This book is a poignant analysis of the often dichotomized butch-femme roles within the lesbian community. Via a collection of independent writings, the work highlights an often stigmatized and misunderstood group--the femme lesbian. Through touching, and often sensual stories of love and the search for an identity as "a femme," this book allows a rarely viewed glimpse into the hearts, minds, and bodies of these women. Despite the quality of this book, I would have liked to see more explicit discussion of the lives of femme women of color. Sadly, their absence risks recapitulating the same "othering" that many women in this book discuss. The familiar arguments of feminist/womanist women of color--that we are largely absent from important discourse on women-- can be asserted with this text as well. Nevertheless, it is a powerful book and hopefully future editions will more directly address such issues.
