• Acknowledgments-- Map of Los Angeles
• 1. Beyond the Congregation--
• 2. Setting the Stage: Historical Contexts--
• 3. Queering the Spiritual Marketplace--
• 4. Negotiating Religion: Continuity, Conversion, Innovation--
• 5. Tiles in the Mosaic: Organizations as Resources--
• 6. Building a Mosaic: The Sacred (and the) Self--
• 7. Queer Women, Religion, and Postmodernity Appendix A. Biographical Summaries-- Appendix B. Methods and Methodological Considerations-- Appendix C. Interview Schedules-- Notes-- Selected Bibliography-- Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Melissa M. Wilcox explores the complex spiritual lives of queer women in the Los Angeles area. She takes the reader on a tour of a colourful array of religious and secular groups that serve as spiritual resources for these women - from the well-known Metropolitan Community Churches to Wiccan covens, from the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Arguing that these women's stories are exemplary cases of postmodern patterns of religious identity, belief, and practice, Wilcox offers a nuanced analysis of contemporary Western spirituality and selfhood, and a detailed exploration of the history of queer religious organizing in Los Angeles. "Queer Women and Religious Individualism" is important reading for scholars in religious studies, sociology, women's studies, and LGBT studies.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• A queer girl dreaming her way home Sexuality and the state: The defeat of the Briggs Initiative and beyond. An interview with Amber Hollibaugh What we're rollin' around in bed with: Sexual silences in feminism - a conversation toward ending them Desire for the future: Radical hope in passion and danger The right to rebel Talking sex: A conversation on sexuality and feminism Opposite sex: Lesbians and gay men talk about each other's sexuality Femme fables Sympathy of the blood Strategies for freedom Sex work notes: Some tensions of a former whore and a practising feminist Lesbianism is not a condom Transmission, transmission, where's the transmission? Lesbian denial and lesbian leadership in the AIDS epidemic: Bravery and fear in the construction of a lesbian geography of risk Sexuality, labor and the new trade unionism: A conversation with Amber Hollibaugh and Nikhil Pal Singh A grande dame: The femme interview My dangerous desires: Falling in love with stones butches, passing women and girls (who are guys) who catch my eye.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Amber L. Hollibaugh is a lesbian sex radical, ex-hooker, incest survivor, gypsy child, poor-white-trash, high femme dyke. She is also an award-winning filmmaker, feminist, Left political organiser, public speaker, and journalist. "My Dangerous Desires" presents over twenty years of Hollibaugh's writing, an introduction written especially for this book, and five new essays including "A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home, " "My Dangerous Desires, " and "Sexuality, Labour, and the New Trade Unionism." In looking at themes such as the relationship between activism and desire or how sexuality can be intimately tied to one's class identity, Hollibaugh fiercely and fearlessly analyses her own political development as a response to her unique personal history. She explores the concept of labelling and the associated issues of categories such as butch or femme, transgender, bisexual, top or bottom, drag queen, b-girl, or drag king.The volume includes conversations with other writers, such as Deirdre English, Gayle Rubin, Jewelle Gomez, and Cherrie Moraga. From the groundbreaking article 'What We're Rollin' Around in Bed With' to the radical 'Sex Work Notes: Some Tensions of a Former Whore and a Practicing Feminist', Hollibaugh charges ahead to describe her reality, never flinching from the truth. Dorothy Allison's moving foreword pays tribute to a life lived in struggle by a working-class lesbian who, like herself, refuses to suppress her dangerous desires. Having informed many of the debates that have become central to gay and lesbian activism, Hollibaugh's work challenges her readers to speak, write, and record their desires - especially, perhaps, the most dangerous of them - 'in order for us all to survive'.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Part 1 Origins: meanings-- a global view-- history-- science.
• Part 2 Communities: numbers-- localities-- a gay ghetto-- country lesbians-- minorities-- sexual diversity-- special interests.
• Part 3 Health: general health issues-- AIDS - the disease-- AIDS - the response.
• Part 4 Rights: the law-- politics.
