Lesbian Love and Relationships

Explore the broad range of healthy lesbian attitudes and behaviors in love, friendship, self-image, and society!This pioneering book makes a revolutionary assumption: that lesbian and bisexual women are normal, if not average. Instead of focusing on which family or genetic quirks might produce lesbians, these studies turn attention to describing the healthy ways lesbians interact with each other, with heterosexual women, and with society. The result is a significant exploration of uncharted territory.Lesbian Love and Relationships examines the lives of lesbian and bisexual women from adolescence to old age, addressing issues of class and race as well as sexual orientation. It encompasses theory, empirical research, and memoir on such diverse topics as physical appearance, cross-generational friendships, butch-femme issues, and lesbian sexuality. It also looks at such difficult and painful issues as lesbian domestic violence and the impact of homophobia on lesbian couples.Lesbian Love and Relationships asks personal, political, and psychological questions, including: - how do young lesbians find each other? - what makes successful lesbian relationships last? - how does social class affect African-American lesbian relationships? - what was it like growing up lesbian in the South during World War II? - does "lesbian bed death" exist? This compendium offers exciting original research in a neglected field. Lesbian Love and Relationships is an essential resource for anyone interested in women's lives and sexuality as well as scholars in the field.

Suzanna Rose

- Introduction: Lesbian Love and Relationships - "Having a Girlfriend Without Know It": Intimate Friendships Among Adolescent Sexual-Minority Women - Against All Odds: The Dating Experiences of Adolescent Lesbian and Bisexual Women - The Impact of Group Membership on Lesbians' Physical Appearance - Butch/Femme in the Personal Advertisements of Lesbians - Lesbians in Love: Why Some Relationships Endure and Others End - Not Any One Thing: The Complex Legacy of Social Class on African American Lesbian Relationships - A Butch Among the Belles - Lesbian Dating and Courtship from Young Adulthood to Midlife - Beyond "Lesbian Bed Death": The Passion and Play in Lesbian Relationships - Lesbian Intimate Partner Violence: Prevalence and Dynamics - Couples Therapy for Lesbians: Understanding Merger and the Impact of Homophobia - Young Sexual Minority Women's Perceptions of Cross-Generational Friendships with Older Lesbians - Building Bridges: Examining Lesbians' and Heterosexual Women's Close Relationships with Each Other - Index - Reference Notes Included