The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader

"The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader" offers a comprehensive multi-disciplinary anthology of critical work in lesbian and gay studies. Bringing together 42 essays, this collection provides an introduction to the contemporary state of lesbian/gay studies, illustrating the range, scope, diversity, appeal, and power of the work currently being done in the field. "The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader" addresses topics such as butch-fem roles, the cultural construction of gender, lesbian separatism, feminist theory, AIDS, safe-sex education, colonialism, S/M, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, children's books, black nationalism, popular films, Susan Sontag, the closet, homophobia, Freud, Sappho, the media, the "hijras" of India, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the politics of representation. It also contains an extensive bibliographical essay which should provide readers with an guide to further reading.