-
Introduction: the appeal of the Amazons Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-03-18 Walter Duvall Penrose, Jr.
The fearless ancient Amazons have been seen as forebears and prototypes by lesbians, feminists, and transgender men. In this introduction, I will explore why the Greek legends of the Amazons lend t...
-
Queer and/or Lesbian?: Amazons in Christa Wolf’s Cassandra Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Nancy S. Rabinowitz
In Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays (1984), Wolf retells the Trojan War story from the perspective of the seer Cassandra, taking the Trojan War as a parallel to issues of her day. She uses the Am...
-
Amazons among us: reflections on creating the heroines we need now Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-29 Donna Dodson
This article describes my recent carved wood sculptures of warrior women as a response to and reimagination of historical and mythological accounts of Amazons. I emphasize aspects of queerness and ...
-
Archives and amazons: A Quilters guide to the lesbian archive Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-14 Sarah-Joy Ford
This article offers a critical reflection on my creative engagement with the figure of the Amazon in the quilted artworks for my exhibition Archives and Amazons: quilting the lesbian archive which ...
-
Kathy Acker’s sex negativity Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-13 Tessel Veneboer
This essay situates Kathy Acker’s work in the feminist sex wars debate of the 1980s. I suggest that the critique of Acker’s work as a “nihilist version of the personal is political” is not unground...
-
An unlikely coalition to defend the nation and banish “gender ideology” from Brazilian schools Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-12 Beatriz Junqueira Lage Carbone
In 2011, Jair Bolsonaro initiated a fight against the federal program proposal School without Homophobia (2009), which aimed to educate children, school staff, and parents on the respect to sexual ...
-
Reflections on Lesbian Pedagogy Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Bettina Aptheker
Using an autobiographical lens through 40 years of teaching, this brief reflection affirms an explicitly lesbian pedagogy as radical and transgressive. This is because it is woman-centered and woma...
-
UNSHAVED resistance & revolution in women’s body hair politics Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-04 Bonnilee Kaufman
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Ahead of Print, 2024)
-
“Lesbian nation is Amazon culture: lesbian separatism and the uses of Amazons” Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-04 Amy Pistone
In this article, Amazon imagery serves as a case study for the complicated relationship of lesbian separatist movements of the 1970s and the classical Greek tradition. I consider how the use of myt...
-
Introduction to Journal of Lesbian Studies Special Issue: On Solidarity Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-01-17 Finn Mackay, Nikki Hayfield
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 28, No. 1, 2024)
-
Feminist, lesbian, and trans solidarity in the German-Polish collective Girlz Get United Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2024-01-17 Barbara Dynda
This article analyzes the various activities, problem frameworks, and identity strategies around which feminist, lesbian, and trans-solidarity in the Polish-German collective Girlz Get United (GGU)...
-
Challenging dominant narratives, interrupting objectification, and queer creativity: Queer sex worker art in Los Angeles Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-12-22 Wei Si Nic Yiu, Lauren Levitt, Kim Ye, Kimberly Fuentes, Ashley Madness
Drawing on queer of color critique, this paper uses mixed methods including participant observation, interviews, visual and textual analysis, and photovoice to interrogate sex workers’ queer creati...
-
Acca soror: queer kinship, female homosociality, and the Amazon-huntress band in Latin literature Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Jay Oliver
Despite the modern association of ancient Amazons and Diana’s huntresses with lesbianism, scholarly accounts of these groups as they appear in ancient Greek and Roman literature have rarely adverte...
-
Afterword: Scanning the Chicana lesbian body politic: knowledge, practice, identity Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-11-01 Liliana C. Gonzalez, Stacy I. Macias
Chicana Lesbians The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About ushered in the fulfillment of editor Carla Trujillo’s vision for an anthology that would recognize and demystify the existence of Chicana lesb...
-
The “Free Speech Bus”: Making “gender ideology” appear through media and performance Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-11-05 Gabriela Córdoba Vivas (she/her)
This article argues that the concept of “gender ideology” produces and reproduces reactionary subjectivities using different media (videos, texts, memes, images, etc.), diverse platforms (Facebook,...
