As a twenty-year old newly-outed queer-feminist booknerd (try saying that 10 times fast!), I'm always looking for new and exciting literature to read -- strong heroines, who happen to like women just as much as I do... is that too much to ask?
Apparently so.
I visited the Castro in San Francisco for one of the first times today, incredibly excited to become a part of this subculture. I wandered into a bookstore, ecstatic at the possibility of finding a strong, passionate and queer female heroine to identify with. Give me a good murder mystery with a queer female protagonist. Maybe some historical fiction, ladies-in-waiting and all that. Perhaps even some comedy - I love a good joke now and then. I looked through all the shelves -- "Gay Fiction", "Gay Non-Fiction", "Gay Humor" the shelves were marked. Row after row of men loving men loving men.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for male exploration of sexuality. But tell me why in an ENTIRE bookstore of supposed LGBT literature, only ONE bookcase was devoted to lesbian literature, both fiction and non-fiction shoved in a corner. Did they forget the L in the LGBT sign on the front of their store?
Even in this world of queer existence, men get all of the attention, just like they always do.
Perhaps I am in the wrong store, I said to myself, perhaps I just need to find the right place. So, I kept looking. I went in another bookstore. Same deal. By this time, it was getting dark and I was already frustrated, so I drove home, my search fruitless.
I am quite aware that there are plenty of lesbian authors, both of fiction and non-fiction. I'm sure that there are multitudes of fantastic fictional stories starring the heroines I've been looking for. But I can't find them! Between the bookstores and library, the only thing I can find is ancient texts from the '60s and badly-written erotica -- and even those are in short supply!. Where are my sassy, snappy lesbian literary heroes? My Gossip-Girl, queer style?
Help a sister out! I feel like I am going to be drowning in man-on-man cowboy novels forever.
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I don't have a lot of suggestions, just one lesbian author but seeing as how you have no comments thus far I thought I'd share.
James Tiptree Jr. is a pseudonym for Alice B. Sheldon. Sheldon was a self-identified Lesbian. Under that pseudonym she wrote award winning science fiction, some of which featured futures in which there were no men. I can't think of any stories that featured a Lesbian romance as the central theme but I do remember that her story Houston, Houston, Do you read? mentioned some lesbian romances.
Sheldon's stories dealt with gender a lot, so much so that there is an annual award in sf, The James Tiptree award, for sci-fi stories that deal with gender. Perhaps if you look up the award winners you might find something closer to what you are looking for.
I second this. Alice Sheldon was fascinating, and she wrote some of the best science fiction of her time.
It's not exactly Gossip Girl, but I highly recommend more or less anything by Jeanette Winterson. She writes beautiful, thoughtful, stories (although very strange) with lots of lesbians!
authors to check out:
sarah waters
nicola griffith
erica lopez
octavia butler
emma donoghue
kris radish
michelle tea
laurie king
and the two great authors the other posters listed!
you can also google feminist bookstores and e-mail them to get more suggestions. amazon bookstore in minneapolis just changed it's name to true colors and are striving to have the biggest selection of lesbian literature in the country. i'm sure the ladies there would be happy to e-mail you suggestions!
I'm so familiar with lesbian literature but I read about the novel Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, is really good. I read the color purple which is LGBT literature. (Frankly, I recommned this book to anyone who can read. ) and Annie on My Mind
if you enjoy comics/graphic novels, check out alison bechdel's 'dykes to watch out for' and her memoir 'fun home.' both are awesome.
Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson are definitely must reads! Sarah Waters "Fingersmith" and "Tipping the Velvet" are both historical fiction. Jeanette Winterson's "The Passion" is one of my favorite books.
Other books to check out:
"Rubyfruit Jungle" by Rita Mae Brown another one of my favorites. I think you'll find your "sassy, snappy lesbian literary heroe" in the main character Molly. She's great.
"Pages for you" by Sylvia Brownrigg. A beautifully written book about first love.
"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe." by Fannie Flagg.
Julie Ann Peters is another author to check out--though her books are more YA fiction.
(Young Adult fiction is one of my favorite genres, even though I'm now 21. I have a huge list of YA lgbt books, let me know if you want more titles/authors.)
These have been mentioned before, but I want to really emphasize them...
Sarah Waters writes a lot of historical fiction with plenty of queer characters. _Tipping the Velvet_ is my personal favorite but I'm reading _The Night Watch_ right now and so far, so good.
