#sexology nerd

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Some more obscure and / or underrated lesbian literature : An incomplete list made by a lesbian in hopes of making other sapphics happy

(I haven’t read all of them)

Sorted by years (this rapidly became a history lesson of lesbian literature sorry I’m a nerd)

Ancient times

(A good article about lesbians in ancient greece / rome)

Queen Zhuang Jiang 庄姜 (???- BC 690) / We know about Sappho and Enheduanna, but what about her? She wrote poems some of which were, uh, pretty gay. I learnt about her here. It is said than her poems are in The Book of Songs (which is a collection of ancient Chinese poetry). I couldn’t find a lot about her but I found enough to believe than (hopefully) she was a real person and the internet isn't lying to me.

Dialogues of the courtesans - Lucian of Samosata (somewhere in the second century BC) / Basically Dialogues of the courtesans is a collection of dialogues between well, courtesans (prostitutes). Either between themselves or between clients. One of the dialogues is called “The Lesbians”. Link to read (somehow finding a pdf of Dialogues of the courtesans is pretty hard but reading it chapter by chapter online it’s not??)

The Babyloniaka - Iamblichus (somewhere in the second century AC) / Lost novel, so all you need to know is here

Of course we can’t forget this Pompeii poem

1200s

Bieiris de Romans (somewhere in the first half of the 1200s) / Bieiris was a French poet, and we only have one of her poems with us because the others have been lost. We don’t know much (anything) about her, except that she was a woman, French, and who wrote about a woman called Maria. Some say that this mysterious Maria referred to the Virgin Mary, others than Maria was her gf, and others than she was writing in the perspective of a man (because obviously a woman writing about other women in a not so platonic way is unthinkable). Anyway, feel free to get your own conclusions, here’s the poem (translated)

1500s

The Sword and the Pen: Women, Politics, and Poetry in Sixteenth-Century Siena - Konrad Eisenbichler / So while this is a modern book, it is the only one I’ve been able to find than includes Laudomia Forteguerri’s poems (1515-1555). Some historians considered her to be the earliest Italian lesbian writer. “Although only six of her sonnets have survived, all are testaments to the love she bore for other women, and five are specifically dedicated to Margaret of Austria.”

The Maitland Quarto / Manuscript (1586) / So, this is a collection of 95 scot poems, and poem 49 is pretty sapphic. It’s technically anonymous, but it has been attributed to Marie Maitland (who transcripted the manuscript and is thought to have added her own poems there). The last lines mean “'There is more constancy in our sex / Than ever among men has been”, I haven’t been able to translate the rest of it. The poem.

1600s

The Flower's Shadow Behind the Curtain - Ko Lien Hua Ying (somewhere in the 1600s) / It is said this book was written towards the end of the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644). It’s a erotic book, and chapter 22 includes an erotic story between two 16 year old girls. I found it in Sex in China: Studies in Sexology in Chinese Culture by Fang Fu Ruan (believe it or not, I don’t just randomly know all this books, I did research)

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) / English writer, one of the first female writers to live through her writing. She was also a spy. She wrote a lot about women. “Homoeroticism is standard in Behn's verse, either in descriptions such as these of male to male relationships or in depictions of her own attractions to women. Behn was married and widowed early, and as a mature woman her primary publicly acknowledged relationship was with a gay male, John Hoyle, himself the subject of much scandal.” (here). She wrote a lesbian love poem (in the link before, it also makes an analysis of it). The poem: To The Fair Clarinda

Poems, Protest, and a Dream: Selected Writings - Juana Inés De la Cruz (1648-1695) / So the thing about Juana is than every single spanish-speaking lesbian knows her (and loves her), but hardly anyone who doesn’t speak spanish has ever heard of her, which is a shame, because she’s an absolute icon. She was a Mexican nun who was also incredibly gay. You know how Sappho is called the tenth muse? Juana is also called the (mexican) tenth muse. She’s also called the phoenix of America, which is incredibly badass. She learnt how to read at 3 years old, at 8, she asked her mother to send her to college dressed as a man (her mother refused). She learnt and studied by her own, because she wanted to learn. She studied by cutting her hair (if she got something wrong or forgot something, she cut a strand of her hair as a punishment) because she said that “a head adorned with hair is worthless if it’s a head naked of ideas”. When she was sixteen (important to note than she already spoke Latin fluently at 12, having mastered it in just a few lessons) the archbishop Payo Enríquez de Rivera heard of her, and decided to ask her to be the company lady of his wife (his wife and her eventually would have a relationship) and decided to test her intelligence. He got 40 (!!!) university profesor of all subjects, and they all asked her questions related to maths, literature, philosophy, etc. She answered all of them right. At around 21, she decided to become a nun (not out of faith, but because it was either becoming a nun and being able to continue her education, or marrying a man and stop studying. To her, the choice was clear). Also it is said she owned around 4000 books in her personal library. So yeah, an educated, extremely intelligent gal, who wrote lesbian love poems to her gf, and who was definitely not afraid to stand up for herself.

1700s

The Game of Flats - Nicholas Rowe? (1715) / Poem, “game of flats” was an 18th century slang for lesbian sex. Link to read <- that website includes lots of 18th century queer history and poems like this one

The Sappho-an - Anonymous (1735 or 1749) / When I first heard of this I couldn’t believe it. It sounds like an AO3 fanfic, or some modern erotic book (one of those than have a real person in the cover), or maybe a forgotten 1970s lesbian book. It’s none of that. It’s an anonymous poem written in the 1700s. The plot? The goddesses of Olympus are sexually unsatisfied because the gods keep on going after mortals (except Ares, he’s just too busy with war) instead of paying attention to them. The gods keep going after woman and male mortals, so Hera just says yknow what if they can sleep with men then we can sleep with each other. Sappho also appears. Link to read.

Fanny Hill, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure - John Cleland (1742) / Ok fine, this one is not sapphic but the main character (female) does have sex with a woman at one point. This is basically an erotic novel. Very dirty (specially for the time period) and very banned in lots of places. The main character is Fanny, a prostitute. It includes lots of straight sex, some gay (mlm) sex, and two pages where Fanny describes in detail having sex with Phoebe, bisexual prostitute. Not sapphic, but thought it was worth mentioning.

1810s

Christabel - Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1816) / So, have you heard of Carmilla (1872)? If you’re reading this post, you probably have, if you haven’t, it’s a classic (vampire) book than is said to have inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. It’s also incredibly gay. Well, some say it was Christabel than was the inspiration for Carmilla. Of course we don’t know this for sure, but the similarities definitely are there. Review from a reader: “what if we were the protagonist and villain of a never-completed sensual gothic poem (and we were both girls) / alternately: when you meet a wickedhot girl only she's SPOOKY but that's SEXY and turns out your dad and her dad were also gay back in the day before having a sexy gay falling-out and she's like 'babe let's get naked and hold each other close' and you're like '—wait fuck I mean uhhhh I PRETEND I DO NOT SEE IT!'” I haven’t read this one, however for what it seems Christabel is not explicitly a vampire. Since the poem is unfinished we don’t know the end, and we just think she’s a vampire because so many things used in here were also reused for vampires characterization (like not being able to enter a house unless invited)

1830s

Mademoiselle de Maupin - Théophile Gautier (1835) / “A woman uses her incredible beauty to captivate both d'Albert, a young poet, and disguised as a man, his mistress, Rosette. In this shocking tale of sexual deception, Gautier draws readers into the bedrooms and boudoirs of a French château in a compelling exploration of desire and sexual intrigue, and gives voice to a longing which is larger in scope, namely, the wish for completeness in oneself.”

1870s

Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife - Adolphe Belot (1870) / “The sensational Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife tells of the suffering of a naive young man whose new bride will not agree to consummate the marriage. Eventually he learns from an acquaintance, to his amazement, that their wives are lovers.” In reviews it says than this is a homophobic novel (who’s surprised) but “Christopher Rivers argues in his introduction that the protagonist's homophobic attitude toward lesbianism is ironically linked to his intimate homosocial bonds with men”

1880s

Jill - Amy Dillwyn (1884) / “Jill is the story of an unconventional heroine—a gentlewoman who disguises herself as a maid and runs away to London in search of adventure after her mother dies and her father is pursued by a Victorian gold-digger. Once in London she uses her position as lady's maid to become close to her mistress. Her life above and below stairs is portrayed with irreverent wit in this fast-paced story, but at the centre of the novel is Jill's unfolding love for the woman she works for. On the surface a feminist manifesto, Jill is a poignant story of same-sex desire and unrequited love. A new introduction tells the autobiographical story on which the novel is based —the author's own passionate attachment to a woman she called her wife, but who she couldn't have.”

Mephistophela - Catulle Mendès (1889) / “Telling the story of Baronne Sophor d'Hermelinge, a woman as thoroughly martyrized by her creator as any other heroine in the history of fiction, in spite of the enormous competition for that title established by countless writers, male and female, it is one of the archetypal novels of the Decadent Movement, and one of the most striking, precisely because is it such a discomfiting piece of writing, the deliberately controversial nature of which has been further enhanced as its surrounding social context has changed over time. Highly influential, especially on the works of such writers as Jean Lorrain and Renée Vivien, Mephistophela, in placing lesbian amour in the foreground of the story, deals forthrightly and intensively with a literary theme that had previously only been treated with delicacy and indecision, mostly in poetry. It is essentially a horror story about demonic possession, about contrived and cruel damnation, devoid even of a Faustian pact, which merely employs obsessive lesbian desire as an instrument of damnation.” Goodreads review: “As a story it is quite straightforward. Girl has same-sex desires and the novel follows her various affairs up to about the age of thirty. […] More controversially, Stableford (and the books blurb) suggests that it is a novel of demonic possession. Now Brian has probably forgotten more than I will ever learn about the period but a few of the episodes show distinct Charcotian traits (an early childhood 'illness', two doctors in conversation etc) and a (really great) fantasy/visionary episode in the book seems to show, to me, the influence of Michelets book on witchcraft. If anything, the book seems even more subversive that Stableford suggests, as Sophie seems largely 'out and proud' and the author often says that she is 'is as she is' suggesting to me that it is 'natural' rather than demonic. I wonder whether the publisher asked Mendes to add some suggestion of the demonic to 'tone down' the idea that people were actually like 'that'.”

1890s

Avant la nuit / Before the dark - Marcel Proust (1893) / Short story (seriously, less than 10 pages). I read it the other day before bed and it’s pretty good. Talks about Françoise, a woman, revealing her homosexuality to her friend Leslie.

A Sunless Heart - Edith Johnstone (1894) / “Its first third focuses on Gasparine O'Neill, who shares an intense connection with her sickly twin brother, Gaspar. Living in poverty, the two struggle to live decently until Gaspar dies. Here gritty naturalism gives way to fantasy, as Gasparine is rescued from despair by the brilliant Lotus Grace, a much-admired teacher at the local Ladies' College. Sexually exploited from the age of twelve by her sister's fiancé, Lotus cannot love anyone, not even her illegitimate child. Gasparine devotes herself to Lotus, but Lotus finds her final brief happiness with a woman student, Mona Lefcadio, a passionate Trinidadian heiress. Exploring issues of race, sexuality, and class in compelling prose, A Sunless Heart is a startling re-discovery from the late- Victorian era. The appendices to this Broadview edition provide contemporary documents that illuminate the tension between romantic friendship and lesbian consciousness in the novel and address other debates in which the novel the nature of Creole identity, the education of women, and the dangers of childhood sexual exploitation.”