-
On Her Own Terms: Ana Castillo Discusses Sexuality, Identity, and Life—Then and Now Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-11-01 Liliana C. Gonzalez, Stacy I. Macias
Ana Castillo is a prolific and celebrated author of novels, poetry, short stories, and essays on gender and sexuality, feminism, and Chicanx experiences. Born and raised in Chicago, Castillo’s work...
-
Rosa Bonheur the Amazon? Equestrianism, Female Masculinity, and The Horse Fair (1852–1855) Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-10-31 Michael Anthony Fowler
In 1853, Rosa Bonheur first exhibited what would become her most widely celebrated work: The Horse Fair. Although the work’s modern setting and animal-focused subject matter do not obviously charac...
-
On the Boredom of Whoredom: Re-Writing the Politics of Sex Work Through Passivity and Femininity Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-10-02 Angelica Stathopoulos
By elucidating the average everydayness of prostitution, this essay shows—contrary to contemporary conceptions of sex work as either horror or utopia—that whoring is boring. Boredom is a stubborn a...
-
Lesbian resistance through fairytales. The story of a children’s book clashing with an authoritarian anti-gender regime in Hungary Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Dorottya Rédai
A Fairytale for Everyone (Meseország mindenkié), a collection of 17 fairy tales, featuring LGBTQ + and gender-nonconforming characters and heroes from various disadvantaged racial/ethnic and socio-...
-
Flags and fashion: expressions of solidarity through lesbian clothing Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-09-14 Eleanor Medhurst
The clothes worn by lesbians are rich in meaning. Sometimes, they can help us to understand lesbian history and the social, personal, political, and erotic context of lesbian lives in the past. As ...
-
Intersecting gender, ethnicity, and sexuality in Arantxa Echevarría’s film Carmen & Lola (Spain, 2018) Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-09-07 Jessica Rodrigues Poletti
Abstract Arantxa Echevarría’s film Carmen y Lola (2018) takes a groundbreaking new approach to intersectionality and lesbian identity contextualizing a lesbian coming-of-age-story and its multicultural background and context. Owing to the colonial gaze and the outsider’s perspective in the story telling, the film makes some major missteps in its representation of the Romani community in Spain. But
-
TERFs aren’t feminists: lesbians stand against trans exclusion Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-09-07 Baker A. Rogers
In this article, I examine lesbians’ solidarity with trans people in the United States. Trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) are feminists who believe that there is a stark difference betwe...
-
Nowhere to bi: Barriers to belonging in the broader LGBTQ+ community for Aboriginal bi+ people in Australia Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-31 Mandy Henningham
Having a multiplicity of identities not only makes it difficult to find inclusive spaces for Aboriginal bisexual+ (bi) people but may often be a barrier to building connections and relationships wi...
-
From the bathroom to a national discussion of LGBTQ+ rights: a case of discrimination in the Philippines Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-28 Luis Emmanuel A. Abesamis, Rowalt Alibudbud
Despite the Philippines’ progress in gender equality, contemporary evidence suggests that Filipinos continue to possess negative attitudes toward lesbian and gay individuals. Likewise, discriminati...
-
“Electricity in the air”: Conversing with Carla Trujillo on the making of Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About 30+ years later Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-25 Liliana C. Gonzalez, Stacy I. Macias
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 27, No. 4, 2023)
-
La Ofrenda Lesbiana: Elementos de mi Corazón Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-23 Jodi Aguilar
Abstract The following contribution celebrates, honors, and reflects on the bodies of work that create spaces of cariño in Carla Trujillo’s 1991 Trujillo, C. (1991). Chicana Lesbians: The girls our mothers warned us about. Third Woman Press. [Google Scholar] anthology, Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About. This piece is two-fold:it begins with an open letter, or analytic response
-
Mexicana and Chicanx Queer Kinship across Visual Art and Performance: Astrid Hadad and Ester Hernández Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-23 Laura G. Gutiérrez
This brief and personal essay discusses Ester Hernández’s and Astrid Hadad’s artistic relationship, which includes a beautiful friendship that spans time and space. In particular, and from an intim...