Nicola Griffiths writes sort of suspense, mystery-ish stuff. The only one I've read is _Stay_, which was excellent, but I think was the second in a series. You might want to start from the beginning with that one.
As one twentysomething queer book-lover to another, I definitely recommend _Fun Home_ by Alison Bechdel. It's a great memoir/graphic novel with tons of literary references running throughout. It deals in part with her own experiences coming out, so you might find it particularly interesting. Her strip Dykes to Watch Out For is also great.
You might also want to check out some older literature, like _The Well of Loneliness_ by Hall. It comes from a time before lesbian fiction had happy endings, but it's a classic and it's always interesting to see the banned books that led to the lit we have today.
Thanks everyone -- These will certainly keep me busy for a while! :)
Emma Donoghue wrote a really interesting and amazing collection of rewritten fairy tales from a lesbian perspective. I highly recommend it.
She also wrote a couple of really nice novels set in Dublin:
"stirfry" is a really sweet first novel about a girl coming up from the country to study in University College Dublin and her coming out.
"Hood" is about a woman mourning the death of her partner Cara, it's really moving.
She also wrote the play "i know my own heart" about a lesbian romance in English in historical times, which is pretty interesting.
It is even worse for me - at all of my bookstores, ALL THE LGBT books are shoved in a tiny corner. And it is pretty much all male-on-male erotica. Because, you know, gay people could NEVER be in normal books, only porn. And it is pretty rare to find ANY lesbian books in that section. I hate it :(
@Perrin12, I'd love to see your list of YA lgbt books; I'm always looking for new stuff to add to my reading list and Ya lit is great for reading on my commute! My email is feministlibrarian (at) gmail (dot) com if you're willing to share :)
Cheers,
Anna
As another newly-out queer lady, I feel your pain. Lesbian and queer women literature is hard to find, especially if you don't know where to look. I second everyone's recommendations, especially Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel. DTWF changed my life, seriously. If you like comics, or even if you don't because I'm not a big comics fan, YOU WILL LOVE BECHDEL. I am impatiently awaiting her new graphic-novel memoirs.
Also, I'm in the midst of reading Ann Bannon's Odd Girl Out. Only halfway through my first Bannon book, I now believe lesbian pulp fiction is required reading for all baby dykes, queer femmes, no-label ladies, and everyone in-between. :)
Additionally: Susan Sontag, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Amy Lowell, Radicallesbians, and Michelle Tea's Baby, Remember My Name: An Anthology of New Queer Girl's Writing.
Finally, two sites I really like that have queer lady book news and reviews: AfterEllen.com, and Velvetpark: Dyke Culture in Bloom.
I'm still new to this and searching too. Enjoy the journey. :)
omg i am OBSESSED with the ann bannon series. you NEED to read them all. i go through them SO FAST though which is why i was looking for more! :)
I don't know if I would quite describe this book's heroine as a gossip girl type, but she is certainly intelligent and tenacious. The Haven Home For Delinquent Girls by Louise Tondeur is one of my favourites and features innovative imagery, lovely cakes and a cracking story to boot.
Pages For You is a good one too, but apart from those ones, I haven't had all that much success searching for a sassy lesbian heroine.
At Barnes and Nobles you will find the stuff you are looking for by the Women's Studies stuff.
Or I can at my B&N
Annie on my Mind is one of my favorite books of all time.
I loved "Annie on my Mind" as well.
In terms of YA Lit, I also recommend "Deliver us from Evie" by M.E. Kerr. There's also an anthology of short stories about LGBTQ... teenagers that includes some lesbian romances, "Am I Blue?" edited by Margaret Dane Bauer.
I stumbled onto The Ihop Papers by Ali Liebegott without looking for lesbian fiction specifically, only a good book. I liked it a lot. It is about a 20 year old lesbian who falls in love with one of her professors, her travels and women she meets. She has some depression (and I believe drug?) problems so it isn't exactly light reading but I thought it well written and found the main character interesting.
I highly recommend Emma Donaghue's Life Mask. It's a great historical fiction about real people in England during the French Revolution. I can't remember their names right off the top of my head, but it's a great book. I read it for a Queer literature class actually.
I've also got a great anthology of lesbian literature you might want to check out. It's called Chloe + Olivia. It's got stuff from the early modern period to modern, poetry to fiction, etc. I think the only thing it doesn't have is poetry from Sappho, but I could be wrong about that. I haven't finished it yet.