The Songs of Bilitis - Pierre Louÿs (1894) / Poetry. However, believe it or not, these were not written by a woman but by a man. Why add it then, well, the story is quite original. The author (Pierre Louÿs) published this verses as written in Ancient Greece by a “disciple of sappho” named Bilitis. He created this whole character, she was a woman, she was a poet, she was a sappho disciple, her work has been lost until now, and she was a huge lesbian. Of course, this is not true, but still, it’s an interesting read. “Between their open celebration of lesbian love and the eventual revelation of their true authorship—the verses actually were written by French novelist and poet Pierre Louÿs—they became a succès de scandale. Although debunked as a work of antiquity, The Songs of Bilitis remains a classic of erotic literature.”

1900s

A Woman's Affair - Liane de Pougy (1901) / "Despite her beauty and her riches, Annhine de Lys, one of the most notorious courtesans of 1890s Paris, is bored and restless. Into her life bursts Flossie, a young American woman, and everything changes. The love she offers Annhine is dangerous, perverse and hard to resist. Ignoring the warnings of her best friend, Annhine encourages the affair."

I Await the Devil's Coming - Mary MacLane (1902) / “Mary MacLane's I Await the Devil's Coming is a shocking, brave and intelectually challenging diary of a 19-year-old girl living in Butte, Montana in 1902. Written in potent, raw prose that propelled the author to celebrity upon publication, the book has become almost completely forgotten. In the early 20th century, MacLane's name was synonymous with sexuality; she is widely hailed as being one of the earliest American feminist authors, and critics at the time praised her work for its daringly open and confesional style. In its first month of publication, the book sold 100,000 copies--a remarkable number for a debut author, and one that illustrates MacLane's broad appeal.” She’s pretty sapphic and claims her (female) lit teacher is her true love. Also an excerpt from a Goodreads review: “She awaits the Devil to come and marry her and bring happiness if only for three days, meanwhile rehearsing suicide. She prays to the Devil to deliver her from “unripe bananas; from bathless people; from a waist-line that slopes up in the front" but offers sensuous instructions on how to eat an olive, and enjoys porterhouse steaks and fudge she makes with brown sugar. It's quite a ride. Many recent reviewers pigeonhole her as an ahead-of-her-time Goth or emo, simply transcribing an eternal and universal teen angst.”

Q.E.D. - Gertrude Stein (1903) - Autobiographical short story about a love triangle between three women; Adele (Stein), Mabel, manipulative and wealthy, and Helen, who seduces Adele.

A Woman Appeared To Me - Renée Vivien (1904) / I have no idea how to explain this book other than it's all I ever wanted and it has an absolutely breathtaking prose. Think of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s writing style and descriptions, the character's philosophy, and the queer toxic relationships in the book. Now make it lesbian and even more explicitly queer. Also I'm pretty sure the main characters want to fuck Sappho. On the second chapter the main characters + some side characters (all women + one guy) are having a discussion (a symposium of sorts) about how much they love sappho and how believing she married a man is stupid and how they don’t hate men, just really dislike them, and the guy says: "Mademoiselle, you are trying to hide from the irresistible seduction of the male. You will certainly finish your love-life in the arms of a man." And our main character being an icon finished the chapter answering him this: "That would be a crime against nature, sir. I have too much respect for our friend to believe her capable of an abnormal passion!". It’s so good. I have seen mixed opinions on this one, but I’m just gonna say: the girls than get it, get it. Everything by Renée Vivien is so good, but this is her only full novel I think (she also wrote poems and short stories). If you have to read only one book out of all the books in this post, let it be this one.

Zezé - Ángeles Vicente (1909) / Not translated (I think) but it’s the first lesbian novel written in Spanish which is pretty cool (even cooler than it was written by a woman who, in 1909 (or around it) divorced her husband and lived through her writing). The plot is basically, the narrator (the author) is on a ship and shares the cabin where she’s staying with another woman, Zezé, a cuplé singer, who tells her about her life (her childhood in a religious school, where she discovered her sexuality with had a relationship with another (female) student, her life in Madrid as an adult and living life as a woman, etc)

1910s

Despised & Rejected - Rose Allatini (1918) / A gay man and a lesbian are friends during WWI, which they are against (an anti-war novel). I think the book is in the perspective of the gay man, but his friend is also a main character.

The Scorpion - Anna Elisabet Weirauch (1919) / A review by a reader: “This book felt more like historical fiction than a novel actually written in 1919-1932, considering the explicitly lesbian relationships and coming of age and coming out style narrative. The story follows the life of Metta, a lesbian who grew up with a controlling family in Berlin. The narrative follows her from her first crush on her manipulative governess, to her first love the older and intelectual Olga, and her foray into the gay scene in Munich and beyond. The story isn't without suffering and it isn't just a love story despite how much you might want it to be. Definite trigger warnings for suicide (not Metta), poor mental health, homophobia and general cringe comments due to the time of writing. But the point of the book is for Metta to find a way to be, a way to live her life comfortably and happily, essentially to find herself.”

1920s

The Bacheloress - Victor Marqueritte (1922) / “Monique is an emancipated French woman who leaves home to escape a marriage of convenience to a man whom her parents have forced on her. She then succumbs to all sorts of carnal temptations including a lesbian love affair with a singer. The scandal provoked by Victor Margueritte's La Garçonne, here translated as The Bacheloress, led to its author having his legion d'honneur revoked, which only propelled this novel about a brazenly independent "new woman" to best-seller status. What was shocking then was not so much the reckless behavior of its heroine, who is depicted as the victim of psychological torment, but the portrait of the corrupt post-WWI society in which she lives. Authentic as Monique is, the types of love she encounters, set against the hostile and contemptuous portrayal of her peers, only amplifies her struggle.”

Yellow Rose - Nobuko Yoshiva (1923) / This is the only book than has been translated by this author, she was a lesbian who wrote Class-S romance (a Japanese book genre of the time, which focused on lesbian / homoerotic relationships between women [so-called romantic friendships], than usually take place in an all-girls boarding school). This specific story talks about a teacher-student relationship. She has other books, one called Yaneura no nishojo (two virgins in the attic) (1919) which isn’t translated, but sounds good, the story “is thought to be semi-autobiographical, and describes a female-female love experience with her dormmate. In the last scene, the two girls decide to live together as a couple. This work, in attacking male-oriented society, and showing two women as a couple after they have finished secondary education presents a strong feminist attitude, and also reveals Yoshiya's own lesbian sexual orientation”.

Freundinnen: ein Roman unter Frauen / Girlfriends: a Novel among Women - Maximiliane Ackers (1923) / Only in German, not translated. Review from an English reader: “This novel—which went through several editions in the 20s before being banned by the Nazis—is uncompromisingly, heartbreakingly queer. The novel tells the story of the love between two actresses in Wiemar Germany, Ruth and Erika. Both women struggle to support themselves on the stage, to live independently, and to come to terms with their love for each other and how they might live and express themselves and their desire.”

Surplus - Sylvia Stevenson (1924) / Review from a reader: “This book should be included in lists of seminal lesbian fiction. Published in 1924, Surplus is the story of Sally Wraith's young adult adventures after the end of WWI, during which period she served as an ambulance driver. The novel is not explicit and dos not detail a physical relationship between Sally and her romantic friend Averil but Sally refers to Averil as her "dream girl" with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life. This novel was published before Radclyffe Hall's Well of Loneliness , which is often hailed for its early negative portrayal of homophobia. But I find it compelling that Sally's love for Averil is not treated as deviant. It's just tragic for any babydyke to fall in love with a straight girl!”

The Captive - Eduard Bourdet (1926) / Theatre, “Irène is a lesbian tortured by her love for Madame d'Aiguines, but pretending engagement to Jacques (man). Though Irène attempts to leave Madame d'Aiguines and marry Jacques, she returns to the relationship, saying that it is "a prison to which I must return captive, despite myself". Madame d'Aiguines is not seen in the play, but leaves behind nosegays of violets for Irène, as a symbol of her love.” Read here

Women Lovers, or The Third Woman - Natalie Clifford Barney (1926) / “This long-lost novel recounts a passionate triangle of love and loss among three of the most daring women of belle époque Paris. In this barely disguised roman à clef, the legendary American heiress, writer, and arts patron Natalie Clifford Barney, the dashing Italian baroness Mimi Franchetti, and the beautiful French courtesan Liane de Pougy share erotic liaisons that break all taboos and end in devastation as one unexpectedly becomes the "third woman."

HERmione - H.D (1927) / “This autobiographical novel, an interior self-portrait of the poet H. D. (1886-1961) is what can best be described as a find, “a posthumous treasure”. In writing HERmione, H.D. returned to a year in her life that was peculiarly blighted. She was in her early twenties—a disappointment to her father, an odd duckling to her mother, an importunate, overgrown, unincarnated entity that had no place... Waves to fight against, to fight against alone... “I am Hermione Gart, a failure” —she cried in her dementia, “I am Her, Her, Her.” She had failed at Bryn Mawr, she felt hemmed in by her family, she did not yet know what she was going to do with her life. The return from Europe of the wild-haired George Lowndes (Ezra Pound) expanded her horizons but threatened her sense of self. An intense new friendship with Fayne Rabb (Frances Josepha Gregg), an odd girl who was, if not lesbian, then certainly of bisexual bent, brought an atmosphere that made her hold on everyday reality more tenuous. This stormy course led to mental breakdown, then to a turning point and a new beginning as her own true self, as Her"

Lucia Sánchez Saornil (1895 - 1970) / Spanish poet, putting her here because she’s part of generation ‘27. Read her Wikipedia page because she’s literally iconic (I can’t put the link here for some reason). I love her so much. She was an anarchist and very revolutionary. She wrote under a pen name to be able to explicitly write about women and lived with her partner (América Barroso) until she died. I haven’t been able to find an English translation of her writing, but I do have found a French one, so better than nothing

Dusty Answer - Rosamond Lehmann (1927) / Coming of age story of Judith Earle, sensitive, lonely, who grew up as an only child, but with 4 neighbors (all cousins) to make her company (and eventually harbor romantic feelings for). Then she moves to college, where she meets Jennifer and enters a relationship with her. Although the relationship is not explicitly romantic.

Ladies Almanack - Djuna Barnes (1928) / “Written as a medieval calendar, Ladies Almanack is a clever parody of the crazy sapphic circle of Natalie Barney and her Académie des Femmes. Sharp, biting, witty and transgressive, it is also a modern and pioneer in his vision of lesbianism and the issues surrounding relationships between women. The emotional endogamy, transvestism, motherhood, marriage or differences between sex and gender are already presented in the book with a charge of irony and acidity that is rare in the treatment of the topic. And it is also a breath of fresh air, an essential reference to know the world of lesbian women in all its breadth and diversity.”

