The lesbians who have contributed to this book are theorists and activists who write as members of diverse lesbian cultures. Each lesbian has her ways of knowing, her voices, approaches, methodologies, languages. Each lesbian reflects, directly and indirectly, her relations to her own and to other ethnicities, races, social classes, physical abilities, ages, and nationalities. Each lesbian has distinctive perspectives on lesbian existence, friendships and sexualities, separatism and coalition building, theories of knowledge and ethics, language and writing. Lesbian Philosophies and Cultures is a hybrid site for discussion of, work on, and delight in this sometimes uneasy, sometimes painful, sometimes surprising and wonderful, lesbian pluralism. For this collection, some of the contributors have chosen to write in essay style, and some have chosen to write in fiction, autobiography, poetic prose and experimental forms. The contributors, all of whom live currently in the u.s.a. or quebec, are: Joyce Trebilcot, Vivienne Louise, Kitty Tsui, Ann Ferguson, Julia Penelope, Marthe Rosenfeld, Claudia Card, Anna Lee, María Lugones, Edwina Franchild, Caryatis Cardea, Baba Copper, Bette S. Tallen, Michèle Causse, Sarah Lucia Hoagland, Nett Hart, Marilyn Frye, Kim Hall, Jacquelyn N. Zita, Monique Wittig, Nicole Brossard, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Jeffner Allen.

Features discussions of S/M sex, lesbian ethics, lesbian desire, bisexuality, and includes a bibliography of lesbian criticism. This work contains essays that explore the diverse positive understandings of 'lesbian philosophy', from contested sexual behaviours such as pornography and sadomasochism to the meaning of 'lesbianism'.

Theorizing lesbian, Kathleen Martindale writes, is like embarking on terra incognita. In this book, Martindale offers her lucidly written analysis as a guide through the complex and provocative terrain of lesbian literary and cultural theory. Using the publication of Adrienne Rich's Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence and the outbreak of the American sex wars as a starting point, Martindale traces the emergence of lesbian postmodernism and how lesbian-feminism changed from a popular to an un/popular culture and from a political vanguard into a cultural neo-avant garde. Martindale analyzes the theoretical implications of "creative" texts such as the graphic art and cultural commentary of Alison Bechdel and Diane DiMassa. She experiments in autobiography by Joan Nestle, and deconstructed lesbian genre fiction by Sarah Schulman to determine how these texts elaborate contemporary theoretical issues. These texts, she argues, are widely available and could be considered as postmodernist rewritings and revisions of the most characteristic and preferred lesbian-feminist modes of cultural expression. Her analysis raises poignant questions about how lesbians read, what they read, and what counts as lesbian theory. She concludes with a discussion of the status of queer pedagogy in academic institutions and what measures need to be taken to promote and safeguard its existence in what are often homophobic educational settings.

This unique collection examines the experience of lesbians in Israel, providing insight into some of the institutions that have helped shape that experience. The book analyzes and interprets how culturally specific political, ideological, and social systems construct lesbian identities, experiences, and dilemmas, and it also explores how a specific society is seen, understood, and interpreted from a lesbian perspective. Written by scholars, professionals, and grassroots activists representing different sectors of the Israeli political spectrum, this book provides a broad perspective of the lesbian experience in Israel.

Dyke Ideas is a passionate and insightful contribution to lesbian philosophy. The main value is wimmin—women separate from men and men’s inventions. “Craziness,” guilt, competition, sex, and other topics are explored in ways that reject male values and move toward wimmin-identified cultures. Method is central. The authoritarian, God’s-eye stance typical of academic writing is disavowed in favor of an approach that denies that others “should” accept the author’s beliefs. Persuasion is tyranny, Joyce Trebilcot thinks, so she tries not to interfere with a reader’s processes of creating/discovering her own ideas. This book suggests that lesbian philosophy is like a potluck: wimmin bring their own contributions and also help themselves to the offerings of others. Dyke Ideas is written in a candid, clear, jargon-free style that makes it accessible to a wide range of readers. The writings (which include essays, poetry, a dialogue, and forms without names) resonate with the feelings and thoughts of many wimmin.

A rich heritage that needs to be documented Beginning in 1869, when the study of homosexuality can be said to have begun with the establishment of sexology, this encyclopedia offers accounts of the most important international developments in an area that now occupies a critical place in many fields of academic endeavours. It covers a long history and a dynamic and ever changing present, while opening up the academic profession to new scholarship and new ways of thinking. A groundbreaking new approach While gays and lesbians have shared many aspects of life, their histories and cultures developed in profoundly different ways. To reflect this crucial fact, the encyclopedia has been prepared in two separate volumes assuring that both histories receive full, unbiased attention and that a broad range of human experience is covered. Written for and by a wide range of people Intended as a reference for students and scholars in all fields, as well as for the general public, the encyclopedia is written in user-friendly language. At the same time it maintains a high level of scholarship that incorporates both passion and objectivity. It is written by some of the most famous names in the field, as well as new scholars, whose research continues to advance gender studies into the future.

A rich heritage that needs to be documented Beginning in 1869, when the study of homosexuality can be said to have begun with the establishment of sexology, this encyclopedia offers accounts of the most important international developments in an area that now occupies a critical place in many fields of academic endeavors. It covers a long history and a dynamic and ever changing present, while opening up the academic profession to new scholarship and new ways of thinking. A groundbreaking new approach While gays and lesbians have shared many aspects of life, their histories and cultures developed in profoundly different ways. To reflect this crucial fact, the encyclopedia has been prepared in two separate volumes assuring that both histories receive full, unbiased attention and that a broad range of human experience is covered. Written for and by a wide range of people Intended as a reference for students and scholars in all fields, as well as for the general public, the encyclopedia is written in user-friendly language. At the same time it maintains a high level of scholarship that incorporates both passion and objectivity. It is written by some of the most famous names in the field, as well as new scholars, whose research continues to advance gender studies into the future.