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Tomboys and bachelor girls: A lesbian history of post–war Britain 1945–71
Using a rich array of oral histories and archival sources, Tomboys and bachelor girls provides the first detailed academic study of lesbian identity and culture in post-war Britain. Described by psychiatrists as immature and neurotic, and widely ignored as taboo by mainstream society, lesbians nevertheless recognised and accepted their same-sex desire and sought out women like themselves.
Challenging the conventional picture of the post-war decades as years of austerity and conservative femininity, this book traces the emergence of a vibrant lesbian social scene in Britain, centred on the metropolitan nightclubs of post-war London, but also developing across the country, through lesbian magazines and social organisations.
This fascinating book brings to life the rich history of post-war lesbian culture for the scholarly and general reader alike.
Challenging the conventional picture of the post-war decades as years of austerity and conservative femininity, this book traces the emergence of a vibrant lesbian social scene in Britain, centred on the metropolitan nightclubs of post-war London, but also developing across the country, through lesbian magazines and social organisations.
This fascinating book brings to life the rich history of post-war lesbian culture for the scholarly and general reader alike.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2007
About the author
Rebecca Jennings
14 books2 followersDr. Rebecca Jennings is Associate Professor in Modern Gender and/or Race History at University College London. She teaches on the history of gender and sexuality in modern Britain. Her research focuses on twentieth-century British and Australian lesbian history and she is the author of Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain (2007); A Lesbian History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Women Since 1500 (2007); and Unnamed Desires: A Sydney Lesbian History (2015).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 7, 2024
Very interesting and a welcome introduction to British Queer and gendered history. The acceptance of same sex crushes in adolescents was very interesting, and foreshadowed how lesbianism would be linked to emotional immaturity throughout the 50s and 60s.
I know the sources available for analysis are limited, but it's a shame that we only seem to have information about white, middle class lesbians in London. I read this in preparation for a uni module on 20th century Britain.
I know the sources available for analysis are limited, but it's a shame that we only seem to have information about white, middle class lesbians in London. I read this in preparation for a uni module on 20th century Britain.
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August 31, 2025**Post–War Context (1945–1950s)**
* The aftermath of World War II created both opportunities and restrictions for women.
* Economic changes allowed women to enter the workforce in new roles, yet cultural expectations pushed them back toward domesticity.
* Lesbians faced invisibility in public discourse—male homosexuality was criminalized, but female same-sex desire was largely ignored, leading to both erasure and freedom from direct policing.
**Cultural Constructions of Lesbian Identity**
* “Tomboys” and “bachelor girls” were two central figures in post-war Britain’s understanding of female nonconformity.
* The tomboy was tolerated in childhood but seen as something women were expected to “grow out of.”
* The bachelor girl was framed as independent and unmarried but not explicitly linked to lesbianism, allowing some women to live openly without facing direct accusations.
* Mass media representations contributed to shaping perceptions, often portraying independent women as eccentric or pitiable.
**Work, Independence, and Community**
* Employment in professions such as teaching, nursing, clerical work, and the arts offered some women relative independence and the ability to avoid marriage.
* Certain workplaces became informal lesbian networks, offering companionship and a degree of acceptance.
* London, particularly areas like Soho, along with cities like Manchester and Brighton, developed into visible hubs for lesbian social life.
* Lesbian clubs, bars, and private parties provided spaces for meeting others, though these were often hidden or coded.
**Law, Surveillance, and Social Pressure**
* While lesbians were not directly targeted by law, social stigma, family pressure, and employment discrimination functioned as powerful controls.
* Medical and psychiatric discourses began to pathologize female same-sex desire, framing it as deviance or immaturity.
* Cases of child custody disputes and dismissals from jobs illustrate the indirect consequences of being labeled a lesbian.
**Generational Experiences**
* Older women often lived discreet lives as “companions” or “friends,” maintaining long-term relationships within socially acceptable frameworks.
* Younger women of the 1960s increasingly adopted more visible identities, influenced by shifts in fashion, music, and wider youth culture.
* The rise of feminism and gay liberation toward the late 1960s and early 1970s marked a turning point, challenging earlier silences and coded existences.
---
### Tone and Writing Style
* The book is **academic yet accessible**, blending scholarly analysis with oral histories and archival material.
* The tone is **measured and clear**, avoiding sensationalism while highlighting lived experiences.
* Jennings’ style supports the content by grounding cultural theory in concrete examples—court cases, newspaper articles, and personal testimonies—making the historical narrative both rigorous and human.
---
### Author Qualifications
* **Rebecca Jennings** is a historian specializing in gender and sexuality in modern Britain.
* Her expertise in lesbian and queer history provides the research depth necessary to reconstruct marginalized narratives that were often excluded from mainstream records.
* Jennings’ academic background ensures that the book is both methodologically rigorous and attentive to the silences and coded expressions that defined lesbian life in post–war Britain.