1930s

The Angel and the Perverts - Lucie Delarue-Mardrus (around 1930) / "Set in the lesbian and gay circles of Paris in the 1920s, The Angel and the Perverts tells the story of a hermaphrodite born to upper class parents in Normandy and ignorant of his/her physical difference. As an adult, s/he lives a double life as Marion/Mario, passing undetected as a lesbian in the literary salons of the times, and as a gay man in the cocaine dens made famous by Colette." Technically not lesbian, but it’s “set in the lesbian cercles of Paris”

Broderie Anglaise - Violet Trefusis (1935) / Technically not a lesbian novel, but by a sapphic author. Do you know about Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West? Of course you do, everyone does. However, do you know than Violet Trefusis used to be Vita’s lover? They dated as teens and again as adults. There’s this whole gay toxic romantic circle between Violet, Vita, and Virginia. Violet wrote this book where she’s basically adding Vita, Virginia, and herself into the characters and dissing them. The plot centers on an encounter between Alexa, a celebrated English writer (Virginia), and her rival, Anne (Violet), and their discussion about their mutual lover, Lord Shorne (Vita).

Summer Will Show - Sylvia Townsend Warner (1936) / Sophia Willoughby's husband has a mistress who he cheats on her with. So she grabs him and packs him up to Paris with his mistress. She'll raise their children and he can have his mistress all day long if he wants, what she wants is to not see him. Sadly, her children die, and she goes to Paris, where she'll find her husband's mistress, and the two of them start an affair with eachother.

Diana: A Strange Autobiography - Diana Frederics (1939) / “«This is the unusual and compelling story of Diana, a tantalizingly beautiful woman who sought love in the strange by-paths of Lesbos. Fearless and outspoken, it dares to reveal that hidden world where perfumed caresses and half-whispered endearments constitute the forbidden fruits in a Garden of Eden where men are never accepted». This is how A Strange Autobiography was described when it was published in paperback in 1952. The original 1939 hardcover edition carried with it a Publisher's This is the autobiography of a woman who tried to be normal. In the book, Diana is presented as the unexceptional daughter of an unexceptional plutocratic family. During adolescence, she finds herself drawn with mysterious intensity to a girl friend. The narrative follows Diana's progress through college; a trial marriage that proves she is incapable of heterosexuality; intelectual and sexual education in Europe; and a series of lesbian relationships culminating in a final tormented triangular struggle with two other women for the individual salvation to be found in a happy couple.”

1940s

Hidden Path - Elena Fortún (somewhere around the 1940s) / Maria Luisa grows up on 1910s/1920s Spain. She is a peculiar girl, one who despises wearing dresses and wants to dress as a sailor, who could spend all day reading, who loves painting, and who swears she will never marry. Oh, and she's also a lesbian. Based on the author's life Maria Luisa is kind of the author's alter ego, and it follows her from childhood to adulthood while dealing with a world not created with people like her in mind. (Not published until 2016)

El Pensionado de Santa Casilda / The Boarding School of Saint Casilda - Elena Fortún (somewhere around the 1940s) / This book is not translated, but if you know spanish I recommend to pick it up. A group of 14/15 year old girls who go to the same spanish all-girls boarding school, and they are all in love with each other. It follows them into adulthood and how they navigate their lives being women and lesbians in the past (Not published until 2022). Messy lesbians at its finest. Like, seriously. Lesbians still in love with their ex and not over their first love, dating their friends and their ex friend, and the ex of their friend, and having sugar mommies, etc etc

1960s

Winter Love - Han Suyin (1962) / “As a college student in London during the bitterly cold winter of 1944, Red falls in love with her married classmate Mara. Their affair unleashes a physical passion, a jealousy, and a sense of self-doubt that sweep all her previous experiences aside and will leave her changed forever. Set against the rubble of the bombed city, in a time of gray austerity and deprivation, Winter Love recalls a life at its most vivid.”

The Chinese Garden - Rosemary Manning (1962) / “A "very intelligent, sensitive, and compelling" novel of adolescent rebellion and sexual awakening at a girls' boarding school (Anthony Burgess). Set in a repressive British girls' boarding school in the late 1920s—where not only sexuality but femininity is squashed—the novel is the coming-of-age story of sixteen-year-old Rachel, a sensitive, bright, and innocent student. Rachel finds refuge from the Spartan conditions, strict regime, fierce discipline, and formidable headmistress at Bampfield in a secret garden. She also finds friendship there, with a rebellious girl named Margaret. As Margaret has her mind expanded by a scandalous tome entitled The Well of Loneliness, she engages in a bold, forbidden act—the ultimate transgression at Bampfield—and Rachel is drawn into the turmoil. Confronted with the persecution of her friend and troubled by a growing awareness of her own sensuality, Rachel faces an imposible choice that drives her to desperate measures.”

The Microcosm - Maureen Duffy (1966) / “At the House of Shades, Matt, a bar-room philosopher, tries to make sense of the disparate lives which cross here -- of Judy who saves herself and her finery for a Saturday night lover, of Steve the gym teacher who dreads a chance encounter with a pupil in this twilight environment, and of Matt herself, who needs these vicarious exchanges despite the security of her relationship with Rae and her sense that this lesbian sanctuary is a prison too, enforcing the guilt and estrangement of the city streets beyond. Elsewhere there are women such as Marie, trapped within an unwanted marriage and unable to admit her sexuality, and Cathy, for whom the discovery that she is not 'the only one in the world' is an affirmation of her existence. With its innovative structure and style, perfectly mirroring the voices and experiences of women forced by society to live on the margins, The Microcosm remains as powerful today as when originally published in 1966.”

1970s

Beginning with O - Olga Broumas (1977) / A poetry collection by a lesbian, greek writer.

The Same Sea as Every Summer - Esther Tusquets (1978) / A stream-of-consciousness type book, by an author who has been compared to Virginia Woolf. “Poetic and erotic, El mismo mar de todos los veranos ( The Same Sea As Every Summer ) was originally published in Spain in 1978, three years after the death of Franco and in the same year that government censorship was abolished. But even in a new era that fostered more liberal attitudes toward divorce, homosexuality, and women's rights, this novel by Esther Tusquets was controversial. Its feminine view of sexuality (in particular, its depiction of a lesbian relationship) was unprecedented in Spanish fiction. The disillusioned narrator of The Same Sea As Every Summer is a middle-aged woman whose unhappy life prompts a journey into she past to rediscover a more authentic self. However, events force her to realize that love or trust will inevitably be repaid by betrayal. This pattern assumes various forms in a story that moves forward as well as backward, playing out in Barcelona among the haute bourgeoisie. Richly textured with allusion, The Same Sea As Every Summer is also a commentary on post-Civil War Spanish society by an author who grew up during the repressive Franco regime.”

Así es: Mi vida 3 - Victorina Durán (somewhere in the late 1970s) / So, not translated but has great historical value. Basically, this is the third book out of Victorina’s memories that she wrote in the 70s. Victorina (1899 - 1993) was so cool. She was an icon. She was a sceneographer, a painter, a costume designer, writer (aside from her memories, she has some theatre plays), etc. She actually wanted to be an actress. She was part of the Círculo Sáfico de Madrid (the sapphic club of Madrid, a club made out of her and her friends, who were sapphic) among others. She never hid her sexuality. She was friends with almost all the importante well known people in 1920s / 1930s Spain. This book is the third one out of her memories, and it’s focused explicitly on her relationships (all with women). She said she wanted to focus on them and give them a book of their own, so this is of great historical value, giving insights into the queer spaces, lesbian scene, wlw relationships and being gay at that time. I need to read it so bad if someone has a pdf please tell me I’ll send them my fanfic wips

1980s

On Strike against God - Joanna Russ (1980) / “A lost feminist masterwork by feminist and speculative fiction icon, Joanna Russ, about a young lesbian's coming-to-consciousness during the social upheaval of the 1970s. When Esther, a recently divorced professor, has her first lesbian love affair, the fallout brings her everyday miseries into focus and precipitates a personal crisis. She flees her small, upstate New York college town, grapples with gender confusion and the ghosts of therapists past, and fumbles her way through comedic sexual self-discovery, oscillating all the while between visionary confidence and debilitating self-doubt. Confronted with the homophobia of straight feminists and the misogyny of gay men, Esther is left to forge a language for her feminism and her burgeoning lesbian desire. On Strike Against God is quintessentially experimental but accesible, alternately wry and earnest, poignantly didactic, playful, and emotionally charged.” From a review: “For anyone like me who's unfamiliar with the quote which inspired the title: A judge was sentencing a picketer from the early twentieth century shirtwaist-makers strike (the first large scale strike by women), and he told her, "You are striking against God and Nature, whose law is that man shall earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. You are on strike against God!"

Faultline - Sheila Ortiz Taylor (1982) / “An outrageous, zesty, funny Lesbian novel; the adventures of a Lesbian mother with six children, three hundred rabbits, and very relaxed attitude."

The Swashbuckler - Lee Lynch (1985) / "Frenchy Tonneau leaves her closeted home in the Bronx for the bars of New York City, the freedom of Provincetown, and the liberation of Greenwich Village in the 1960s and 1970s. Her hangouts, her women, her small yet universal world tell the stories of the times - and the stories of lesbians today. A timeless journey and a riveting read, The Swashbuckler is heart-wrenching, heartwarming, and unforgettable." Butch main character, lesbian life in the 60s/70s, lesbian-feminism, butchfemme, etc.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fannie Flagg (1987) / listen, LISTEN, I know this book is not obscure, absolutely not given it even has a movie adaptation, but people do not give this book the love it deserves. I'm constantly thinking about Idgie and Ruth, they are one of my favorite fictional couples ever, and also my favorite lesbian fictional couple. They are such interesting characters with such an interesting dynamic and I just love them so so much. A femmebutch couple in 1920s Alabama, who go through many hardships but still find eachother, still end together, and even have a restaurant, live together, and raise a kid. And not only them, but the book is made out of 4 main characters (or 3 depends on if you see Ninny as a main character or not), Idgie, Ruth, and Ninny and Evelyn. Evelyn, an 80s depressed housewife in her 40s finds solace and a true friend in Ninny, a 90 year old woman staying at a nursing home (not ‘cause she needs it, but to keep a friend company). Ninny tells her the story of Idgie (her, kind of, sister) and Ruth, her best friend and lover. Evelyn finds feminism and hope through the memories, getting inspired by Idgie and Ruth's story and becoming happier in her life. It has several points of views and it jumps between years (first 1980s, then 1920s, then 1940s, then 1980s again, etc) and it also talks a lot about racism in 1920s Alabama, and i'll just stop because I love this book so much and i could go on forever. Oh, and also they murder a man and feed him to a police officer.

Lovers' choice - Becky Birtha (1987) / A collection of eleven short stories about lesbian women.

1990s

Out Of Time - Paula Martinac (1990) / Susan finds an old photograph album with pictures from the 1920s, all pictures being of a group of women (four in total). She's told it's not for sale, but she steals it anyway. After some digging, she finds out than two of the girls from the photos were lovers! And not only is Susan trying to navigate the details of her life and of her relationship with her own girlfriend, but she obsesses over the women in the picture, and eventually, the spirits of the girls start to haunt her.