• Part 5 Culture: lesbian art-- gay men and the arts-- religion and spirituality.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

"City of Friends" offers a practical overview of what it means to be gay or lesbian. The authors seek to help gay men and women, as well as their families and friends, to better understand the institutions and communities that make up the most culturally and ethnically diverse minority in America today. Beginning with basic concepts, LeVay and Nonas define the words "homosexual", "gay", "lesbian" and "bisexual" and discuss the various patterns of homosexuality in different cultures around the world. They relate the history of the gay and lesbian community in the United States, and its struggle for equal rights and social acceptance, before tackling the question - still highly controversial - of what determines an individual's sexual orientation. "City of Friends" describes the great diversity within the gay and lesbian community: life in the "gay ghetto"; old lesbians in rural hideaways; gay resorts; a "town without men"; gay and lesbian Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Native Americans - what it means to be a minority within a minority; lesbian and gay youth, the elderly, the deaf; bisexuals and transsexuals; academics, drag queens, techno-queers, publishers, softball players - all make their appearance in these pages. LeVay and Nonas continue with a discussion of health issues (especially of the AIDS epidemic and the community's response to it), the law, and gay and lesbian politics. They describe the cultural achievements of lesbians and gay men - their art, literature, theatre, music and dance. Finally they take a look at the spiritual life of gays and lesbians, both within and outside of organized religion.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Creating a Place For Ourselves is a groundbreaking collection of essays which takes an historical look at gay life in the United States before Stonewall and the gay liberation movement. Along with examining areas with large gay communities such as New York, San Francisco and Fire Island, the contributors also consider the thriving gay populations in cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Washington D.C., Birmingham and Flint, demonstrating that gay communities are truly everywhere.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

From the author of Queer in America comes a complete, step-by-step guide to coming out of the closet--the first coming-out guide to the '90s. Signorile's pull-no-punches style gives this book a Susan Powter-ish Stop the Insanity! approach to a difficult and often mishandled experience.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Contents: Lori Horvitz: Introduction - Carol Guess: Of Quarterbacks And Quarantine - Lee Ann Roripaugh: Personal, Political, Pedagogical, Performative, and Praxis: Queer in the Classroom - Five Not-So-Easy Pieces - Michelle Spiegel: The Personal as Productive?: Sexual Embodiment and Identity in the Women's Studies Classroom - Stacy Fox: Dear Diary: A Narrative Journal of My First Years as a 'Fag Teacher' - Jennifer Smith: Hey Virginia: What's the Writing on the Wall? - Sassafras Lowrey: From Classroom to Family - Maureen Seaton: The Queerosphere: Musings on Queer Studies and Creative Writing Classrooms (On Poetry, Creativity, and the Fleetingness of Things) - Liz Matelski: My Battle Armor - Laura M. Andre: We Weren't Queer Yet - Jessica Gardner: Mr. Short Hair - Bonnie J. Morris: The Week Matthew Shepard Died - Sarah B. Burghauser: Learning to Be in a Skin - Kristie Soares: Who Do I Have to Move On From This Place? Meditations from a Third World Feminist Lesbian - Lori Horvitz: Transitions - Jules Odendaul-James: Dr. 'Strange'love Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Loving (in) the Classroom Closet - Mara Hughes: Toward a Practice of Humility - Lissa Brown: A Teacher's Lesson - Cynthia Tyler: Physical Education - B.J. Epstein: Teaching Out - Barbara DiBernard: Imagine My Surprise! Being Out as a Lesbian Teacher, 1990-2000 - Sandy Woodson: Definition - Anne Balay: Playing With Gender for College Credit: Experiencing Gender, Sex and Sexuality - Shannon Weber: What My Women's College Taught Me About Being Enthusiastically Queer - Mary Clare Powell: Teacher Coming Out to Teachers - Anne Stebbins: Troubling the Coming-Out Discourse: The (Non) Outing of My Buzz Cut - Holly St. Jean: The Two-Step.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

"Queer Girls in Class" is a compilation of personal essays by lesbian teachers and students who speak about sexual identity and its influence on the teaching and learning process. The mission of this anthology is to provide, through personal stories, an analysis of how sexuality - specifically, how identifying as a queer woman - can affect classroom dynamics in high school and university settings. Despite a perceived cultural acceptance of the GLBTQ community in the media, many gays and lesbians still suffer from their own internalized homophobia, as well as the homophobia of the outside world. These twenty-six essays give readers the opportunity to recognize, connect with, and critically think about the personal and political challenges and triumphs that queer women, whether out of the closet or not, have experienced in the classroom and beyond.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Contents Acknowledgments Map of Los Angeles
• 1. Beyond the Congregation
• 2. Setting the Stage: Historical Contexts
• 3. Queering the Spiritual Marketplace
• 4. Negotiating Religion: Continuity, Conversion, Innovation
• 5. Tiles in the Mosaic: Organizations as Resources