-
Epistemologies of love and desire: Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-22 Ellie D. Hernández
This article provides a context for the publication of Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About (1991). As Chicana literature and feminism flourished, the visibility of Chicanas incr...
-
No captives, no victims Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-18 Emma Pérez
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 27, No. 4, 2023)
-
Multivariate Patterns of Substance Use, Minority Stress and Environmental Violence Associated with Sexual Revictimization of Lesbian and Bisexual Emerging Adult Women Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-27 Jonathan G. Tubman, Candace Moore, Jacquie Lee, Avital J. Shapiro
Abstract This study documented between-group differences in factors associated with sexual revictimization histories in a sample of young sexual minority women. Diverse samples of lesbian (N = 204, ageM = 23.55 years) and bisexual (N = 249, ageM = 23.35 years) women from the United States were recruited using the CloudResearch platform to assess factors associated with recent experiences of intimate
-
Refugee Chronicles: excerpt from the diary with an introduction Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Evgeny Shtorn, Alexander Sasha Kondakov
Abstract The following text is an excerpt from The Refugee Chronicles, a fictional diary written by Evgeny Shtorn, poet and activist, from his experience of seeking asylum. Shtorn had to flee Russia due to the government’s hostile policies toward both queer sexualities and political dissent right after he was interviewed by the Russian secret police FSB in 2018. The run for life and liberty brought
-
Palimpsests of trans rights: trans-positive stickers and the contestations of transphobia in public space Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Hannah Awcock, Rae Rosenberg
Abstract In recent years, the rights of trans people in the United Kingdom and elsewhere have been increasingly under scrutiny. This paper considers forms of resistance to Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF) and neo-fascist gender conservative movements in Edinburgh, Scotland through an analysis of trans-positive stickers in public space. Using an archive of 461 images of trans-rights-related
-
Creating havens for Black lesbian elders during COVID-19 Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-17 Porsha Hall, Mary Anne Adams
Abstract Black lesbians experience more adverse health outcomes and economic insecurity in older age than their White counterparts due to enduring a lifetime of marginalization associated with the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Yet, there is a lack of organizations dedicated to empowering and supporting this population. ZAMI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on
-
Beyond sexual deviance: Elevating the expansive intimacies of Chicana lesbian life in Chicana Lesbians: The girls our mothers warned us about Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Meagan Solomon
Abstract In this article, I expand popular readings of Chicana lesbianism focused on sexuality by tending more deeply to the affective terrains of love and kinship represented in the 1991 anthology Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About edited by Carla Trujillo. Countering the (il)logics of white supremacy and Chicano nationalism which reduce Chicana lesbians to symbols of sexual deviance
-
“That’s what we think of as activism”: Solidarity through care in queer Desi diaspora Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Maya Bhardwaj
This article examines a framing of solidarity as both activism and community care work in diasporic South Asian (sometimes referred to as “Desi”) communities in the US and the UK. From the vantage ...
-
Offerings of carnal scriptures Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-05 Claudia Rodriguez
Abstract The anthology “Chicana Lesbians: the Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About” was instrumental to my writing as it bolstered my confidence to take control over my sexuality and sensuality. The text in this collection affirmed that exploring and expressing my sexuality through writing was an act of empowerment and defiance within a sexist, racist, heteronormative, and capitalist society.
-
Sisters, it’s been a while! The emotional pull of the lesbian ‘gender critical’ movement and a failure of solidarity Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-07-02 Claire Thurlow
For five years the UK lesbian community has witnessed growing animosity over the acceptance or otherwise of trans people. This division has been increasingly recognised and commented upon outside o...
-
Lesbian Death: Desire and Danger between Feminist and Queer Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-21 Clare Forstie
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Ahead of Print, 2023)
-
On loving “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About”: reengaging an iconic text Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-13 Stacy I. Macias, Liliana C. Gonzalez
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 27, No. 3, 2023)
-
Fuego: unleashing collective Queer Chicanx/Latinx rebellion, counterpublics and imagination Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-12 Ana Clarissa Rojas Durazo, Nadia Zepeda
This essay is a reflection and assessment of the ConFem and faculty collective’s queer Chicanx/Latinx intergenerational solidarity activism. In conversation with abolition feminisms, transformative...