The Gilda Stories - Jewele Gomez (1991) / Gilda escaped from slavery in the 1850s, until she's taken by a vampire who (consensually) turns her into a vampire too. Gilda moves through the decades finding community and connections and helping people, and slowly builds a place for herself in time. (Fine, not actually obscure since I’ve seen it all around the internet, but it just sounds so good)

Annabel and I - Chris Anne Wolfe (1996) / Plot summed up by a reader: “Half-orphaned Jenny-Wren spends her summers at her uncle Jake's fishing lodge on Lake Chautauqua. One summer day when she's twelve years old while boating with her uncle, she finds a girl on the end of a dock reaching futilely for her escaped model boat. Jenny swims over and rescues the boat, meeting the orphaned Annabel, spending her summers at her grandmother's summer estate. This begins a friendship that endures and grows for years as the two girls spent each summer together, only to be separated at the end of summer. As the two grow older, they realize a magic is at work that keeps bringing them together, despite the near century between them. As the summers come and go, the two young women discover their love for each other, and the realization that their love is imposible. Can their love persist beyond those fleeting summers and flourish, in the face of time?”. Review from a reader: “The foreword says this book is for all wlw, and that, "Because there are as many different ways to love a woman as there are women who love women; it's the loving, not the label, that really matters." That really captured the core of what this book does, it treasures the love we create with our bare hands for and with another woman.” A time travel romance (Jenny is from the 1980s, Annabel from 1890s)

Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice - April Sinclair (1996) / Bisexual mc. “Jean "Stevie" Stevenson, the indomitable heroine of "Coffee Will Make You Black," is back—somewhat older and wiser, with some experience and a college degree -- diving headfirst into the hot tub, free love, yoga, and vegetarian lifestyle of 1970s San Francisco. In this liberating new world of raised consciousness, mind-expanding, and disco-dancing, a soul sister with passion and daring has room to experiment with life and love to find out who she "really" is.”

Beyond the Pale - Elana Dykewomon (1997) / “The story of two Jewish women living through times of darkness and inhumanity in the early 20th century, capturing their undaunted love and courage in luminous and moving prose. The richly textured novel details Gutke Gurvich's odyssey from her apprenticeship as a midwife in a Russian shtetl to her work in the suffrage movement in New York. Interwoven with her tale is that Chava Meyer, who was attended by Gurvich at her birth and grew up to survive the pogrom that took the lives of her parents. Throughout the book, historical background plays a large part: Jewish faith and traditions, the practice of midwifery, the horrific conditions in prerevolutionary Russia and New York sweatshops, and the determined work of labor unionists and suffragists." While it is a romance, it's also more than that, it's about the life of Jewish women in the 20th century.

Crystal Diary - Frankie Hucklenbroich (1997) / “Frankie Hucklenbroich's razor-edged, compelling, often wryly humorous story hustles us from the blood-and-beer-drenched corners of her St. Louis meat-packing district '50s youth, through the sex-soaked Hollywood alleys of her '60s baby butch years, into the druggy metropolis of '70s San Francisco. Moving relentlessly from one woman to another until faces and bodies blur, scamming her existence, learning what the street has to how to make a buck, how to make it with a woman, how to court the dangers of crystal meth, how to survive.”

Hers 3 - Terry Wolverton (1999) / Short stories

2000s

Valencia - Michelle Tea (2000) / "Valencia is the fast-paced account of one girl's search for love and high times in the drama-filled dyke world of San Francisco's Mission District. Through a string of narrative moments, Tea records a year lived in a world of girls: there's knife-wielding Marta, who introduces Michelle to a new world of radical sex; Willa, Michelle's tormented poet-girlfriend; Iris, the beautiful boy-dyke who ran away from the South in a dust cloud of drama; and Iris's ex, Magdalena Squalor, to whom Michelle turns when Iris breaks her heart."

Naked in the Promised Land: A Memoir - Lillian Faderman (2003) / “Born in 1940, Lillian Faderman is the only child of an uneducated and unmarried Jewish woman who left Latvia to seek a better life in America. Lillian grew up in poverty, but fantasised about becoming an actress. When her dreams led to the dangerous, seductive world of the sex trade and sham-marriages in Hollywood of the fifties, she realised she was attracted to women, and that show-biz is as cruel as they say. Desperately seeking to make her life meaningful, she studied at Berkeley; paying her way by working as a pin-up model and burlesque dancer, hiding her lesbian affairs from the outside world. At last she became a brilliant student and the woman who becomes a loving partner, a devoted mother, an acclaimed writer and ground-breaking pioneer of gay and lesbian scholarship. Told with wrenching immediacy and great power, Naked in the Promised Land is the story of an exceptional woman and her remarkable, unorthodox life.”

Her Naked Skin - Rebecca Lenkiewicz (2008) / Theatre. “Militancy in the Suffragette Movement is at its height. Thousands of women of all classes serve time in Holloway Prison in their fight to gain the vote. Amongst them is Lady Celia Cain who feels trapped by both the policies of the day and the shackles of a frustrating marriage. Inside, she meets a young seamstress, Eve Douglas, and her life spirals into an erotic but dangerous chaos. London 1913. A crucial moment when, with emancipation almost in sight, women refuse to let the establishment stand in their way.”

The Rain Before it Falls - Jonathan Coe (2008) / “A story of three generations of women whose destinies reach from the English countryside in World War Il to London, Toronto, and southern France at the turn of the new century. Evacuated to Shropshire during the Blitz, eight-year-old Rosamond forged a bond with her cousin Beatrix that augured the most treasured and devastating moments of her life. She recorded these memories sixty years later, just before her death, on cassettes she bequeathed to a woman she hadn't seen in decades. When her beloved niece, Gill, plays the tapes in hopes of locating this unwitting heir, she instead hears a family saga swathed in promise and the story of how Beatrix, starved of her mother's affection, conceived a fraught bloodline that culminated in heart-stopping tragedy—its chief victim being her own granddaughter. And as Rosamond explores the ties that bound these generations together and shaped her experience all along, Gill grows increasingly haunted by how profoundly her own recollections--not to mention the love she feels for her grown daughters, listening alongside her-- are linked to generations of women she never knew. A stirring, masterful portrait of motherhood and family secrets, "The Rain Before It Falls" is also a meditation on the tapestries we weave out of the past, whether transcendent or horrific.”

2010s

When We Were Outlaws - Jeanne Cordova (2011) / "A sweeping memoir, a raw and intimate chronicle of a young activist torn between conflicting personal longings and political goals. When We Were Outlaws offers a rare view of the life of a radical lesbian during the early cultural struggle for gay rights, Women's Liberation, and the New Left of the 1970s. Brash and ambitious, activist Jeanne Cordova is living with one woman and falling in love with another, but her passionate beliefs tell her that her first duty is "to the revolution".—to change the world and end discrimination against gays and lesbians."

Call Me Esteban - Leila Kalamuié (2015) / “With unapologetic vividness, Lejla Kalamujic depicts pre- and post-war Sarajevo by charting a daughter coping with losing her mother, but discovering herself. From imagined conversations with Franz Kafka to cozy apartments, psychiatric wards, and cemeteries, Call Me Esteban is a piercing meditation on a woman grasping at memories in the name of claiming her identity.”

Lancelot: Her Story - Carol Anne Douglas (2015) / Arthurian legend retelling! "A young girl sees a man rape and murder her mother. She grabs a stick and puts out his eye. Her father raises her as a boy so she will be safe from men's attacks. She practices and practices until she becomes a great fighter - Lancelot. She wants to protect women—and she does. Lancelot hears about King Arthur, a just king across the sea, and journeys to earn a place at Camelot. She vows to serve him. but fears that Arthur and his men will discover that she is a woman and send her away. Lancelot is shocked to realize that she is falling in love with the king's wife, Guinevere. Guinevere is a strong woman who would have preferred to be queen in her own right, not through marriage. Saxons attack Arthur's kingdom, and Lancelot finds out that fighting a war is far different from saving women in single combat. The savagery of war devastates her, she is living a lie, but she is also deeply in love…”

Jigsaw Youth - Tiffany Scandal (2015) / “Lose your best friend because you finally Came Out. Spend days driving aimlessly because there's nothing to do. Serve your rapist breakfast because you need your job. Fall asleep to gunshots and sirens because that's the only sense of home you've ever known. Hold hands with ghosts. Your life is in pieces, but you can't be broken. Wipe off the blood. Tired of being told who to be, what to wear, how to act and who to fuck. Break the rules and learn fast how to never get caught. All you need is nothing, but you're happy with your car, guitar and camera. Throwing around polaroids of tits like they're money, you swap stories about adventures and realize that we're all running away from something.”

Creatures of Will & Temper - Molly Tanzer (2017) / Recommended as a sapphic picture of dorian gray retelling, it tells the story of Dorina (hedonistic, art lover, and woman-kisser), her older sister Evadne (fencer and responsable), Lady Henrietta (suit-wearing, cigar-smoking lesbian who is a horrible influence), and Basil, Dorina and Evadne's uncle, and who's character has not changed much. They also summon demons.

The Adventures of China Iron - Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (2017) / “1872. The pampas of Argentina. China is a young woman eking out an existence in a remote gaucho encampment. After her no-good husband is conscripted into the army, China bolts for freedom, setting off on a wagon journey through the pampas in the company of her new-found friend Liz, a settler from Scotland. While Liz provides China with a sentimental education and schools her in the nefarious ways of the British Empire, their eyes are opened to the wonders of Argentina's richly diverse flora and fauna, cultures and languages, as well as to the ruthless violence involved in nation-building. This subversive retelling of Argentina's foundational gaucho epic Martín Fierro is a celebration of the colour and movement of the living world, the open road, love and sex, and the dream of lasting freedom. With humour and sophistication, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara has created a joyful, hallucinatory novel that is also an incisive critique of national myths.”

2020s

Thirst - Marina Yuszczuk (2020) / “Across two different time periods, two women confront fear, loneliness, mortality, and a haunting yearning that will not let them rest. It is the twilight of Europe's bloody bacchanals, of murder and feasting without end. In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives from Europe to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city, one that will soon be ravaged by yellow fever. She must adapt, intermingle with humans, and be discreet. In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother's terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites within the two women-and they cross a threshold from which there's no turning back. With echoes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and written in the vein of feminist Gothic writers like Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Carmen Maria Machado, Thirst plays with the boundaries of genre while exploring the limits of female agency, the consuming power of desire, and the fragile vitality of even the most immortal of creatures.” Lesbian vampires!

The Lives We Left Behind - Olivia Bratherton-Wilson (2021) / I read this one so long ago and I don’t remember everything with detail, just than I really liked it. “1943. Seventeen-year-old Dorotea Miller is given the responsibility of managing the family farm when her father and brother are conscripted, leaving her with only her distant mother and the unfamiliar Land Girls for company. Angeline Carter and her four younger brothers are evacuated to the Welsh countryside to escape the bombings; the Miller farm is nothing like they've seen before and certainly more than Angeline bargained for when she meets the surly, unwelcoming farmer's daughter. Despite their rocky start, misunderstandings and tragedies, Dorothea and Angeline realise that their friendship may run deeper than either of them had prepared for.” There is also a sequel! That one I haven’t read tho.

Agatha of Little Neon - Claire Luchette (2021) / "Agatha has lived every day of the last nine years with her sisters (the other nuns) : they work together, laugh together, pray together. Their world is contained within the little house they share. The four of them are devoted to Mother Roberta and to their quiet, purposeful life. But when the parish goes broke, the sisters are forced to move. They land in Woonsocket, a formermill town now dotted with wind turbines. […] Agatha is forced to venture out into the world alone, to teach math at a local all-girls high school, where for the first time in years she will have to reckon with what she sees and feels all on her own. Who will she be if she isn't with her sisters? These women, the church, have been her home--or has she just been hiding? […] It is a novel about female friendship and devotion, the roles made available to us, and how we become ourselves." Lesbian nuns

Burning Butch - R/B Mertz (2022) / A butch lesbian memoir of their life growing up catholic and surviving in the world, while dealing with faith and what it shape it takes to them.

