This was an interesting and engaging intro to lesbian history. Faderman has an expressive writing voice and her research turns up lots of interesting little facts that help the reader picture life in each era she covers. I would have really liked to see more historical exploration of gender identity, since there two sometimes get conflated (ex. the idea that a butch woman wants to be a man, historical figures who expressed that they wished to be the other genders, etc.) and Faderman can feel a little dismissive of the complexities of gender, but realize that is a bit of a tangent for a book that covers a lot of ground already. Like some other reviewers I've seen, I found Faderman's tendency to dismiss more marginalized groups of lesbians a little frustrating. I'm sure some of this comes down to the fact that wealthy white folks generally have had better historical record-keeping, but it definitely stood out at times as the lesbian experience of a certain class of people, with others tacked in here and there.

Sent out as one of the starting books in the LGBTQ+ Bookbox

I'm claiming this from the bookbox.

Later: A bit dated, but still eye-opening - and a reminder of how draconian some of the US laws were, all too recently. Some of the sections were inspirational and heart-warming - examples to keep in mind!

I left this book in the Little Free Library on this warm, sunny day. Hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2017 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2017 Tick Tock release challenge. ***