Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (Between Men--Between Women) [Paperback]

Lillian Faderman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 1, 1992 | Series: Between Men--Between Women

Lillian Faderman tells the compelling story of lesbian life in the 20th century, from the early 1900s to today's diverse lifestyles. Using journals, unpublished manuscripts, songs, news accounts, novels, medical literature, and numerous interviews, she relates an often surprising narrative of lesbian life.

"A key work...the point of reference from which all subsequent studies of 20th-century lesbian life in the United States will begin."—San Francisco Examiner.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Faderman charts the evolution of the concept of the "lesbian" as a 20th-century social construct and shows how love between women, once known at the turn of the century by such terms as "romantic friendship" or "sentimental friendship," came to be called "lesbianism." What was once not a realistic alternative to marriage became possible as women became educated, demanded equal rights, and came out of the home and into the workforce. With increased opportunities for independence, women no longer needed men's financial support to survive and, as a result, love between women was no longer perceived as innocently as it had been in the past. This is a much-needed book and is highly recommended for all public libraries both for its information about the perception and treatment of this particular minority group in America, as well as for its historical and sociological contribution. Its scholarly approach and content also make it a necessity for women's studies collections.
- Patricia Sarles, Mt. Sinai Medical Ctr., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

For those readers unfamiliar with Stonewall, Lesbian Nation, Daughters of Bilitis, lipsticks, or the difference between "romantic friendships" and lesbian-feminists, or for those readers who want to learn more, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers provides an accessible, wide-ranging, meticulously researched history. Using information drawn from varied sources including literature, sociological and psychological studies, newspaper articles, military pamphlets, and movies, Lillian Faderman sets out to show the metamorphosis of a movement. At times the generalizations that occur as a result work against her stated acknowledgment of the diversity among individual lesbians, yet these generalizations also serve to show the broader sweeps and clashes in what has been a rapidly changing and often tumultuous history. Beginning with nineteenth-century romantic friendships and the first all-women's colleges, progressing through the sexologists of the 1920s and the openness of the war years, on to the McCarthy era, the radical 1960s and 70s, and the more diversified 1980s and 90s, Lillian Faderman documents "the extent to which sexuality, and especially sexual categories, can be dependent upon a broad range of factors that are extraneous to 'sexual drive.' " Perhaps the most revolutionary and exciting thing about this history, beyond the very fact of its existence, is its ability to present lesbianism not only as a sexual orientation, but as a movement that has been both affected and defined by a constantly shifting economic, political, and cultural climate. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140171223
• ISBN-13: 978-0140171228
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lillian Faderman is the author of the forthcoming "My Mother's Wars"(Beacon Press, 2013). She is an internationally known scholar of lesbian history and literature, as well as of ethnic and immigrant history. She is the author of such acclaimed works as To Believe in Woman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, Surpassing the Love of Men, I Begin My Life All Over, and her memoir Naked in the Promised Land.

Photographer Photo Credit Name: Phyllis Irwin, 2012.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Faderman Does It And Does... December 14, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

...it and does it again! Here the groundbreaking lesbian historian -- who not only shook up staid academia by legitimizing lesbianism as a valid and important aspect of life deserving of serious study, but who can actually WRITE WELL about it -- presents yet another tour de force.

The woman who has spoken in interviews about her working-class Jewish roots and the fact that as a stripper she worked her way through college to a PhD from Berkeley at the age of 26 (not too shabby a feat in itself) and has three anthologies, four other books on lesbian history *and* a new book on the Hmong immigrant population in America notched into her no doubt still-lissome belt, now takes a keen look at the history of butch/femme emergence, struggle, culture and identity, and the actual *value* of butch/femme to lesbianism.

Faderman -- as would be expected of one with her background, her intellect, and her ongoing literary accomplishments -- is never afraid to tackle any subject, and do it not only with honesty but with a deft, sure touch, a style that has an unusual and very refreshing ability to make the academic not only accessible but enjoyable reading, and an even more unusual ability to empathize and yet remain objective. Never artificial and never superficial, neither apologetic nor smug, Faderman proves that butch/femme was and is just as difficult, wildly funny, complicated, fulfilling, ugly, beautiful, heart-breaking, and filled with both fear and its own gritty courage as is any other lifestyle -- lesbian or not.

I finished `Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers' with a real sense of loss. With this book, I've caught up on my reading of Lillian Faderman's works. (I'd recently read her astonishing new book on the Hmong experience in America: `I Begin My Life All Over', Beacon Press, another not-to-be-missed book!) Am I gushing over Faderman's books? You bet! Though she's a writer whose works you want to read and re-read I'm just sorry I can't connect with amazon.com and order something new by her tomorrow...

I only hope she continues to write and write and write. Her work is of tremendous literary and historical value to lesbians...and to everyone else as well.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering and Engaging April 24, 2002

By Lee Ann Roripaugh

Format:Paperback

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers is a fascinating work that traces the cultural history of lesbianism in the United States -- providing a broad and thorough overview of lesbianism's diversity, its relationship to feminism, and its evolving forms of resistance in relationship to the oppressions of the dominant culture. Perhaps what is most impressive about this book is that while it is an impressively researched and intellectually stimulating piece of scholarship, it is also an extremely engaging read. Faderman draws the reader into lesbian cultural history in a way that is never clinical, but compellingly human--under her treatment, the lesbian subculture emerges in all of its varied complexity, its celebratory subversiveness, as a fascinatingly rich and vibrant culture of historical, political, and sexual significance. This book is a marvelous introduction to lesbian culture and history . . . it is entertaining, empowering, and utterly engaging.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An important work April 8, 2001

By Julie Horowitz

Format:Paperback

Lillian Faderman has written some of the best works on the lesbian experience throughout the ages, and "Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers" is no exception. She covers every facet of the subculture from the turn of the 20th century to the present day with impeccable scholarship, and her writing is engaging and highly readable. She examines everything from 1950's butch/femme, 70's lesbian feminism, and the resurgence of trendy "lipstick lesbians" with equal attention. This book is a must-have for every queer library, and is an important contribution to the cause of lesbian visiblity.