London on My Mind - Clara Alves (2022) / So, the English translation just came out! Funny thing is, I started this in 2022 even tho I don’t know Portuguese (translating paragraph by paragraph with google translate) and it was pretty good. I haven’t finished it (translating a whole book with google translate is definitely work) but I’m so ready to read it now that it’s translated. Dayana (seventeen, black, plus size, and Brazilian) is forced to move to London with her father (who abandoned her mother and her) and his new family after her mother died. She’s having a pretty horrible time, until, on a walk, finds a redhead girl… escaping Buckingham Palace?? So of course, she helps her escape. Who exactly is this girl? Why was she escaping?? The answer, her name is Diana and she’s sort of (super) the princess of Wales. Huh.

Helen House - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya (2022) / “Right before meeting her girlfriend Amber's parents for the first time, the unnamed narrator of Helen House learns that she and her partner share a similar both of their sisters are dead. As the narrator wonders what else Amber has been hiding, she struggles with her own secret--using sex as a coping mechanism--as well as confusion and guilt over whether she really cares about Amber, or if she's only using her for sex. When they arrive at the parents' rural upstate home, a quaint but awkward first meeting unravels into a nightmare in which the narrator finds herself stranded in a family's decades-long mourning ritual. At turns terrifying and erotic, Helen House is a queer ghost story about trauma and grief.”

Promises in Pompeii - Violet Morley (2022) / Set in Ancient Rome, it tells the story of two girls, Octavia and Helvia, childhood friends, and their journey through life as women and through their feelings. In the author ig, she said it includes: adventure/survival, against the odds, brothels, butch/femme, coming of age, disguised as a man, first love, friends to lovers, opposites attract, etc. I’m currently reading it, and I really like it so far.

Nettleblack - Nat Reeve (2022) / “Subversive and playful, Nettleblack is a neo-Victorian queer farce that follows a runaway heir/ess and an organisation of crime-fighting misfits as they struggle with the misdeeds besieging a rural English town. The year is 1893. Having run away from her family home to escape an arranged marriage, Welsh heiress Henrietta “Henry” Nettleblack finds herself ambushed, robbed, and then saved by the mysterious Dallyangle Division - part detective agency, part neighbourhood watch. Desperate to hide from her older sisters, Henry disguises herself and enlists. But the Division soon finds itself under siege from a spate of crimes and must fight for its very survival. Assailed by strange feelings for her new colleague - the tomboyish, moody Septimus - Henry quickly sees that she's lost in a small rural town with surprisingly big problems. And to make things worse, sinister forces threaten to expose her as the missing Nettleblack sister. As the net starts to close around Henry, the new people in her life seem to offer her a way out, and a way forward. Is the world she's lost in also a place she can find herself? Told through journal entries and letters, Nettleblack is a picaresque ride through the perils and joys of finding your place in the world, challenging myths about queerness - particularly transness - as a modern phenomenon, while exploring the practicalities of articulating queer perspectives when you're struggling for words.”

Sunburn - Chloe Michelle (2023) / In Ireland, the early 1990s, Lucy feels out of place in her small town. She falls in love with her best friend and she has to find a way to find herself, make a meaning out of her feelings, and hide the truth from her conservative small town and religious peers.

Lucky Red - Claudia Cravens (2023) / "A vibrant and cinematic debut set in the American West about a scrappy orphan who finds friendship, romance, and her true calling as a revenge-seeking gunslinger." Lesbian cowboys

Neon Roses - Rachel Dawson (2023) / “Eluned Hughes is stuck. It's 1984 in a valley in south Wales: the miners' strike is ravaging her community; her sister's swanned off with a Thatcherite policeman; and her boyfriend Lloyd keeps bringing up marriage. And if they play '99 Red Balloons' on the radio one more time, she might just lose her mind. Then the fundraising group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners comes down from London, and she meets June, a snaggle-toothed blonde in a too-big leather jacket. Suddenly, Eluned isn't stuck any more - she's in freefall. June's an artist and an activist, living in a squat in Camden. With June, Eluned can imagine a completely different - and exciting - life for herself. But as her family struggles with the strike, and her relationship with her sister deteriorates, should she really leave it all behind? From the Valleys to the nightclubs of Cardiff, London and Manchester, NEON ROSES is a heartwarming, funny and a little bit filthy queer coming-of-age story with a cracking '80s soundtrack.”

Tale of Three Ships - Darcia G. Laucerica (2023) / “In a world under the thumb of an empire, pirates sail away searching for a breath of freedom. But even the ocean is tainted by the powerful nation that has spread lies about women being bad luck at sea. Glenlivet has never cared about the fear-mongering. Her ship welcomes those who are rejected and need a home. For all the sailor' s superstitions and "codes" of piracy the captain mocks every day, not leaving the docks when it's dark is a personal boundary she swears by ever since acquiring The Outsider about eight years ago. She just might have to break her own rules to protect her crew, escape the claws of a king who wants her dead, and murder the man who raised her.” I’ve heard so many good things about this. Lesbian main character, with mlm and trans side characters. Author in social media said it includes: Chosen pirate family, sirens, indigenous and latine inspired characters, anti-colonialism, and people fighting injustice and abuse.

How to Breathe Ash - Alex Nonymous (2023) / “Eleanor Perrault doesn't know if there's a right way to handle being suddenly orphaned at sixteen, but it's definitely not the way that she's been coping with it. It's been two months since her parents died and despite her autism normally causing her to be even more emotionally volatile than most of her peers, she still hasn't even managed to cry over them yet. On top of trying to learn how to grieve properly, Eleanor's juggling starting a new semester in a new town with an aunt who seems eternally disappointed in her and a cousin who's randomly decided to start hating her. And a crush on the incredibly pretty president of her new school's QSA. How to Breathe Ash is a contemporary YA Cinderella retelling following Eleanor through elaborate dances, anonymous chat rooms, and learning the right way to not be alright.” Autistic mc! While I haven’t read anything from this author (yet) they have lots of wlw/nblw/nblnb books with autistic main characters.

War and Solace: A Tale from Norvegr - Edale Lane (2023) / “A battle-hardened shieldmaiden. A pacifist healer. Can the two find love amid the chaos of war? From Edale Lane, the award-winning, best-selling author of Sigrid & Elyn, comes a new Tale from Norgevr! Tyrdis is a stalwart warrior raised to value honor, courage, and military prowess. When a traumatic injury renders the powerful protector helpless, she depends on the lovely, tender-hearted Adelle to restore her from the brink of death. Is it merely gratitude or true love that draws Tyrdis to the healer? Defying cultural norms, Adelle despises violence and those who propagate it, but when her shieldmaiden patient saves the life of her beloved little girl, she must reexamine her values. Could Tyrdis be more than a stiff, efficient killer with an amazing body? In a kingdom steeped in conflict with their neighbors and internal strife, shocking secrets are revealed, and both women strive to ensure justice prevails. Can they overcome their differences to safeguard their friends, end the war, and fall in love, or will fate prove to be a cruel sovereign?” Historical fiction set during 643. The author also has another two sapphic books set in the same time period.

Maddalena and the Dark - Julia Fine (2023) / “A novel set in 18th-century Venice at a prestigious music school, about two girls drawn together by a dangerous wager Venice, 1717. Fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. As a student at the Ospedale della Pietà, she hopes to join the highest ranks of its illustrious girls' orchestra and become a protégé of the great Antonio Vivaldi. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena. After a scandal threatens her noble family's reputation, Maddalena is sent to the Pietà to preserve her marriage prospects. When she meets Luisa, Maddalena feels the stirrings of a friendship unlike anything she has known. But Maddalena has a secret: she has hatched a dangerous plot to rescue her future her own way. When she invites Luisa into her plans, promising to make her dreams come true, Luisa doesn't hesitate. But every wager has its price, and as the girls are drawn into the decadent world outside the Pietà's walls, they must decide what it is they truly want—and what they will do to pay for it. Lush and heady, swirling with music and magic, Maddalena and the Dark is a Venetian fairytale about the friendship between two girls and the boundless desire that will set them free, if it doesn't consume them first.”

Greasepaint - Hannah Levene (2024) / “Set against a backdrop of 1950s New York, this experimental novel follows an ensemble cast of all-singing, all-dancing butch dykes and Yiddish anarchists through eternal Friday nights, around the table, and at the bar. In one of many bars, Frankie Gold sings while Sammy Silver plays piano after a day job at the anarchist newspaper. The Butch Piano Players Union meets in the corner next to the jukebox. Laur smokes on the back steps, sweaty thigh to thigh with Vic. Frankie's childhood sweetheart, Lily, turns up at yet another bar to see a second Sammy play every Friday night. And before all that, there's always dinner at Marg's. Fabulated out of oral histories, anthologies, as well as the fiction of the butch-femme bar scene and Yiddish anarchist tradition, Greasepaint is a rollicking whirlwind of music and politics- the currents of community embodied and held inside the bar.”

Perfume & Pain - Anna Dorn (2024) / “A controversial Los Angeles author attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Having recently moved both herself and her formidable perfume bottle collection into a tiny bungalow in Los Angeles, mid-list author Astrid Dahl finds herself back in the Zoom writer's group she cofounded, Sapphic Scribes, after an incident that leaves her and her career lightly canceled. But she temporarily forgets all that by throwing herself into a few sexy distractions—like Ivy, a grad student who smells like metallic orchids and is researching 1950s lesbian pulp, or her new neighbor, Penelope, who smells like patchouli. When Astrid receives an unexpected call from her agent with the news that actress and influencer Kat Gold wants to adapt her previous novel for TV, Astrid finally has a chance to resurrect her waning career. But the pressure causes Astrid's worst vice to rear its head—the Patricia Highsmith, a blend of Adderall, alcohol, and cigarettes-and results in blackouts and a disturbing series of events. Unapologetically feminine yet ribald, steamy yet hilarious, Anna Dorn has crafted an exquisite homage to the lesbian pulp of yore, reclaiming it for our internet—and celebrity-obsessed world”

How It Works Out - Myriam Lacroix (2024) / “Surreal, darkly comic and achingly tender, Myriam Lacroix's debut sees a queer love story play out in many alternate realities. What if you had the chance to rewrite the course of your relationship, again and again, in the hopes that it would work out? After Myriam and Allison fall in love at a show in run-down punk house, their relationship starts to unfold through a series of hypotheticals. What if they became mothers by finding a baby in an alley? What if the only cure for Myriam's depression was Allison's flesh? What if they were B-list celebrities, famous for writing a book about building healthy lesbian relationships? How much darker-or sexier-would their dynamic be if one were a power-hungry CEO, and the other her lowly employee? From the fantasies of early romance to the slow encroaching of violence that unravels the fantasy, each reality builds to complete a brilliant, painfully funny portrait of love's many promises and perils. Equal parts sexy and profane, unsentimental, and gut-wrenching, How It Works Out is a formally inventive, arresting, uncanny exploration of queerness, love, and our drive for connection, in any and all possible worlds.”

All the Painted Stars - Emma Denny (@a-kind-of-merry-war) (2024) / “Oxfordshire 1362. When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna's hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest, preparing to fight for Jo's hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily's control, Jo must help her escape. Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo's past caches up with her and Lily's reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that choices must always come at a cost. The question they need to ask is if the cost is worth the price of love…” The cover of the edition coming out in November is SO pretty and lately I’ve been looking for medieval sapphic books like crazy.