* The aftermath of World War II created both opportunities and restrictions for women.
* Economic changes allowed women to enter the workforce in new roles, yet cultural expectations pushed them back toward domesticity.
* Lesbians faced invisibility in public discourse—male homosexuality was criminalized, but female same-sex desire was largely ignored, leading to both erasure and freedom from direct policing.
**Cultural Constructions of Lesbian Identity**
* “Tomboys” and “bachelor girls” were two central figures in post-war Britain’s understanding of female nonconformity.
* The tomboy was tolerated in childhood but seen as something women were expected to “grow out of.”
* The bachelor girl was framed as independent and unmarried but not explicitly linked to lesbianism, allowing some women to live openly without facing direct accusations.
* Mass media representations contributed to shaping perceptions, often portraying independent women as eccentric or pitiable.
**Work, Independence, and Community**
* Employment in professions such as teaching, nursing, clerical work, and the arts offered some women relative independence and the ability to avoid marriage.
* Certain workplaces became informal lesbian networks, offering companionship and a degree of acceptance.
* London, particularly areas like Soho, along with cities like Manchester and Brighton, developed into visible hubs for lesbian social life.
* Lesbian clubs, bars, and private parties provided spaces for meeting others, though these were often hidden or coded.
**Law, Surveillance, and Social Pressure**
* While lesbians were not directly targeted by law, social stigma, family pressure, and employment discrimination functioned as powerful controls.
* Medical and psychiatric discourses began to pathologize female same-sex desire, framing it as deviance or immaturity.
* Cases of child custody disputes and dismissals from jobs illustrate the indirect consequences of being labeled a lesbian.
**Generational Experiences**
* Older women often lived discreet lives as “companions” or “friends,” maintaining long-term relationships within socially acceptable frameworks.
* Younger women of the 1960s increasingly adopted more visible identities, influenced by shifts in fashion, music, and wider youth culture.
* The rise of feminism and gay liberation toward the late 1960s and early 1970s marked a turning point, challenging earlier silences and coded existences.
---
### Tone and Writing Style
* The book is **academic yet accessible**, blending scholarly analysis with oral histories and archival material.
* The tone is **measured and clear**, avoiding sensationalism while highlighting lived experiences.
* Jennings’ style supports the content by grounding cultural theory in concrete examples—court cases, newspaper articles, and personal testimonies—making the historical narrative both rigorous and human.
---
### Author Qualifications
* **Rebecca Jennings** is a historian specializing in gender and sexuality in modern Britain.
* Her expertise in lesbian and queer history provides the research depth necessary to reconstruct marginalized narratives that were often excluded from mainstream records.
* Jennings’ academic background ensures that the book is both methodologically rigorous and attentive to the silences and coded expressions that defined lesbian life in post–war Britain.
May 30, 2024
"Tomboys and Bachelor Girls will examine the ways in which women were able to deploy ambiguous concepts such as the 'career woman' and the 'bachelor girl' to simultaneously indicate and mask a lesbian identity. Contemporary anxieties about female same-sex desire which attached to these figures offered the opportunity to deploy them as an indication of potential sexual deviance, but their very ambiguity simultaneously afforded a protection from censure which more explicit terms such as 'lesbian' did not."
An interesting slice of lesbian history that showcases how the application of terms like "tomboy" and "bachelor girl" varied and could both legitimize or attempt to delegitimize same-sex attraction in different contexts. I especially enjoyed the chapter on lesbian domesticity.
An interesting slice of lesbian history that showcases how the application of terms like "tomboy" and "bachelor girl" varied and could both legitimize or attempt to delegitimize same-sex attraction in different contexts. I especially enjoyed the chapter on lesbian domesticity.
December 18, 2021
It's always hard to review anow academic non fiction because I typically review from personal enjoyment and while these books are packed with information and incredibly useful and i enjoy them in a particular way I wouldn't say I "enjoyed" reading a kind of dry academic book. But as a non fiction it was Really good I'm probably going to go out of my way to add it to my owned collection so I always have a copy around for like personal essay writing purposes
August 18, 2024
Excellent analysis of shifting personal and medico-legal/cultural definitions of lesbianism. I particularly liked Jenning's analysis of lesbian house parties and the disruption to the domesticated private sphere they offered as well as how women navigated perceptions of short-term romance and the difficulty of balancing career with their sexual identity.
March 22, 2019
This is an incisive and thought-provoking piece of research. The book is very useful for bringing together a lot of the ideas spread across oral histories and personal accounts into something more academic.
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February 7, 20245 stars for the information, a very informative book on lesbian identity and culture in post war Britain
0 stars because I had to read it for a uni history assessment and never want to see the book again xx
0 stars because I had to read it for a uni history assessment and never want to see the book again xx
January 12, 2021
very good source material, Jennings was my main go to for my dissertation focusing on lesbian history!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews