This collection of essays illustrates both the vitality and the variety within the lesbian community, with topics such as the politics of butch-femme identity, lesbian pop music stars, and class differences in the lesbian community.

"No matter how wise a mother's advice is, we listen to our peers." At least that's writer Naomi Wolf's take on the differences between her generation of feminists -- the third wave -- and the feminists who came before her and developed in the late '60s and '70s -- the second wave. In Not My Mother's Sister, Astrid Henry agrees with Wolf that this has been the case with American feminism, but says there are problems inherent in drawing generational lines. Henry begins by examining texts written by women in the second wave, and illustrates how that generation identified with, yet also disassociated itself from, its feminist "foremothers." Younger feminists now claim the movement as their own by distancing themselves from the past. By focusing on feminism's debates about sexuality, they are able to reject the so-called victim feminism of Catherine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin. Rejecting the orthodoxies of the second wave, younger feminists celebrate a woman's right to pleasure. Henry asserts, however, that by ignoring diverse older voices, the new generation has oversimplified generational conflict and has underestimated the contributions of earlier feminists to women's rights. They have focused on issues relating to personal identity at the expense of collective political action. Just as writers like Wolf, Katie Roiphe, and Rene Denfeld celebrate a "new" feminist (hetero)sexuality posited in generational terms, queer and lesbian feminists of the third wave similarly distance themselves from those who came before. Henry shows how 1970s lesbian feminism is represented in ways that are remarkably similar to the puritanical portrait of feminism offered by straight third-wavers. She concludes by examining the central role played by feminists of color in the development of third-wave feminism. Indeed, the term "third wave" itself was coined by Rebecca Walker, daughter of Alice Walker. Not My Mother's Sister is an important contribution to the exchange of ideas among feminists of all ages and persuasions.

What do we now know about the origins of plants on land, from an evolutionary and an environmental perspective? The essays in this collection present a synthesis of our present state of knowledge, integrating current information in paleobotany with physical, chemical, and geological data.

Volume one of this two volume set focuses on lesbian history and culture, beginning in 1869, when the study of homosexuality was said to have begun with the establishment of sexology. It is intended as a reference for students and scholars in many fields, as well as the general public.

To reflect this crucial fact, The Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures has been prepared in two separate volumes to assure that both histories receive full, unbiased attention and that a broad range of human experience is covered."--BOOK JACKET.

Get a queer perspective on communication theory! Queer Theory and Communication: From Disciplining Queers to Queering the Discipline(s) is a conversation starter, sparking smart talk about sexuality in the communication discipline and beyond. Edited by members of “The San Francisco Radical Trio,” the book integrates current queer theory, research, and interventions to create a critical lens with which to view the damaging effects of heteronormativity on personal, social, and cultural levels, and to see the possibilities for change through social and cultural transformation. Queer Theory and Communication represents a commitment to positive social change by imagining different social realities and sharing ideas, passions, and lived experiences. As the communication discipline begins to recognize queer theory as a vital and viable intellectual movement equal to that of Gay and Lesbian studies, the opportunity is here to take current queer scholarship beyond conference papers and presentations. Queer Theory and Communication has five objectives: 1) to integrate and disseminate current queer scholarship to a larger audience-academic and nonacademic; 2) to examine the potential implications of queer theory in human communication theory and research in a variety of contexts; 3) to stimulate dialogue among queer scholars; 4) to set a preliminary research agenda; and 5) to explore the implications of the scholarship in cultural politics and personal empowerment and transformation. Queer Theory and Communication boasts an esteemed panel of academics, artists, activists, editors, and essayists. Contributors include: John Nguyet Erni, editor of Asian Media Studies and Research & Analysis Program Board member for GLAAD Joshua Gamson, author of Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity Sally Miller Gerahart, author, activist, and actress Judith Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity David M. Halperin, author of How to Do the History of Homosexuality E. Patrick Johnson, editor of Black Queer Studies Kevin Kumashiro, author of Troubling Education: Queer Activism and Antioppressive Pedagogy Thomas Nakayama, co-editor of Whiteness: The Communication of Social Identity A. Susan Owen, author of Bad Girls: Cultural Politics and Media Representations of Transgressive Women William F. Pinar, author of Autobiography, Politics, and Sexuality, and editor of Queer Theory in Education Ralph Smith, co-author of Progay/antigay: The Rhetorical War over Sexuality Queer Theory and Communication: From Disciplining Queers to Queering the Discipline(s) is an essential addition to the critical consciousness of anyone involved in communication, media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and the study of human sexuality, whether in the classroom, the boardroom, or the bedroom.