Gentlest of Wild Things - Sarah Underwood (2024 - out august 15th) / So this book is by the same author as Lies We Sing to the Sea, and I’m in no rush to read that book (a so-called odyssey retelling even tho the author has admitted to never actually reading the odyssey??) but this one looks compelling. “On the island of Zakynthos, nothing is more powerful than Desire-love itself, bottled and sold to the highest bidder by Leandros, a power-hungry descendent of the god Eros. Eirene and her beloved twin sister, Phoebe, have always managed to escape Desire's thrall. Until Leandros' wife dies mysteriously and he sets his sights on Phoebe. Determined to keep her sister safe, Eirene strikes a bargain with Leandros: if she can complete the four elaborate tasks he sets her, he will find another bride. But it soon becomes clear that the tasks are part of something bigger; something related to Desire and Lamia, the strange, neglected daughter Leandros keeps locked away. Lamia knows her father hides her for her own protection, though as she and Eirene grow closer, she finds herself longing for the outside world. But the price of freedom is high, and with something deadly-something hungry- stalking the night, that price must be paid in blood…” The author said that “Gentlest of Wild Things is a sapphic vampiric twist on the story of Eros and Psyche”

The End Crowns All - Bea Fitzgerald (2024 - out on July 18th) / “Princess. Priestess. The most beautiful girl in Troy. Casandra is used to being adored - and when her patron god, Apollo, offers her the power of prophecy, she sees an opportunity to rise even higher. But when she fails to uphold her end of the agreement, she discovers just how very far she has to fall. No one believes her visions. And they all seem to be of one girl - and the war she's going to bring to Troy's shores. Helen fled Sparta in pursuit of love, but it's soon clear Troy is a court like any other, with all its politics and backstabbing. And one princess seems particularly intent on driving her from the city before disaster can strike... But when war finally comes, it's more than the army at their walls they must contend with. Casandra and Helen might hold the key to reweaving fate itself - especially with the prophetic strands drawing them ever closer together. But how do you change your future when the gods themselves are dictating your demise?” Sapphic retelling of the iliad where Helen and Kassandra end up together

If asked, I’ll also do one with gay books

(No 1950s lesbians because I don’t like pulp fiction :( )

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/745165572710563840/i-love-finding-out-about-queer-history-but-if-i#notes

I'd just like to know why people think that white people could never have had third gender experiences. Like, ever, it's always framed like that. Or why they believe there wasn't a different system. People take any not woman or man enough from poc history saying how great and queer friendly they were, like the eunuchs or ritualistic sacrifices. But anything that shows white cultures with binary breaking people, or trans experiences is still pushed into the "gotta be the white binary" idea, even when it broke the binary or wasn't considered men and women, aka nonbinary, or even had words for trans people. I found out that the Nazis burned a library about trans studies and identities and sexualities, costing us so much of trans history when the Nazis first came to power. Imagine how much we could have know about these things if it all hadn't been burned to ashes. Kinda wonder how much understanding of poc and white gender and sex and sexuality is painted by very recent history, versus everything that happened decades, hundreds, thousands of years ago. People still spread historical lies the Victorians made up for shits and giggles and to shit talk the past. Or idealized version marred by modern ideas and wish fulfilments.

--

Uh...

Which people?

I think you need to hang out with sexology nerds instead of whomever you're hanging out with now. While, yes, the destruction of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft is tragic, we have lots of information still.

I suppose you could argue that balkan sworn virgins are a completely binary role, but there are whole documentaries about them on youtube and shit.

[frances-kafka]

A thing going unpopular means I may actually have access to it without the interest being colonized by snobs, gentrifiers, and gatekeepers.

Like, as a modern sexology nerd I can just read The Kinsey Report in peace without having to deal with the crowds of obnoxious 90s-00s hipsters into the same thing. I'm just interested in this topic intellectually and as a person interested in history and culture, now that the Sexual Revolution and Twentieth Century Culture are historic artifacts. It would be like being interested in 19th century spiritism as a topic at this point now that we are done with the Twentian social order. Sex is part of my general interest in Twentian Studies.

[icelogged]

𓏲࣪ . ᥫ᭡ ˖ ࣪15 questions˖ ࣪ tagged by @pinktrailerprincess thank you meg!

1. are you named after someone? ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎both oleta and p*per [my birth name] were not but ophelia…… has a #namesake because i am a nerd :3 (my birth name isn’t a dead name to me :3)

2. when was the last time you cried? ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎i don’t remember. writing this post. technically i rarely cry if the criteria is tears because of my medication. i know what crying felt like from before so i use the as my definition with or without tears. ㅤㅤ‎ aside: i feel like i give crybaby energy… i’m more of a catatonic-esque numb girlie frozen in the shape that torment’s cruel hands twisted and stretched. clay burnt. an art piece as a weapon.

3. do you have kids? no. i am kids.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i keep the ironic /silly /joke /sarcasm on during sex ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ excluding irl

5. what sports have you played? ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ bit of a barbie when it came to sports. name a sport and i’ve probably done it at least once. ashamed to say i’ve never played ice hockey (only floor) <- flop canadian but i did and still ice skate :3

6. what's the first thing you notice about someone? ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i assume it’s different from person to person… though it’s probably their height (i need to be the tallest the room but that will never happen :c )

7. scary endings or happy endings? happy endings can be scary. i don’t see these as opposites. “sad or happy” endings would make more sense to me. ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i am struggling to pick from the options given as it’s very subjective. who is left happy? who is left scared? i want to say i enjoy a good story regardless of the tone of the ending but given my track record it seems i do i have a preference for story that have scary endings whether there is happiness or not.

8. do you have any special talents? ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i suppose so. no party tricks, i think.

9. where were you born? ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 🇨🇦 and raised.

10. what are your hobbies? ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ various forms of art mostly. i am currently putting the most time into filmmaking and mixed media projects. i also enjoy consuming horror media, baking, exploring, fashion, being outside, dressing up, dolls, writing up fake studies, essays and the like…girlblogging, being annoying [this is not self deprecation], arm chair anthropology, collecting information 👁️ :3 (please inject earth sciences pdfs into my brain especially hydrology and entomology :3)and more! i used to be super interested sexology especially regarding disabled, transgender and black sexuality but it got impossible to blog about [without an army of hole hunters appearing on my doorstep like clockwork everyday]. it would be cool to get back into it… i do use sexology in my work not but it isn’t my focus because of the aforementioned problem. i am literally the chilliest little guy on planet earth i am 100% down to try anything and maybe add it to my hobby list.

11. do you have any pets? not anymore :(

12. how tall are you? not tall enough for this ride :( [about 5’9.5 or 5’10 idk]

13. favourite school subject? ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎i’m one of those annoying people who enjoys every subject. ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i’ve said it before but i’m so bad at separating me from online me so it’s probably not surprising that i think media, religious and gender studies go hard. photography is probably near the top of the list too. english literature is like a special little treat.

14. what's your dream job? ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ something something i do not dream about labour. i get really sad that this can’t be my reality but i’d love to devote myself to my art and studies. omg time to update this post L O L i’m crying my illnesses are not compatible with the average job thus the bane of my existence. so if i could live comfortably cranking out general art daily, my writing that’s something between girlblogging and an essay monthly with films every couple years ugh could you imagine…?

15. what colour are your eyes? ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ㅤㅤ‎i am so vain about them oops. they’re this rich warm bright chocolaty brown despite how olive toned the rest of my family and i are**

as usual i tag everyone / just say i tagged you ! i’m curious about the answers to 1, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14 !! <3 empty version under the cut !

15 questions tagged by @icelogged

1. are you named after someone?

2. when was the last time you cried?

3. do you have kids?

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

5. what sports have you played?

6. what's the first thing you notice about someone?

7. scary endings or happy endings?

8. do you have any special talents?

9. where were you born?

10. what are your hobbies?

11. do you have any pets?

12. how tall are you?

13. favourite school subject?

14. what's your dream job?

15. what colour are your eyes?

[the-wilde-autistic]

What's up with groups like "MAPs"?

I am a nerd for sexology, I love the topic of paraphilias; it's a favorite subject of mine.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

If you want to here is a PDF file of the DSM 5, if you want to read into the paraphilia & paraphilic disorder portion. I haven't read everything, I only read into paraphilia since paraphilias are my special interest.

You'll also see a page discussing autism spectrum disorder plus a myriad of other conditions and such.

⇊

⇃Topic continues below⇂

If you're unaware with this term MAP is meant as an anagram for "minor attracted person", this group is not something I agree with; they do not seem to promote any sort of professional help, counseling, healthy outlets or whatnot. People are pussy's and cannot handle descriptive words.

I completely understand that anything akin to a gay conversation camp will not work whatsoever, sexuality is finite and fixed in a person typically, same fact applies to paraphilia, fetishes and kinks but what I don't understand is why do they not provide people ways to healthily let out these harmful desires towards children?

I am interested in shotacon, lolicon and my favorite is cubs (young furry characters, think the child characters in the film Zootopia) so it would be straight up hypocritical to question their paraphilia, this particular attractions towards the very young and youth I had understood will only ever be a fantasy since I was about 13 years old, I had studied paraphilia somewhat when I was in my young teens since to me at the time it just didn't make any sort of sense as to why I just loved these young and adorable fictional characters, it caused me great confusion to have this paraphilia since at that time I believed that you should only be attracted towards the opposite gender of adult age. My mother wasn't there to guide me, instead she was spying then read through my fantasies then got extremely pissed off because of my paraphilia instead of taking me to a counselor who specializes in people affected by peadophilia.

But besides all of that I ask people why? Why don't you give people useful advice? Why allow people to be "pro contact" or anything like that? I can understand that we all have a specific taste so not every younglings will be of interest, it's not like you'll go after every single in sight sort of speak. Why even try to consider it a "sexual orientation"? In the DSM-5 when it's not disorderly in any sort of way they class peadophilia as a 'sexual interest', it is NOT classed as an orientation, this is in official documents so I feel much more incline to take what is said as educated knowledge here.

For people dealing with their paraphilia I suggest not to go after group's like these, don't go to the internet when about these sorts of things. Yes there are some truly horrendous people out there those are not the type of people I'm speaking for, I am asking the confused souls who have no sort of guidance. I hate it whenever I hear about a child getting abducted, molested or anyting horrible like that, these stories cause great stress; I remember how agitated and upset hearing about how negativity effected my cousins where from these foster homes as well hearing about how much is an abusive piece of shit my cousin's father is.

I hate it when CPS (child protective service) does horrible things towards children, I hate it whenever they do things for money, all fueled by greedy practices, I hate it when people ruin children's childhoods. Anything young is wonderful to me, it's been that way since I figured out exactly what I am attracted towards.

Furry characters I am a huge fan of, of course, movies like Zootopia does make youngling furry fans come about which I find to be an attractive feature; it's attractive whenever I see that a young boy or girl who loves anthropomorphic animals. That aspect of myself I cannot change. I have considered going to the paraphilia equivalent of a gay conversion camp before up until I learned exactly how horrible gay conversion camps really are and how much of a facade they put on for the camera.

I had checked out stories of abuse that they administer towards the gay youths, I am heavily against gay conversion camps after figuring out and learning exactly what they're about.

I understand there's people go to gay conversion camps out of free choice, that's inevitable, but what I do not like is that the push for an anti-gay narrative; anti-gay marriage and shit like that, propagating homosexuality as something horrible. I hate it when people propagate these false narratives.

Don't need be in a straight family to parent a child, homosexual marriages are not unhealthy, and sometimes a gay parent would be much better at parenting than a straight parent would.

Just because the marriage is of a straight couple it doesn't mean they'll be good parents. Though propaganda can be directed the other way around and that I do not like, don't be anti-heterosexual that's completely bullshit.

Everyone has the right to love what they want the love.

I love the straight allies within the LGBT; people like you need to be appreciated hell of a lot better then they do.

[badass-at-fandoming]

ok i read Becketts Jyhad diary but i cant remember the bit u talked abt of him and Vykos fucking???? pls tell me what page to look for at least, its for research purposes i swear

Oh Nonnie, Nonnie, this ask brings me such joy.

I assume you’re referring to this post, where I listed people Beckett has expressed and/or experienced romantic/sexual interest in. Or @dreamofconstantinople‘s ask about kissing and the desk. It’s basically fanon that, after the plot talk, Prospero really did lock those two in the room, and they worked out their emotions on the desk.

Outside of fanon, there hasn’t been an official White Wolf/World of Darkness/Paradox published scene of Sascha and Cuthbert gettin’ it on. And so we remember: one can’t spell subtext without “butt sex.” Vykos/Beckett feels appear in “The Drowning of Rasputin” and “Dreams and Nightmares.” I recently read the Vampire: the Masquerade - Beckett comic, and Sascha expresses a violent fascination with our dear feral nerd. They keep sending Sabbat goons to track Beckett, and it comes off like a weird proxy murder-flirt.

@the-bloody-masquerade posted these delightful screenshots from “The Drowning of Rasputin,” if you want a tease! I also heartily, heartily rec @brightstorm98 to chat about all things Vykos/Beckett. The pairing has the sizzling potential of enemies-to-lovers, redemption, and hurt/comfort, especially if one does a deep dive into Vykos’ character and uses the Road to Sin material.

Good luck with your research, Anonymous! Thank you for the ask: always happy to talk about Beckett sexology.

[ereawrites]

Heyy! Not sure if you're still accepting matchups but I would really love one if you are!

I'm a 5'8 Brazilian bi girl, curvy with green eyes and wavy hair. I'm an anxious extrovert and a huge nerd who often geeks out and ends up taking charge of stuff without meaning to.

I study psych and because I've had panic disorder as a kid my main goal in is to help people who go through that. I also am very very passionate about women's studies and sexology even if talking about it always gets me the weirdest looks lmao.

My friends all call me wine mom and especially with them I am extremely cuddly and caring but it takes me a good while to really trust people. Nowadays I spend most time watching 80's movies, coming up with cake recipes, practicing debate and thinking of ways to adopt more dogs. Also occasionally do theater and I think that's why my face is weirdly expressive. Other known hobbies are enthusiastic bad dancing at least once a day and overdressing for literally every thing.

honey u are so so so perfect for JASON!

latinx power couple holy SHIT! the root of ur compatibility is definitely ur desire to help other people and to improve the world, ur both passionate about the things u care about and that’s so important to him. he’s gonna make u debate with him all the time tho bc he finds it interesting AND hot. also he’s gonna looove how versatile u are, how well rounded, he’s so jealous and so in love

[drnightstone]

Amethyst, emerald, and coconut?

Amethyst - Do you collect anything? When I was little, I used to collect quarters. For those who don’t know, in the states, few quarters (25 cents) tend to depict specific states so I would have a kit where one would collect two of each state between specific years. Nowadays, I am very much that person who buys books and goes “I will read that one day” and here we are, 5 years later, adding more books to the unread book pile. Emerald: If you had the option, would you choose to move and live in another country? Which one? Good choice, my birthstone. The answer is I would and I already did. I am originally from California, but now happily living in Germany. If I had to pick another country outside of Germany, I have always had a wanderlust for the lands of Scandinavia. Coconut: A subject you enjoy learning about. Cultural Anthropology, Comparative Religion, and Sex Psycho-Sociology. Three of my most favourite classes I ever took in uni. Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Religion helped me not only understand the world and people around us, as to why they do what they do and why they think what they think, it also immensely aided me in grasping the deep metaphysical lore of the Elder Scrolls and Glorantha (More homework for you, Fyre. Get into the world which birthed TES, Glorantha.) Also, I am a major mythology nerd. Sexology was something important to not only learn but also teach those in my class, professor included. No subject is more multilayered, grey, and complex than sexuality itself. Sadly the sex education is extremely poor in the states, so I made it my goal to have it under my arsenal to aid those with questions to the best of my abilities.

[myqueeryear]

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this, although obviously I finished it after the first print run came out.

Bad Gays is an excellent podcast, so I was really excited when I managed to grab this. For those who are not familiar, Bad Gays focuses on “evil and complicated” queer people from history. The podcast is structured as a conversation between the hosts, where they do a biographical sketch of the person’s life and discuss what larger issues, particularly related to queerness and different understandings of sexuality, we can draw from it. My somewhat dry description might be selling it short — this is really one of my favorite history podcasts and I’m always excited when there’s a new season.

The book is structured around the different ways we have understood same-sex sexuality, from a behavior to an identity, from Hadrian to the present. It’s about half material that was covered on the show and half new chapters. The new chapters are all very interesting and fairly strong — they include a chapter on Weimar Berlin that had some really interesting stuff about sexology research, Margaret Meade, and Yukio Mishima (at last). But unfortunately, I came away feeling like ultimately something was lost in the format transition. One of the things I really appreciate about the podcast is that the hosts are extremely fair, giving condemnation and sympathy when each are due and leaving a lot of room for nuance and humanity without sacrificing final judgement. The conversation format allows them to disagree and talk issues out, and they often end by discussing whether their subject is in fact bad or just complicated. The history of sexuality format gave the book structure but also constrained where the individual chapters could go, and I found some of the material actually less nuanced and considerate than the podcast episodes. It’s also published by Verso, so you know, be prepared for some leftist materialist historical analysis.

I was actually lucky enough to see one of the authors on the US leg of the book tour, and he mentioned that despite the podcast having a million downloads (and now a book), they are frequently told by media companies that young queer people simply aren’t interested in queer history. Personally I did already know a lot of the history of sexuality stuff that was included in this book, so I didn’t find that format particularly interesting, but I think for those who are not super-nerds who have been reading about this stuff for over a decade but are curious and want to learn, it could be a great entry. I would likewise recommend it to people who enjoy the podcast and want to read some new and interesting material from the authors. But the podcast is still, in my opinion, a stronger and more interesting project.

[meet-to-chat]

Hospitable Local-Max

Tumbler: @local-max

Date: June 7, 2018

Age: 17

Country: USA

Languages comfortable chatting in?: English

Chat Duration: Preferably long term, but I’m good with whatever! 

Fandoms/general interest/hobbies: I’m pretty casually into a load of different fandoms, right now I really like voltron and marvel. I’m a theater technician/love theater a lot. I play drums. I’m a huge science nerd (specifically physics, psychology, and sexology). I recently got really into dungeons and dragons.

The intent of wanting to talk?: I wanna make some more friends/have more people to regularly talk to.

Fun fact about yourself: I’m very queer lol. I ID as nonbinary and pansexual

Preferred traits of who you want to talk to: Someone accepting and nerdy 

Things you want to or enjoy talking about: I’m honestly good to talk about whatever, for me it more has to do with whomever I’m talking to.

{Admin note: Confirmed}

{Admin note: I edited this post based on a process explained in a post found here.}

[feralrodent]

Get to know moi

ya girl was tagged in another one of these so bc I got nothin better to do why not! Thank u @mulletsanddishtowels for tagging me i love u💕💕💕

Fill this out:

What’s my name/nickname?

My name is Jess (Jessica is my ‘real’ name). My nicknames are “jess, jay, Jessie, shithead, dad, mom, daddy”

What’s my birth year?

2002

Where do I live?

New York

What’s my style?

My style tends to be a mix of femme and masc. I never define myself by what’s the norm, I go for what’s in fashion for men and women, which is why I don’t tend to really fit in with the other people in school as edgy as it sounds. But it’s true, there’s only a few kids who actually dress like a true NYC street kid. If I had to categorize it, you could say it’s, “80’s-90’s coffee lover living in New York.”

What’s my personality like?

My personality can be interpreted in many ways. I try and come off as a nice person as best as I can, however, I tend to be more of a “I will cut you” kinda person. I’ve been told I tend to be intimidating to look at or even approach, but as soon as you talk to me I can be warm and inviting. I could also be very cold and shut off and won’t hesitate to clap back in a second for what’s right.

3 Favorite fictional character(s)?

I’ve never given much though into my “favourites” actually which may sound odd. But the people I can see myself most in would be Ferris Bueller from Ferris Buellers Day Off, Elio from CMBYN and Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. I say this because they all resemble something different about myself and what I’ve experienced. It’s hard to explain, but Long story short, Luna to me represents the odd and weird that I love to explore and have in myself. Elio is the confused and unsure teenager that I am and continue to explore my sexuality. And Ferris because well, he’s just an overall cool as hell. I also really relate to Steve Harrington because believe it or not, but I was an asshole at one point in time but eventually became soft and the true Hufflepuff I am and now I’m the cool mom™

3 Favorite movie(s)?

My three favorite movies hands down would be Clueless, Heathers, Sixteen Candles. Literally any 80’s movie is so good and I’ve probably watched it more than once. Especially Ferris Bueller.

3 Favorite tv-shows

When I was growing up, I would watch a lot of Hey Arnold so I would definitely say that’s one of my tops. Stranger Things is a no brainer, and I absolutely love RuPauls Drag Race. Im so excited for the next season cause we know who all the queens are.

One thing you should know about me.

I’m a Star Trek nerd and I love to study different time periods. I know a lot about the 60’s and I find myself always falling down the rabbit hole of studying serial killers. I actually run a club in my school dedicated to studying the psychology of killers and what not.

One thing I hold dear.

When my mother passed, there was a picture of her that I keep in my wallet at all times. I even have a necklace that my dad gave to her when they first started going out with her name on it as well. I love them a lot.

One thing I really love.

I really like having good and in-depth conversations. It could be about nothing or something serious. I love music at night and staying up late as well as sleeping in. Okay this is more than one thing but I also really like the sunset. But yes, in depth conversation is really great.

One thing I really dislike.

Disappointing myself and others. When I’m told that I’m just not doing my best or that I’m a failure it really hurts. Because you dedicate all your time to doing something perfect and in the end it doesn’t even satasfiy the other person. And I just hate being told that I didn’t try because obviously I did try, like you don’t know man.

Do I have any pet-peeves?

People interrupting me while I’m speaking. OR OOOH WHEN IM RANTING AND THEY MAKING IT ABOUT THEMSELVES LIKE IT GETS ME SO HEATED.

What is my goal in life?

My goal is to become happy with myself, maybe even find someone that loves me, go to college and study law and psych and become a psychoanalyst for the FBI. That or maybe study sexology. I also wanna own a nice place where I can have as much Hibiscus tea as I want.

What is my passion?

I love writing, absolutely love it. It grounds me and makes me feel centered.

What is my biggest fear(s)?

