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Lesbian Bedtime Stories
Book by Woodrow, Terry
Paperback
Published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 24, 2020
Pros: Lesbian fiction and fantasy with a variety of stories and delightful fantasy tales
Cons: Ableism (the r slur is used in one story) and one of the contributors was a serial killer
I want to start my review by saying many of these stories were delightful. Some of my favorite stories focused on found families and fantasy. There is a diverse range of stories told in this anthology, with lesbian erotica being a consistent subject, but not the main focus of all the stories. I also enjoyed the small illustrations (and the cover is hilarious).
One enjoyable aspect of this collection is each story has a small biography of the author beforehand. I'm sad that some contributors I could not find more information about them or their lives, as so many spoke of their hopes for the future and I hoped they continued to write.
One contributor did catch me offguard however. Carol Bundy introduced herself before her story as "...a white femme, forty-six, and doing life in prison." My interest was piqued, but I am glad I read her story before researching her.
*Please stop reading if you want an uninfluenced opinion on the story she contributed now*
.
.
.
Her crimes were horrific. It's really not every day that you are reading some late 1980's lesbian fiction and suddenly you have the whiplash of realizing an author who wrote a story about dealing with grief, did so while serving her sentence after assisting in the abuse and murder of teen sex workers.
Still, I would not disregard the rest of this book just due to her contribution. After all, her story is 1 of 29 stories that are funny, heart warming, heart breaking, insightful, silly, and erotic. If you cannot set aside her crimes to read this book, just skip hers and read the rest. It's worth it.
Cons: Ableism (the r slur is used in one story) and one of the contributors was a serial killer
I want to start my review by saying many of these stories were delightful. Some of my favorite stories focused on found families and fantasy. There is a diverse range of stories told in this anthology, with lesbian erotica being a consistent subject, but not the main focus of all the stories. I also enjoyed the small illustrations (and the cover is hilarious).
One enjoyable aspect of this collection is each story has a small biography of the author beforehand. I'm sad that some contributors I could not find more information about them or their lives, as so many spoke of their hopes for the future and I hoped they continued to write.
One contributor did catch me offguard however. Carol Bundy introduced herself before her story as "...a white femme, forty-six, and doing life in prison." My interest was piqued, but I am glad I read her story before researching her.
*Please stop reading if you want an uninfluenced opinion on the story she contributed now*
.
.
.
Her crimes were horrific. It's really not every day that you are reading some late 1980's lesbian fiction and suddenly you have the whiplash of realizing an author who wrote a story about dealing with grief, did so while serving her sentence after assisting in the abuse and murder of teen sex workers.
Still, I would not disregard the rest of this book just due to her contribution. After all, her story is 1 of 29 stories that are funny, heart warming, heart breaking, insightful, silly, and erotic. If you cannot set aside her crimes to read this book, just skip hers and read the rest. It's worth it.
May 21, 2023
While I might not equally love every short story in this book (some messages I don't agree with, some stories are deeper than others etc.) I LOVED everything about reading this book. Meeting so many lesbians of different times and places, the fact that a book like this has existed for this long, experiencing a different age of queerness, the way that it found its way to me... It's been a pleasure :)
November 14, 2023
lesbian joy is something so pure and sweet and i devoured the sweetness of this book.
a collection of short stories written by lesbian authors in varying genres, such as romance, erotica, fantasy, humor, and even coming out stories. this collection was published in (i believe) 1989, therefore this is much different than the contemporary lesbian literature i consume, but in a wonderful way. maybe it's because i consume too much contemporary media, or even that the credit that should be given to the pioneers of the gay rights movement is usually displaced from lesbians, but this book really shook me in a way i think i'll remember forever. it warmed my heart to read stories of love, especially in a time farther back than my own. i hope that every writer found their love, whether it be in another woman or the peacefulness of their own home or children or pets or self.
it's also nice to know that the not-so-happy feelings are shared as well. the stories of heartbreak and loss tugged at my heartstrings, a few even bringing me to tears as i found them so relatable. the complexities of womanhood and lesbianism... wonderful!
