JoAnne Myers wrote a much appreciated Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement about a decade ago, and now she has joined it with similar material on the Gay Liberation Movement. In fact, having the two together is particularly advantageous since both face similar problems and increasingly cooperate. This Dr. Myers realizes, since she is both an academic and an activist as well as an out lesbian. In addition to writing and lecturing, she teaches political science at Marist College where she is the co-director of the Women’s Studies Program.
The phrase 'lesbian and gay liberation' has a historical context
that is expertly explicated in the introduction; it is also
acknowledged to be dated in a way. The datedness does not mean that
this book is not pertinent. The 1,000 or so entries in this volume
by Myers will be a godsend for researchers seeking to identify key
figures and ideas from the past half-century. Most major topics are
covered here. . . . However, the strength of this dictionary, as
with many volumes in the 'Historical Dictionaries' series, is the
coverage of minor topics that is otherwise difficult to locate.
Other strengths are the chronology and schematic bibliography. The
last is especially helpful because the volume of LGBT material is
so large now that guidance is needed. Myers is well-qualified to
provide it, having been involved in LGBT scholarship and activism
for several decades. . . . Overall, this is a very valuable
resource. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division
undergraduates and above; general readers.
*CHOICE*
This remarkable collection of material on lesbian and gay
liberation movements both foreign and domestic was compiled by a
college academic whose previous publications include the Historical
Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement (see ARBA 2004, entry
825). This new dictionary is divided into four parts. The first is
a chronology of over 30 pages that traces developments related to
same sex love from Ancient Greece to 2013 (many of these entries
are related to countries outside the United States). The second is
a 44-page introduction that deals in narrative form with key
issues, movements, and general concerns related to lesbian and gay
liberation. These include topics related to politics, sociology,
and health. The third, and largest part, is a dictionary of about
600 entries, each averaging about 10 lines in length, which deal
with important people, legislation, terms, concepts, movements,
organizations, events, and key publications. The longest entries (a
page or two in length) are those dealing with individual countries.
The cross-referencing in this section is outstanding (necessary
because there no general index). Bold type is used within entries
to indicate related material and generous see also references are
found at the end of each entry. Coverage in the dictionary
emphasizes lesbian-related topics. For example, there are entries
for authors June Jordan, Patricia Highsmith, and Lorraine Hansbury.
. . .The fourth section is an outstanding bibliography of about
1,200 unannotated books and articles arranged by subjects that
cover all aspects of lesbian and gay life, including reference
books, material on historical developments, and coverage on such
contemporary social issues as employment, human rights, and coming
out. Because of the wealth and breadth of the information found in
this volume (plus its up-to-date coverage), this work is highly
recommended for academic and public libraries where source material
on the subject is in demand.
*American Reference Books Annual*
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