Summary
Twenty-six lesbian grassroots activists -- some of them household names nationally, others known only within their local communities -- help us focus on the future of our lesbian lives as we move into the next century. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
Publishers Weekly Review
The 26 lesbian activists in this wandering collection are united in their dismay over the absence of a broad-based, grassroots social justice movement in the U.S. today. Lamenting a lack of political awareness among young people in particular, the authors pinpoint some of the predictable deterrents to effective organizing: internalized racism, homophobia, ageism and infighting. While they don't offer a specific blueprint for change, these sometimes meditative, sometimes earnest essays (many of which have been reprinted or adapted from other contexts) weigh how all social concerns, not just gay and lesbian ones, are fundamentally interconnected. Although editor Kleindienst's rhetorical introductions to every essay add a textbook feel, and a number of contributions suffer from pedestrian writing or familiar platitudes ("Only in unity with each other and in coalition with our allies can we move ahead to achieve our common agenda"), readers will be drawn to familiar standouts, including Dorothy Allison (who, in an essay originally published in Harper's, reflects on the hostility she encounters from the gay community when appearing in public with her straight-looking family), Joan Nestle, Urvashi Vaid and Barbara Smith (who succinctly characterizes good leadership as "humor, cooperation, reliability, humility, and kindness"). Among the appealing new voices is Surina Kahn's, as she recalls how, as a Pakistani teenager, she thought the best way to assimilate herself in America was to vote Republican. Despite the volume's hit-or-miss quality, it documents some forceful voices on everyday activism, even for those for whom "being out was all I could do." (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc.
Copyright Reed Business Information
Table of Contents
|
Introduction |
11 |
|
Mama and Mom and Dad and Son |
16 |
|
A Chronology of Consciousness: The Politics of Visibility |
24 |
|
Girls Just Want to Have Fun |
36 |
|
This Dyke's a Leftie--This Leftie Is a Dyke |
46 |
|
Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
