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Review

371 pages, soft cover

The term lesbian came into use when late nineteenth-century European sexologists began to explore female same-sex loving. The women thus described accepted this label but set out to alter the sexologists' definitions and create identities and ideologies for themselves. Faderman offers a decade-by-decade account of this evolution in the twentieth century, looking at the establishment of lesbian subcultures and the ways in which feminism and gay liberation have gradually destigmatized female same-sex loving today. Her often surprising narrative is based on a refreshing variety of sources, including journals, unpublished manuscripts, songs, new accounts, novels, medical literature and numerous personal interviews with lesbians of all races, ages and classes.

"A fascinating study of the women whose sexuality and politics have profoundly affected mainstream America."
Jeanette Winterson