carmen maria machado
living as a lesbian by cheryl clarke
milk and honey: a celebration of jewish lesbian poetry; julie r enszer
new and selected poems: volume one by mary oliver
new and selected poems: volume two by mary oliver
orlando: a biography by virginia woolf
oranges are not the only fruit by jeanette winterson
patience and sarah by alma routsong
sappho in love: a play in two acts by carolyn gage
stigmata: a tragedy in three acts by carolyn gage
stone butch blues by leslie feinberg
tender buttons by gertrude stein
the color purple by alice walker
the complete works of pat parker by pat parker
the price of salt by patricia highsmith
the queen of swords by judy grahn
the queen of wands by judy grahn
the well of loneliness by radclyffe hall
the work of a common woman by judy grahn
the second coming of joan of arc and selected plays by carolyn gage
the spindle and other lesbian fairy tales by carolyn gage
tipping the velvet by sarah waters
when i arrived at the castle by emily carroll
winter hours by mary oliver
maybe not quite what you were looking for:
a passion for friends: towards a philosophy of female affection by janice g. raymond (i know it’s controversial but i like the lesbian continuum theory, and this plays right into it)
compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence by adrienne rich (the original, see above)
women who become men: albanian sworn virgins by antonia young
voices from the land; written by michigan womyn’s music festival community
other recommendations are very welcome!