-
Notes on growing love: Cherríe Moraga’s “If,” a world-making incantation conjuring collective consciousness through Chicana lesbian po(i)esis Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-07 Ana Clarissa Rojas Durazo
Abstract This essay introduces the embodied ceremonial practices of deep presence and sustained attentiveness as Chicana lesbian poetic devices that shape-shift Chicana lesbian subjectivities, socialities, and simultaneously the violence of colonial capitalist racial heteropatriarchies. My reading of the poem “If” in Carla Trujillo’s rendering of Chicana lesbian desire in Chicana Lesbians: The Girls
-
Needing more: chicana lesbian desire as intervention and offering Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-06 Marivel T. Danielson
Abstract Introducing the 1991 publication of Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About, editor and visionary Carla Trujillo identifies the seed planted by Juanita Ramos’ 1987 anthology Compañeras: Latina Lesbians. Detailing her experiential arc from exuberant to unsettled, Trujillo explains: “Compañeras had only teased me. Not only did I want more, I needed more” (ix). Trujillo’s editorial
-
Sexual identities and political solidarities among cisgender women Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-02 Eric Swank, Breanne Fahs
This study addressed the relative liberalism of White lesbians. In doing so, we compared sexuality differences in White women’s reactions to sexual, gender, and racial hierarchies. In the end, our ...
-
Now is no longer the time for poets Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-06-02 Shane Carreon
Abstract A reflection piece—on rethinking the return of a Martial Law dictator in the form of his namesake, the newly elected president of the Philippines; the gamut of conversations on (un)covered facts, post-truth, appearances, interpolations, populism, revisionism and transformations, as well as the power of (trans)national media and images entangled with participatory publics; and how might a younger
-
Cantando En Las Sombras Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-05-03 Rachel Yvonne Cruz
Abstract Cantando En La Sombras is a cathartic work that provides an unexpected repose to my consistently restless mind. A multi-sensory experience, this essay is a self-reflective piece that speaks to my sexual identity and journey of self-discovery through prose and song. Inspired by the groundbreaking work Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About (Trujillo, 1994 Trujillo, C. (Ed.)
-
Histories of resistance: Joan Nestle and Irena Klepfisz as keepers of memory Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-04-25 Kara M. Russell
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Ahead of Print, 2023)
-
Writing as resistance: A testimonio of remembering and reclamation Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-04-11 Tanya Diaz-Kozlowski
Abstract In this essay the author explores divorce and the internalization of the hustle and grind culture in academia from a Chicana lesbian perspective, arguing that writing as resistance (hooks, 1990 Hooks, b. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. South End Press. [Google Scholar]) using testimonio (Cruz, 2012 Cruz, C. (2012). Making curriculum from scratch: Testimonio in an urban
-
Chicana Lesbians and Ovarian Psycos: “The squad you been warned about” Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-04-07 Catherine Leen
Abstract Chicana Lesbians provides a fruitful theoretical framework to examine the documentary Ovarian Psycos, directed by Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle, about a radical Latina women’s cycling collective founded in Los Angeles in 2010. Many of the group’s members are lesbians, and all of them are feminists with radical politics who organise cycling-related events to protest against the
-
La llorona loca through my chicana lesbian lens Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-15 Monica Palacios
Abstract This testimonial features the origins of the short story: La Llorona Loca: The Other Side by writer/performer Monica Palacios. Monica’s story is published in the anthology: Chicana Lesbians - The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About. Monica’s obsession with the folklore figure, La Llorona, leads her on a journey to create a comedy routine about the ghost woman in her stand up comedy act. Monica
-
Anthologizing Gwen Flager’s plays in southern lesbian theater Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-10 Elizabeth S. Gunn
Abstract With limited anthologizing of southern United States lesbian theater, the purpose of this article is twofold: to anthologize the work of Gwen Flager, self-identified southern lesbian playwright and to interpret Flager’s work as intentionally disruptive to gender and sexual norms through humor and a centering of southern lesbian identity. Flager is an award-winning playwright with U.S. southern
-
Is gender-critical feminism feeding the neo-conservative anti-gender rhetoric? Snapshots from the Italian public debate Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Paolo Gusmeroli
Abstract So far, the Italian literature on the genesis and development of anti-gender mobilisation has focussed on right-wing and Vatican strategies, discourses, and alliances. However, in recent years debates around “gender theory" have prompted political and cultural conflicts inside Italian feminist, lesbian and secular left-wing movements and parties. These political fractures – mirrored also in
-
Forging gender and racial solidarities at trans-inclusive women’s festivals Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Elizabeth Currans
This article explores the interweaving of successes and failures at trans-inclusive women’s festivals. I analyze conflicts that occurred at the Mystical Womxn’s Magic Festival and the Ohio Lesbian ...
