SOC395H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Lesbian Literature
Document Summary
Golden age in lesbian literature: books widely distributed and ideniied by their covers, constrained by a formula the published imposed on them. Books were very inluenial and had a very large impact. Introduced many to the gay scene and even deined some who felt they were diferent from the rest. Scene was so underground you had to ind it: meet other lesbians or diferent people in bars, paries, hotels, occurred in places you wouldn"t want to go to, was not free of prejudice. Amount of danger in the gay life: police bar raids, single-sex house paries (illegal, threatened by police, police brutality. No one cared about gays: either had to be very masculine (butch) or very feminine (femme) In relaionships, butches can only socialize with other butches; same with femmes and other femmes: reiterated in heterosexual society. The femmes did all the housework, caring and stayed home.