• 6. Building a Mosaic: The Sacred (and the) Self
• 7. Queer Women, Religion, and Postmodernity Appendix A. Biographical Summaries Appendix B. Methods and Methodological Considerations Appendix C. Interview Schedules Notes Selected Bibliography Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Melissa M. Wilcox explores the complex spiritual lives of queer women in the Los Angeles area. She takes the reader on a tour of a colorful array of religious and secular groups that serve as spiritual resources for these women-from the well-known Metropolitan Community Churches to Wiccan covens, from the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Arguing that these women's stories are exemplary cases of postmodern patterns of religious identity, belief, and practice, Wilcox offers a nuanced analysis of contemporary Western spirituality and selfhood, and a detailed exploration of the history of queer religious organizing in Los Angeles. Queer Women and Religious Individualism is important reading for scholars in religious studies, sociology, women's studies, and LGBT studies.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction Getting Started Historical Background
• Chapter 1. Coming Out Coming Out: What Does It Mean? The Closet Growing Up Different Marriage and Motherhood Resistance and Rebels Coming Out Older The Movements
• Chapter 2. Identity What's in a Name? Identity Development Family Influence on Identity Turning Points Finding Meaning in Life
• Chapter 3. Family Defining Family Biological Family The Lesbian Family: Partnerships and Relationships
• Chapter 4. Work Work and Sexual Identity Lesbians in the Military Work and the Double Life Work Satisfaction Planning for Retirement Retirement
• Chapter 5. Aging and Hopes for the Future Aging: The Challenges and Anticipations Financial Security Independence and Dependence Housing and Community Partnerships: Journeying Through Life Together Hopes for the Future
• Chapter 6. Adversity Family Rejection Education, Military, and Political Lessons Social Isolation Looking Trouble in the Eye
• Chapter 7. Resiliency I Know Who I Am Sources of Support Best Times Spirituality Dreams and Desires Advice for Younger Generations
• Chapter 8. Conclusion Appendix A. Historical Time Line Appendix B. Demographic Information Appendix C. Suggested Reading Index Reference Notes Included.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

The untold history of lesbian life from those who have lived it! Lives of Lesbian Elders: Looking Back, Looking Forward illuminates the hopes, fears, issues, and concerns of gay women as they grow older. Based on interviews with 62 lesbians ranging in age from 55 to 95, this very special book provides a historical account of the shared experiences of the lesbian community that is so often invisible or ignored in contemporary society. The book gives voice to their thoughts and feelings on a wide range of issues, including coming out, identity and the meaning of life, the role of family and personal relationships, work and retirement, adversity, and individual sources of strength and resilience. Cast off and overlooked at best or victims of scorn and prejudice at worst, lesbians in the twentieth century lived dual lives, their full voices unheard until now. Lives of Lesbian Elders chronicles the life choices they made and their reasons for making them, set against the contexts of culture, politics, and the social mores of the eras in which they lived. Their stories of courage, resilience, resourcefulness, pride, and independence help restore lesbian history that has been forgotten, distorted, or disregarded and provide the information necessary to meet the future needs of aging lesbians. Lives of Lesbian Elders gives aging lesbians a chance to discuss their thoughts on a variety of topics, including: Coming out "You didn't talk about it . . . Until two years ago, I never even referred to a lesbian or would I allow the word to pass my lips" "I used to sneak into libraries and read about homosexuality and back in that era, it was not classy . . . it was classified as a disorder of some type" Identity "The only difference between me and anybody else is that I just happen to be sleeping with a woman" "I think I grew up not really knowing who I was and, I think, probably fighting all my life trying to find out who I was" Family "I feel very connected with the lesbian community here . . . I guess I would call that family" "Many years ago, my sister said: 'I think when they're ready, you need to explain to (the nieces) what a lesbian is, because I want them to hear the correct story . . . I want them to hear what it really is and not all these stupid rumors that go around'" Work "I was going to become a youth minister at one point and it dawned on me in high school that there was no way the church was going to let me work with kids" "I didn't really finish my career . . . I still have dreams about the military and about not finishing . . . It was my choice, but it wasn't really my choice" Aging and the Future "I think financing, of course, is a real big problem for lesbian women" "I have a concern that if anything should happen to my partner in growing older of being isolated from the gay community" . . . and much more! Lives of Lesbian Elders: Looking Back, Looking Forward also includes appendices that present demographic data on the women who were interviewed for the book, information on historical timelines, and suggested readings on lesbian history. The book is an invaluable addition to the growing collective history of lesbians in the United States.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)