-
Self-loving in the epidemic years: Carmen Machado’s rhetoric of woundedness Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-02-16 Loretta Victoria Ramirez
Abstract This article explores Carmen Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties (2017) as articulating generative unmaking of bodies. Mobilizing that which I examine as rhetoric of woundedness, a thread of Latina rhetoric wherein wounds are strategically positioned to emphasize flesh as space of conflict, Machado writes body horrors to provoke dis-ease in audiences. Specifically, Machado highlights pervasive
-
#Supercorp kissed…or did they?: lesbian fandom and queerbaiting Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-02-15 Johanna Church
Abstract The Supercorp fandom refers to the platonic friendship between Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl, and her friend Lena Luthor. The term ‘Supercorp’ refers to an implied – yet unexplored – queer relationship created by fans of the DC/CW show Supergirl. Imagined relationships, referred to by fandoms (groups of fans) as ‘shipping, tackle the unexplored chemistry between two characters who are not romantically
-
Linda Garber’s novel approaches to Lesbian history: the power of re-creating lesbian stories Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-02-13 Sandra Baena Velázquez
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 27, No. 2, 2023)
-
Not like any other fiction Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-02-03 Bonnilee Kaufman
Published in Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 27, No. 2, 2023)
-
Abortion rights in the crosshairs: a transnational perspective on resistance strategies Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2023-02-02 Barbara Sutton
Abstract Soon after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision asserting a constitutional right to abortion, activists in Argentina organized a protest in front of the U.S. embassy. The demonstration conveyed the need for a transnational defense of reproductive rights, particularly in light of the outsized role of the U.S. in global politics. The June 24, 2022
-
Mental and sexual health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Differences between lesbian and bisexual women and gay and bisexual men in Mexico Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2022-12-19 Mendoza-Pérez Juan Carlos, Vega-Cauich Julio, López-Barrientos Héctor Alexis, Campillo-Arjón Christa Michelle, Craig Shelley L.
Abstract COVID-19 had implications for sexual minorities who faced challenges due to situations related to their sexual orientation. The objective of this article was to analyze the differences in sexual and mental health experiences between lesbian and bisexual women (LBW) and gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Mexico in the context of the pandemic. An online survey captured the mental and sexual health
-
Body satisfaction of lesbian and bisexual Brazilian women: Indicators of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism, and identity processes Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Ana Karina Robinson, Damião Soares de Almeida-Segundo, Adolfo Pizzinato
Abstract This article examined the association between body satisfaction and sexual identification among lesbian and bisexual women, since these factors help to understand the cultural background of the objectification of female bodies in Latin cultures. Women who identify as lesbian (N = 239) and bisexual (N = 60) completed demographic data and measures of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism
-
“When a topic looks good on my c.v., I move on”: Esther Rothblum’s career in groundbreaking research Journal of Lesbian Studies Pub Date : 2022-12-02 Kristen Pinchbeck, Remus Mitchell, Ella Ben Hagai
Abstract For a special issue on International Perspectives on Lesbian Psychology, we interviewed Esther Rothblum, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Lesbian Studies since its establishment in 1995. In this interview, Rothblum describes her socialization into feminism at Smith College, the dominant role men played in psychology in the 1970s, and how she found herself studying the psychology of women