Essential Reading Material

[lavender]

I have begun creating a list of reading material that I find to be essential to my academic interests. I have many books on the list that are related to feminism, international policy, etc. But, a few on the list also have to do with GLBT politics.

I thought this might be the best place to ask what you believe are essential reads to understanding GLBT issues in the United States and throughout the globe. I'm very interested in all types of theoretical or more pragmatic accounts of the issues.

Thanks so much.

 

[Queersetti]

I'll confine myself to those works that deal with homosexuality in general, or specifically gay male issues, and perhaps someone can fill you in on specifically lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered works.

A good place to start would be some of the essays of John Addington Symonds, particularly, A Problem In Modern Ethics and A Problem In Greek Ethics. These were the first modern polemics in defense of homosexuality.

Queer Theory:An Introduction by Annamarie Jagose would be a very helpful overview, and would help guide you to other works of interest.

Foucault's The History Of Sexuality Is a really key work, you definitely should read that if you haven't. Also Georges Bataille's work on sexuality, particularly The Tears Of Eros.

Some other good books on Queer Theory:
When Men Met: Homosexuality and Modernity by Henning Bech

Re-Inventing The Male Homosexual: The Rhetoric and Power of the Gay Gene by Robert Alan Brookey

Parts of an Androgeny:On Representations of Men's Bodies by Lawrence R Schehr

Some other recommendations of various topics:

Any of Quinten Crisp's books are delightful but The Naked Civil Servant is particularly important.

Stonewall by Martin Duberman

Before Night Falls by Reinaldo Arenas

Men With The Pink Triangle: The True Life and Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps by Heinz Heger

Some important gay fiction:

The Pillar and the City by Gore Vidal

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima

Madman by Samuel R. Delaney

Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote

The Wild Boys and Queer by William Burroughs

 

[lavender]

Thank you so much Q. I have read the History of Sexuality and agree that it's a critical work. But, most of the other stuff I have read are journal articles rather than books.

I appreciate the list and would love if someone could do the same for other issues.

By the way, the fiction doesn't interest me that much, but I will keep it in mind.

 

[CharleyH]

Fascinating thread . . . read alot on the list, but the initial question makes me think . . . makes me think I need to think and read more!

Sorry that I can't help on the side of lesbian politics . . . I'd like to, but it seems I've only read feminist texts, or lesbian theory or history (essays really) in the context of film or drama.

 

[seXieleXie]

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers Lillian Faderman. Faderman talks about the evolution of the term lesbian and the entry of women who love women into the popular imagination. Good introduction to/overview of lesbian issues in the 20th century, though a somewhat problematic book.

Feminist literature and Lesbian literature overlap a lot, especially in the post-Stonwall era. There is a lot of similar discourse in the lesbian community as in the feminist community.

Sexual Poitics by Kate Millet. While not explicitly about lesbianism, Millet is bisexual and she does touch on many issues via the "feminist" route rather than the "queer" route.

Lesbian/Woman by Del Martin is a fabulous look at lesbian discourse of the 1970s.

Lesbain Nation by Jill Johnson is a must-read, though it's not an academic work I still strongly reccomend it.

A Ristricted Country by Joan Nestle might be a little dated, and can be skipped over if you feel like you understand butch/femme and class dynamics in the white lesbian community.

You might want to check out Audre Lourd's autobiography, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. It's a beautiful book that talks about the interplay of race, gender, sexuality and class. Also a quick and easy read.

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color is a collection of writings, both fiction and non-, and is a necessary addition to your study. It's all too easy to overlook women of color in this genre.

I would say Leslie Feinberg has done the best FTM transgender writing I have ever come across. Check out Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul and Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue


hope this is helpful.

 

[seXieleXie]

OMG! I almost forgot!

Courting Justice by Deb Price. Incredibly detailed look at the LGBT's legal battles with the supreme court. Price was exhaustive in her research, almost painfully so, but it's worth the effort to read. Actually, i almost sent this to you when i finished it, but a friend of mine needed it for a class.


oh, and i almost feel guilty for downplaying Joan Nestle in my previous post... so check out A Fragile Union or Genderqueer (a collection that she edited) rather than the other one i mentioned.

 

[lavender]

Thanks Lexie. I'll add many of these to my must read list.

I've been reading quite a lot of feminist literature lately and there are some things that bother me.

Primarily, the ivory tower mentality that seems to go into the writing of the work. I am a fairly educated person and have read countless journal articles and books with all kinds of edges - sociopolitical, economic, philosophical, legal and many various theoretical works. But, it is so hard to digest some of the writing in feminist literature. The writing is so convoluted and the word choice can be a bit perplexing at times. You have to read sentences over and over and over to get what the writer is intending on a grand scale. What bothers me about this is that if it is difficult for me to read how does your average woman who probably hasn't read a multitude of the various theoretical works survive reading feminist literature.

It's alienating and in that vein is detrimental to providing for any type of successful mainstream movements.

I find the same to be true for much literature regarding queer theory and other types of books dealing with issues of homosexuality.

 

[Bitchslapper]

Thanks Lexie. I'll add many of these to my must read list.

I've been reading quite a lot of feminist literature lately and there are some things that bother me.

The writing is so convoluted and the word choice can be a bit perplexing at times. You have to read sentences over and over and over to get what the writer is intending on a grand scale.

That usually means the author has no idea what they're really talking about. If you have to reread sentences more than say, 5 times or so in one book (although that's not an exact rule) you are either sleep-deprived or you should just throw the book in the nearest tash can.

 

[Bitchslapper]

Hmm, the board is kind of slow today. I had to edit this post so it wouldn't be an exact duplicate.