Lesbian Death: Desire and Danger between Feminist and Queer

by Mairead Sullivan

Engaging with fears of lesbian death to explore the value of lesbian beyond identity
  The loss of lesbian spaces, as well as ideas of the lesbian as anachronistic has called into question the place of lesbian identity within our current culture. In Lesbian Death, Mairead Sullivan probes the perception that lesbian status is in retreat, exploring the political promises—and especially the failures—of lesbian feminism and its usefulness today.  Lesbian Death reads how lesbian is conceptualized in relation to death from the 1970s onward to argue that lesbian offers disruptive potential. Lesbian Death examines the rise of lesbian breast cancer activism in San Francisco in conversation with ACT UP, the lesbian separatist manifestos “The C.L.I.T. Papers,” the enduring specter of lesbian bed death, and the weaponization of lesbian identity against trans lives.  By situating the lesbian as a border figure between feminist and queer, Lesbian Death offers a fresh perspective on the value of lesbian for both feminist and queer projects, even if her value is her death. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Lesbian, LGBT, Gender Studies, Feminism, Queer Lit, Queer

204 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2022

Reviews

[Leyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Lesbian Death” offers an insight to the the role of lesbians in feminist movements as well as how a focus on women’s rights has caused divisions among the community when it comes to other gender identities or trans women who also identify as lesbians. It also touched on how the lack of consideration for intersectionality has caused the idea of the lesbian to not always be fleshed out in a way that reflects on all who might identify as such and how this causes issues as well as a decline in people’s willingness to embrace the term lesbian.

What I think this book did best was highlight how trans exclusionary feminists (TERFs) have played a significant role in dividing the lesbian community and therefore undermine the community as a whole. As Sullivan outlines it has caused the demise of community events as well of political alliances and just done nothing but harm for the very community these TERFs claim to be protecting. I think it’s important to discuss how harmful exclusionary ideologies are and appreciate Sullivans contribution on this matter. This was by far the strongest argument of the book.

Sometimes there would be very complex sentences filled with a lot of academic terms which did barely anything to actually inform the reader and felt more like the author was just flexing their intellect, which made me question how accessible this text is to those who are not already familiar with culture studies. Some sentences gave even me a headache and I am constantly reading academic texts that deal with very similar topics. I cannot really see the benefit of Sullivan doing this and I think it causes the book to be less likely to reach a large scale audience as well as increase the likelihood that not everything that Sullivan is attempting to convey is actually understood by the audience this book does reach.

Although the explanation of academic terminology is sometimes not exactly up to my liking, Sullivans explanation or run down of real life events is done nicely, and leaves you interested in perhaps looking them up after you’re done reading.

I am pretty certain that I grasp where Sullivan was trying to go with this, but I don’t necessarily believe we made it all the way there. Not all segments felt like they added to the main argument (or at least not enough), which makes the reader question exactly what is being argued here. These segments were still interesting, just not linked to the argument as well as they should have been to justify their inclusion. I learned some new things and this book gave me some ideas of what other avenues of research I might explore in the future- however I also believe that this work could’ve been executed better.

[Ennu Leiwo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but despite its very interesting themes, Mairead Sullivan's Lesbian Death was a dissappointing read. The book would have seriously benefited from lots of editing: the structure was weird and the common thread vague, different perspectives felt separate from each other. In many chapters I also found the writing quite repetative.

I recommend Lesbian Death to a reader who's interested in the historical and contemporary conflicts between lesbian and queer discourses in politics and theory, but is ok with reading not so spectacular writing. In conclusion: an important book that could have been a lot better, but is worth reading anyway. Especially the chapter 2 "Marked for Life: Breast Cancer and Lesbian Biopolitics" included lots of information I was not previously familiar with!

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lesbian Death" articulated clearly and with insight some of the conversations I've been having with myself about the power of language, space, exclusivity, and community. This is as much about a cultural reckoning as a political and linguistic one, and perhaps for someone in the right place to receive it - a personal reckoning. Not everyone is going to be into this, but I really enjoyed thinking through the questions it raised and the history it illuminated.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m ultimately glad I read it- it was worth it to learn a lot of history of lesbian politics and politicalization, but I it was also a slog to get through and I don’t think I walked away with a clear view of the author’s core thesis.

[blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risking a lean into hyperbole, I gotta say that learning from Mairead Sullivan was one of the most transformative experiences I had in college. And being able to learn more from them by reading this book has been such a brain-melting joy. This book reads extremely academic and, at times, dense. But the conversation it strikes feels both historically important and urgently relevant. The only thing about that is knowing that reading it alone was not nearly as fruitful as it would’ve been if I was in a classroom, participating in a generative discussion that enlivens the points raised.

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"What is disappearing, then, is not only lesbian space but a sustained critique of and engagement with the histories of anticapitalism and antipatriarchy that informed earlier political movements under the moniker of lesbian."

"Put simply, if the state is naming the risk, then it is managed. State recognition gives the promise of state protection. With state protection, in a liberal framework there is no longer a need for community protection."

"Political lesbianism is not sexuality in the identitarian or even practice-based sense. This does not mean, however, that it is simply an affiliative choice. Neither does it mean that political lesbians were not fucking or that fucking was not a part of their politics. But fucking may not mean sex; they were fucking off and fucking shit up."

[Ebony · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re interested in the future of the lesbian as a political claim this provides important historical context - albeit US centric. I found the generational gap stark and would have liked to have seen more discussion exploring lesbians and trans/ gender fluid community building, both historically and in response to anti trans rhetoric in the late 20th century.

[Valérie Barca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting discussions, but way too much jargon.