Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community

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More About This Textbook

Overview

When most lesbians had to hide, how did they find one another? Were the bars of the 1940s and 1950s more fun than the bars today? Did Black and white lesbians socialize together? Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold is a ground-breaking account of the growth of the lesbian community in Buffalo, New York from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s Drawing on oral histories collected from 45 women, it is the first comprehensive history of a working-class lesbian community. These poignant and complex stories provide a new look at Black and white working-class lesbians as powerful agents of historical change. Their creativity and resilience under oppressive circumstances constructed a better life for all lesbians and expanded possibilities for all women. Based on 13 years of research, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold ranges over topics including sex, relationships, coming out, butch-fem roles, motherhood, aging, racism, work, oppression, and pride. Kennedy and Davis provide a unique insider's perspective on butch-fem culture and trace the roots of gay and lesbian liberation to the determined resistance of working-class lesbians. The book begins by focusing on the growth and development of community, culture, and consciousness in the bars and open house parties of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. It goes on to explore the code of personal behavior and social imperative in butch-fem culture, centering on dress, mannerisms, and gendered sexuality. Finally the book examines serial monogamy, the social forces which shaped love and break-ups, and the changing nature and content of lesbian identity. Capturing the full complexity of lesbian culture, this outstanding book includes extensive quotes from narrators that make every topic a living document, a composite picture of the lives of real people fighting for respect and for a place that would be safe for their love.

Tracing the roots of gay liberation to the creativity and resilience of lesbian communities such as the one in Buffalo, New York, the authors explore how these women paved the way for a better life for lesbians and gays, and provide a unique insider's perspective on everything from sex, relationships, and motherhood to aging, racism, and pride. Photos.

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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
This first ethnography on the development of working-class lesbian communities from the 1930s to the 1960s focuses on a Buffalo, New York, lesbian community. Unlike gay men, gay women, by dressing the way they wanted, going to bars regularly, being financially independent from their families of origin and from men, and by boldly seeking out the company of other women like themselves, unwittingly created a community of their own. The authors argue that because the women in the community gave one another the support necessary to respond aggressively and ``with pride'' when facing an often disapproving and hostile society, they effectively built the real foundation of the gay and lesbian liberation movement. The oral histories of 45 women tell of victimization by their families, straight men, and one another but also recount the joys these women experienced by allowing themselves to be who they really were. Conducted over a 13-year period, these interviews contribute a massive amount of original research to the anthropology of American culture as well as to lesbian history. For academic libraries and women's studies collections.-- Patricia Sarles, Brooklyn P.L. , New York
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780415902939
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • Publication date: 2/19/1993
  • Pages: 464
  • Sales rank: 1,203,043
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 1.19 (d)

Meet the Author

Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy is Professor of American Studies and Women's Studies at SUNY, Buffalo. Madeline D. Davis is Chief Conservator and Head of Preservation for the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
1 "To cover up the truth would be a waste of time": Introduction 1
2 "I could hardly wait to get back to that bar": Lesbian Bar Culture in the 1930s and 1940s 29
3 "A weekend wasn't a weekend if there wasn't a fight": The Tough Bar Lesbians of the 1950s 67
4 "Maybe 'cause things were harder...you had to be more friendly": Race and Class in the Lesbian Community of the 1950s 113
5 "We're going to be legends, just like Columbus is": The Butch-Fem Image and the Lesbian Fight for Public Space 151
6 "Now you get this spot right here": Butch-Fem Sexuality During the 1940s and 1950s 191
7 "Nothing is forever": Serial Monogamy in the Lesbian Community of the 1940s and 1950s 231
8 "It can't be a one-way street": Committed Butch-Fem Relationships 278
9 "In everybody's life there has to be a gym teacher": The Formation of Lesbian Identities and the Reproduction of Butch-Fem Roles 323
10 Conclusion 372
Notes 389
General Index 425
Index of Narrators 433
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