DIVJane Rule’s fourth book explores lesbianism as portrayed by authors from Gertrude Stein to Colette, from Vita Sackville-West to May Sarton and Willa Cather /divDIV Lesbian Images opens with a disclaimer from the author: “This book is not intended to be a comprehensive literary or cultural history of lesbians.” Rather, as Jane Rule goes on to tell us, her goal is to present her own attitudes and measure them against the images of lesbianism as depicted by other female authors. Thus, chapters titled “Gertrude Stein 1874–1946,” “Willa Cather 1876–1947,” and “Ivy Compton-Burnett 1892–1969,” among many others, reveal how the concept of love between women can be filtered through one’s personal experiences and perceptions./divDIV /divDIVThere are also chapters about lesbian myths and morality; the effect of the women’s movement on lesbianism; the inherent conflicts between lesbianism and feminism; how Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness changed fifteen-year-old Rule’s life; and what it means to be labeled a lesbian writer./divDIV /divDIVAt once astute and nonjudgmental, Lesbian Images is a deeply engaging work that sounds a powerful note of hope for the future. /div

Lesbian images are everywhere these days–cable television, film, popular magazines, advertising, Internet and the news–creating desire in men and women alike, selling commercial products and services, and stirring up controversy on many levels. But do these images truly represent the diverse identities of women-centered women worldwide? This book addresses the limited access to images of diverse and international lesbian identities and experiences, in order to provide the reader with a more complete understanding of what it means to be lesbian in a global context. It investigates how lesbians portray themselves as well as how they are portrayed by others in several areas of popular culture, including television, film, the arts, Internet, advertising and the news. It features articles on U.S. lesbian cartoonists, Canadian viewer perceptions of lesbians on the cable show Queer as Folk, panoramic looks at lesbians' representation in Australian and Spanish television programming, and in-depth explorations of films by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, leading Indian film producers, and independent Chinese-American filmmakers. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Lesbian Studies.

From Thomas Edison''s first cinematic experiments to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters, Queer Images chronicles the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer sexualities over one hundred years of American film. The most up-to-date and comprehensive book of its kind, it explores not only the ever-changing images of queer characters onscreen, but also the work of queer filmmakers and the cultural histories of queer audiences. Queer Images surveys a wide variety of films, individuals, and subcultures, including the work of discreetly homosexual filmmakers during Hollywood''s Golden Age; classical Hollywood''s (failed) attempt to purge "sex perversion" from films; the development of gay male camp in Hollywood cinema; queer exploitation films and gay physique films; the queerness of 1960s Underground Film practice; independent lesbian documentaries and experimental films; cinematic responses to the AIDS crisis; the rise and impact of New Queer Cinema; the growth of LGBT film festivals; and how contemporary Hollywood deals with queer issues. This entertaining and insightful book reveals how the meaning of sexual identity—as reflected on the silver screen—has changed a great deal over the decades, and it celebrates both the pioneers and contemporary practitioners of queer film in America. Queer Images is an essential volume for film buffs and anyone interested in sexuality and culture.

Along the Union River weaves together more than two hundred images with intriguing and informative text to create an immensely enjoyable journey through the history of the towns along the banks of Maine's majestic Union River and its tributaries. The region comprising Hancock and Penobscot Counties was originally settled by soldiers who came to work in the woods and tanneries. Soon, supporting industries, stores, copper shops, lumber camps, and ladies millinery shops were established, but it was the shipbuilding industry that flourished most prominently. Here, we explore Bingham Millions,Mariaville's "Greenhouse Settlement," and Lucerne's "Little Switzerland," and experience the wild beauty of this world-famous countryside.

In recent years, San Francisco has been synonymous with gay and lesbian pride, and the various achievements of the gay and lesbian community are personified in the city by the bay. The tumultuous and ongoing struggles for this community's civil rights from the 1950s to the present are well documented, but queer culture itself goes back much further than that, in fact all the way back to the California gold rush.

The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Richmond, Virginia, invokes a rich but uncelebrated past. From the first recorded sodomy prosecution in America in 1624 to the fight to repeal the "crimes against nature" laws, LGBTs have left their imprint on almost 400 years of history in the Old Dominion's capital. Lesbian and Gay Richmond presents a photographic showcase of the events, people, and places that have been a part of this history. There are snapshots from the 1920s and 1930s when avant-garde and gay authors caroused and shared ideas in private homes. Previously untold stories from the post-World War II era tell of the rise of the gay cafAA(c)s in Richmond and the subsequent attempts by the authorities to shut their doors. Much like larger cities to the north and west of Richmond, the attempts to close these bars led to the first public protests in the late 1960s. Other images show how Richmond has a unique story to lend to the larger national LGBT history.

From the planner of the city on the Potomac River, to generations of gay women who fought for the ratification of the 19th Amendment, through the 1980s when people covered the Mall with a quilt to finally hear politicians utter the word AIDS, Washington, D.C., has a place in the identity of gay and lesbian America, which continues even now in the fight for marriages equal under the law and in the heart. Original.