Whistling Women : A Study of the Lives of Older Lesbians

ISBN-13: 9780789024138 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 296 str.

Cheryl Claassen; Cheryl Claassen

Opis

Whistling Women is a unique, candid collection of the life experiences of 44 lesbians between 62 and 82 years of age. This book explores new ground with interviews about their memories, feelings, and thoughts on a diversity of perspectives--from growing up during the Depression and World War II, to retirement and old age at the height of the gay liberation movement. This unprecedented resource captures a first-person view of lesbian history and documents the struggles and achievements of the women who lived it.

Spis treści

• Chapter 1. Narrators and Friends
  
• The Study Sample
  
• The Historic Setting of the Narrators
  
• Previous Studies of Gay Women
  
• Whistling Women Statistics
  
• Writing This Book
  
• Chapter 2. Coming to Be
  
• Family Situations
  
• Tales of Moms and Dads
  
• Leaving Home
  
• Summary
  
• Chapter 3. Marriage and Families
  
• Dating Men
  
• Marriage
  
• Children
  
• Divorce
  
• Summary
  
• Chapter 4. Lesbian Relationships
  
• Overview of Lesbian History in the United States
  
• Coming to Recognition
  
• Coming Out
  
• Narrators’ Tales of Coming Out
  
• Relationships
  
• Politics
  
• Summary
  
• Chapter 5. Work and Money
  
• Women, Money, and Men
  
• Careers and Jobs
  
• Financial Education
  
• Summary
  
• Chapter 6. Life After Sixty
  
• The Decision to Retire
  
• Financing Retirement
  
• Lesbian Communities
  
• Retirement Activities
  
• Health
  
• Plans for Self, Partners, and Families
  
• Summary
  
• Chapter 7. Words and Us
  
• Being Wordless
  
• Learning Words
  
• Other People’s Words
  
• Coming Out
  
• Chapter 8. Lesbian Spaces, Gay Faces
  
• Greenwich Village
  
• The Subculture of Lesbian/Mixed Gay Bars
  
• Gay Community?
  
• Chapter 9. Conclusion
  
• Notes for the Conservative Right, Gay Studies Scholars, and Ourselves
  
• Do Age Differences Matter in Studies of Older Lesbians?
  
• References
  
• Index
  

O autorze

J Dianne Garner, Cheryl Claassen