now, that's not to say that everything in this book was wonderful. some of the authors were problematic (notably, there is a piece by a serial killer). ableism and biphobia are two of the stand-out themes i remember rubbing me the wrong way, though, again, these are stories from 1989(?) and before. for this reason (and the 3-4 fantasy stories i didn't enjoy), i ticked off one star.
if you don't want to find a copy of this book for yourself, or just want to skip past certain genres, here are the stories i'd recommend from the book:
-"The Woman in the Off-Black Pantyhose" by Patricia Flinn (pg. 1, genre: Intrigue)
-"Pretty" by Martha Miller (pg. 20, genre: "Pretty erotic")
-"Eighteen Weeks" by M. L. Head (pg. 28, genre: "Relationships")
-"Tortilleras" by Terri de la Peña (pg. 83, genre: "Letting Go") [note: this is a chapter excerpt from a piece they later published entitled "Margins". i haven't read it yet, but i will be adding it to my list!]
-"A Sleeping Cherub" by Marjorie Morgan (pg. 117, genre: "Romance/Humor")
-"The Checking Account" by Roberta B. Jacobson (pg. 125, genre: "Humor")
-"DRACULA RETOLD: An Inspirational Story of Wimin's Culture" by zana (pg. 130, genre: "Fantasy")
-"The Katmandou" by Susan Hecht (pg. 136, genre: "Adventure")
-"In the Dark" by Barbara Harwood (pg. 153, genre: "Romance/Erotica")
-"Surprise" by Estrella Root (pg. 166, genre: "Humor/Fantasy")
a collection of short stories written by lesbian authors in varying genres, such as romance, erotica, fantasy, humor, and even coming out stories. this collection was published in (i believe) 1989, therefore this is much different than the contemporary lesbian literature i consume, but in a wonderful way. maybe it's because i consume too much contemporary media, or even that the credit that should be given to the pioneers of the gay rights movement is usually displaced from lesbians, but this book really shook me in a way i think i'll remember forever. it warmed my heart to read stories of love, especially in a time farther back than my own. i hope that every writer found their love, whether it be in another woman or the peacefulness of their own home or children or pets or self.
it's also nice to know that the not-so-happy feelings are shared as well. the stories of heartbreak and loss tugged at my heartstrings, a few even bringing me to tears as i found them so relatable. the complexities of womanhood and lesbianism... wonderful!
now, that's not to say that everything in this book was wonderful. some of the authors were problematic (notably, there is a piece by a serial killer). ableism and biphobia are two of the stand-out themes i remember rubbing me the wrong way, though, again, these are stories from 1989(?) and before. for this reason (and the 3-4 fantasy stories i didn't enjoy), i ticked off one star.
if you don't want to find a copy of this book for yourself, or just want to skip past certain genres, here are the stories i'd recommend from the book:
-"The Woman in the Off-Black Pantyhose" by Patricia Flinn (pg. 1, genre: Intrigue)
-"Pretty" by Martha Miller (pg. 20, genre: "Pretty erotic")
-"Eighteen Weeks" by M. L. Head (pg. 28, genre: "Relationships")
-"Tortilleras" by Terri de la Peña (pg. 83, genre: "Letting Go") [note: this is a chapter excerpt from a piece they later published entitled "Margins". i haven't read it yet, but i will be adding it to my list!]
-"A Sleeping Cherub" by Marjorie Morgan (pg. 117, genre: "Romance/Humor")
-"The Checking Account" by Roberta B. Jacobson (pg. 125, genre: "Humor")
-"DRACULA RETOLD: An Inspirational Story of Wimin's Culture" by zana (pg. 130, genre: "Fantasy")
-"The Katmandou" by Susan Hecht (pg. 136, genre: "Adventure")
-"In the Dark" by Barbara Harwood (pg. 153, genre: "Romance/Erotica")
-"Surprise" by Estrella Root (pg. 166, genre: "Humor/Fantasy")
May 27, 2023
if you read any of these stories, read Pretty and Bing Cherries
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews