For Lesbians Only: A Separatist Anthology

by Sarah Lucia Hoagland (Editor), Julia Penelope (Editor)

These essays from more than 70 contributors: novelists, musicians, poets, philosophers, academics and seriously, rowdy dykes document 20 years of lesbian activism.

Genres: Feminism, Lesbian, Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, Essays, Feminist Theory

596 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Sarah Lucia Hoagland is a lesbian feminist philosopher and author.

Reviews

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

certainly some things within this book with which i do not agree; certainly many that made me feel like my whole body had been filled up with light. i love dykes

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting collection though it's pretty much what you'd expect it to be: some of it is smart and sharp and outlines intracommunity issues and arguments that we still are dealing with today, some of it is ott (a list stating that becoming a mother means you're more likely to pass on AIDS to other lesbians... really now), some of it is hippie shit (the history), and some of it is kind of pathetically white people (saying for example that homophobia is worse than racism)... But anyway worth a read. It's nice to get a sense of lesbian history.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

While something of a mixed bag, as any anthology of this sheer heft is bound to be, this book represents the most comprehensive surfacing of what before and since has been a largely underground conversation, invisible to all who aren't already in it -- in that respect, it is an absolute wonder. It is highly ambitious, often thoughtful, sometimes frustrating, and occasionally downright rubbish, but overall a treasure.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

swinging wide!!! Lots of really amazing groundbreaking work and even the stuff that isn’t is still useful in showing what ideas were in circulation then that we can do better than

[Thorn MotherIssues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic as a collection of historical documents, it's given me a lot to think about in terms of "who deserves my energy," as some of the writers might say.

[Holly]

Read in December 2020: https://hollograms.blogspot.com/2021/...

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

More opposition research; getting involved in the controversy over The Gendercator has gotten me interested in doing a more thorough critique of lesbian and feminist transphobia. This is really valuable collection of historical materials that I first used when teaching Women's Studies classes more than a decade ago--it reproduces many impossible-to-find pamphlets, and gives great biographical contextualizations and timelines. Whatever you think of the politics, ya gotta love some of the group names and pamphlet titles, so evocative of the time: "How to Stop Choking To Death," "This is the Year to Stamp Out the Y Chromosome," C.L.I.T. Collective.

[Tek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated. Nice to read evolution of thought of some of the authors