Lesbian Crossroads

by Ruth Baetz

Contains interviews with 80+ women, including Chrystos. Includes resource lists.

Genres: Lesbian, Nonfiction, LGBT

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting. It gives you a wide variety of perspectives to compare yourself to, and some of them I could relate to very deeply. Others I could not, but for those, my perspective was broadened by seeing how different lesbians' lives can be.

The reason I'm giving it three stars is not because I found something noticeably wrong with it, or that I disagreed with anything, or found anything unpleasant or obnoxious, but rather that, probably due to the nature of the book's structure - a long collection of personal testimonies in the voices of different women - it would be difficult to give this a super high rating, as it's not high quality literature or a masterpiece, but instead a merely informative and charming look into the lives of a number of lesbians.

One thing to note is that a similar book today would be very different, since the social outlook on lesbianism has changed immensely, as have the laws around it, and the nature of the community - if one even exists anymore, as The Disappearing L sadly attests. The book is, as another reviewer notes, quite dated, but in my case, I found that it made it more fascinating and fun to read, though it did also make it less relatable.

[Isai Soto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously dated, but i think this is a really good ethnograph of late 70s/early 80s lesbians. It’s interesting to see where the Lesbian movement has departed today, such as where geological cultural hubs have moved to.

[Holly Burrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting to see how far things have come and yet see what hasn't changed at all.