This Is What Lesbian Looks Like: Dyke Activists Take on the 21st Century

by Kris Kleindienst (Editor)

Twenty-six lesbian grassroots activists -- some of them household names nationally, others known only within their local communities -- help us focus on the future of our lesbian lives as we move into the next century.Written with both heart and smarts, in language that speaks to the dailiness of personal experience and larger political questions, This Is What Lesbian Looks Like is the kind of reading that helps to shape a movement.

If any disenfranchised group is only as strong as its weakest members, how do we think about lesbians who are not white, able-bodied, and middle class?

What is lost in the gap that exists between the first generation to age having lived their adult lives out of the closet and the young dykes for whom out feels like a been there/done that kind of thing?Where does fighting the Right fit into the rainbow rush toward assimilation?

How will lesbian identity be defined within the multiplicity of gender expressions becoming increasingly visible?

Not easy, but essential nonetheless -- these are some of the critical issues tackled in This Is What Lesbian Looks Like's two dozen essays.

Genres: Nonfiction, Lesbian, Feminism, Queer, LGBT, Theory, Sexuality

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the small handfull of names I recognized, but the vast majority of this ended up being amazing. This was such an incredible collection of essays from a diverse array if lesbians. Of course this talks about what it means to be a lesbian and be an activist as a lesbian, it goes far beyond that, talking about race, disability, immigration, age, capitalism, colonialism, and more. While this was published in 1999, it remains relevant. So many issues discussed today were being discussed here -- and with so much more nuance than it often is. It is definitely one that needs to continue to be read.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I read this book, but I do remember that each writer had something to say. Lots of wonderful lesbian writers - Dorothy Allison, Mandy Carter, Jewelle Gomez & Minnie Bruce Pratt and so on.
Well worth taking the time for this one!