Being forgotten, being a disappointment to everyone around me, being unloved.

What did I want to be when I was little?

When I was little, I wanted to be an actress. I remember when I was little, me and my friend at the time played prince and princess. I had a bunk bed in my room so we pretended that it was the castle and I, the prince, would go and save here with a kiss. And it’s funny because I actually did kiss her (welcome to the world of bisexuality Jess)

What do I want to be now?

Well now, I’m still deciding what I wanna do. I definitely wanna study psychology and law but I just don’t know what to do from there on out. I think I just wanna focus on the now and worry about the future later yk?

Tags: @importantdecision @selenedarkbloom

[frances-kafka]

I feel like I’m becoming a sexology autist only now, like, 20 years too late for it, I should have been a sex nerd in the 90s instead of finding sex nerds extremely annoying

[drew616]

Taggy Bio Thing

Tagged by: @imalovellmachine

Name: Drew

Nickname(s): Also have gone by Andrew. Call me Andy and die.

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Height: 5′7″

Sexual Orientation: Gay

Ethnicity: White

Favorite fruit: Strawberries

Favorite season: Summer, though this was the first year I felt “excited” for Fall

Favorite book series: Don’t have one (if I read, it’s probably for school/non-fiction)

Favorite fictional character: Batman

Favorite flower: Carnations

Favorite scent: Guy scent

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite animal: Birds

Favorite band: Scissor Sisters

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa? : Coffee

Number of blankets: 1

Dream trip: I want to got to Berlin and explore the everything gay and sexual that the city has to offer. Visit the Institut fur Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexology, or Science of Sex) and learn more about the history of gay Berlin and Germany before the Nazi take over. I also would want to connect with the local kink scenes and learn more about how Germans feel about sex and sexuality, and kink (and maybe participate in some practical experiences).

Last thing I googled: Cat adoptions

Number of blogs I follow: 4719

Number of followers: 1941

What I mainly post about: Dorky/nerd stuff, cute animals, gay shit, and lots of attractive men in varying levels of undress.

I tag: @mr-gay-aka-johnny-boy @riverotter87 @serviceisgolden @jaykelmike @uppitylittlehomo

[obiternihili]

Two Problems:

Hi I am Good Friend and my interests include: directionlessness

versus

Hi I am Nerd Man Johnson and my interests include: historical linguistics, comparative grammar, psychology, political science, astronomy, astrophysics, botany, evolutionary biology, musicology, ethnomusicology, sound engineering, number theory, divination, knot theory, quantum field theory, string theory, quantum thermodynamics, os programming, normal programming, web and graphic design, calligraphy, chinese calligraphy, arabic calligraphy, comparative religion, eschatology, soiterology, textual criticism, theology, cosmogony, cosmology, egyptology, comparative magic/alchemy/etc as a folklore thing, conlanging, romhacking, videogames, speedrunning, glitch hunting, folklore, feminism, queer theory, sexology, macroeconomics, and probably some things im forgetting

e: i forgot philosophy of science, epistemology, aesthetics (actual goddamn aesthetics), and basically just philosophy in general.

[stdforummeetpositives]

25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts

25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts

This month we’re putting together a master list of the 25 best online resources for sexual health. We’ll highlight people, initiatives and websites that offer some of the best information and personal experience in living with STDs and HIV. Some of these things we have written about before and others are a new highlight. Let’s start by looking at 5 excellent resources for people currently looking for a podcast about sex, sexuality or sexual health.

  Sex with Timaree

Dr. Timaree Schmit has a Ph.D in Human Sexuality Education from Widener University. Currently she works as an adjunct professor, lecturer, writer and consultant. She is also the host of Sex with Timaree, a popular podcast exploring the vast range of topics related to sexuality and sexual health. This podcast brings in weekly guests whose backgrounds touch on the most immediate topic being discussed. The information presented comes from experts in the field of sexology and from personal experiences of those guests.

As the founding Chair of HSEDSO, the Human Sexuality Education Student Organization, and founding Laureate Counselor of Gamma Eta Rho, the first national honor society for students of Human Sexuality, Timaree has worked diligently to promote factual, comprehensive sexuality education and to enable other emerging professionals in the field of sexuality to bring useful, helpful and supportive information to the curious world at large.

  The Manwhore Podcast

Billy Procida is a New York-based stand-up comedian and the host of The Manwhore Podcast. By combining his entertaining comedic style with the factual information of his guests, Procida has created one of the more unique sexual podcasts around. Additionally, Procida is a published author with several articles exploring the very same topics his podcast delves into.

The Manwhore Podcast features a wide range of guests each week including sex educators, porn stars, sex workers, LGBTQ performers and other stand-up comedians. Each hour long episode includes extensive conversation about varying topics related to sex, sexuality and sexual health. With a lighter tone than several other podcasts out there, The Manwhore Podcast presents a fun alternative to the more text-book style options out there.

  Kinsey Confidential

Kinsey Confidential is a well know informational resource for both men and women. They focus exclusively on sexual health and sexuality. Their website outlines their mission as follows: “The mission of Kinsey Confidential is to disseminate accurate, research-based information geared towards students. We aim to provide accessible, topical information based on current scientific knowledge, and to share news and trends related to sex, gender and sexual health.”

They further explain that do not take a particular point-of-view on any sexual choices. They fully aim to present sexual health information without bias. All of their information is medically accurate and current. What makes this site unique, and therefore a valuable resource for men’s sexual health, is its ongoing podcasts. Kinsey Confidential has numerous podcasts that explore the answers to common sexual health questions.

  Sex Nerd Sandra

Sandra Daugherty, otherwise known as Sex Nerd Sandra, is a well known sex educator and podcast host. Currently, she boasts over 14 million downloads on iTunes. She began her work in sex education in 2009 by putting together sex-positive workshops and has continued to teach ever since. In 2011, her podcast Sex Nerd Sandra launched under Nerdist Industries and has continued to offer quality insight and information on sex positivity every week since.

Daugherty presents a variety of topics and includes qualified sex educators as guests on a regular basis. She is based in Los Angeles but sometimes her podcasts are live shows from other parts of the world. This podcast offers all of the information you could need when it comes to topics such as sex education, consent, harassment and safe sex. Her podcast streams for free on Nerdist.

Savage Lovecast

Savage Lovecast is one of the most popular and thought-provoking podcasts on the topic of sex, sexuality and sexual health. Hosted by Dan Savage, a sex-advice columnist, podcaster, pundit and public speaker, the podcast offers what it calls “graphic, pragmatic and humorous advice.” This weekly call-in podcast was originally launched in 2006 and has since gone onto wide acclaim.

Dan Savage has published several books including American Savage and It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living. He is a New York Times best seller and the It Gets Better Project, inspired by his book, has garnered many awards including an Emmy.

Savage has been a regular contributor to public radio and has been a guest on The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher and many others. His experience and expertise is evident in every episode of the Savage Lovecast and should be considered one of the most valuable resources for sexual health and education. If you are concerned that you may have been exposed to and STD or HIV you should seek medical care right away. STD testing is available to help detect an infection. The earlier an infection is detected the easier it is to treat, and in some cases cure. Untreated infections can lead to more serious, long term health issues.

The post 25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts appeared first on Unzipped Blog.

[hepatitismeetpositives]

25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts

25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts

This month we’re putting together a master list of the 25 best online resources for sexual health. We’ll highlight people, initiatives and websites that offer some of the best information and personal experience in living with STDs and HIV. Some of these things we have written about before and others are a new highlight. Let’s start by looking at 5 excellent resources for people currently looking for a podcast about sex, sexuality or sexual health.

  Sex with Timaree

Dr. Timaree Schmit has a Ph.D in Human Sexuality Education from Widener University. Currently she works as an adjunct professor, lecturer, writer and consultant. She is also the host of Sex with Timaree, a popular podcast exploring the vast range of topics related to sexuality and sexual health. This podcast brings in weekly guests whose backgrounds touch on the most immediate topic being discussed. The information presented comes from experts in the field of sexology and from personal experiences of those guests.

As the founding Chair of HSEDSO, the Human Sexuality Education Student Organization, and founding Laureate Counselor of Gamma Eta Rho, the first national honor society for students of Human Sexuality, Timaree has worked diligently to promote factual, comprehensive sexuality education and to enable other emerging professionals in the field of sexuality to bring useful, helpful and supportive information to the curious world at large.

  The Manwhore Podcast

Billy Procida is a New York-based stand-up comedian and the host of The Manwhore Podcast. By combining his entertaining comedic style with the factual information of his guests, Procida has created one of the more unique sexual podcasts around. Additionally, Procida is a published author with several articles exploring the very same topics his podcast delves into.

The Manwhore Podcast features a wide range of guests each week including sex educators, porn stars, sex workers, LGBTQ performers and other stand-up comedians. Each hour long episode includes extensive conversation about varying topics related to sex, sexuality and sexual health. With a lighter tone than several other podcasts out there, The Manwhore Podcast presents a fun alternative to the more text-book style options out there.

  Kinsey Confidential

Kinsey Confidential is a well know informational resource for both men and women. They focus exclusively on sexual health and sexuality. Their website outlines their mission as follows: “The mission of Kinsey Confidential is to disseminate accurate, research-based information geared towards students. We aim to provide accessible, topical information based on current scientific knowledge, and to share news and trends related to sex, gender and sexual health.”

They further explain that do not take a particular point-of-view on any sexual choices. They fully aim to present sexual health information without bias. All of their information is medically accurate and current. What makes this site unique, and therefore a valuable resource for men’s sexual health, is its ongoing podcasts. Kinsey Confidential has numerous podcasts that explore the answers to common sexual health questions.

  Sex Nerd Sandra

Sandra Daugherty, otherwise known as Sex Nerd Sandra, is a well known sex educator and podcast host. Currently, she boasts over 14 million downloads on iTunes. She began her work in sex education in 2009 by putting together sex-positive workshops and has continued to teach ever since. In 2011, her podcast Sex Nerd Sandra launched under Nerdist Industries and has continued to offer quality insight and information on sex positivity every week since.

Daugherty presents a variety of topics and includes qualified sex educators as guests on a regular basis. She is based in Los Angeles but sometimes her podcasts are live shows from other parts of the world. This podcast offers all of the information you could need when it comes to topics such as sex education, consent, harassment and safe sex. Her podcast streams for free on Nerdist.

Savage Lovecast

Savage Lovecast is one of the most popular and thought-provoking podcasts on the topic of sex, sexuality and sexual health. Hosted by Dan Savage, a sex-advice columnist, podcaster, pundit and public speaker, the podcast offers what it calls “graphic, pragmatic and humorous advice.” This weekly call-in podcast was originally launched in 2006 and has since gone onto wide acclaim.

Dan Savage has published several books including American Savage and It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living. He is a New York Times best seller and the It Gets Better Project, inspired by his book, has garnered many awards including an Emmy.

Savage has been a regular contributor to public radio and has been a guest on The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher and many others. His experience and expertise is evident in every episode of the Savage Lovecast and should be considered one of the most valuable resources for sexual health and education. If you are concerned that you may have been exposed to and STD or HIV you should seek medical care right away. STD testing is available to help detect an infection. The earlier an infection is detected the easier it is to treat, and in some cases cure. Untreated infections can lead to more serious, long term health issues.

The post 25 Best Online Resources for Sexual Health: Podcasts appeared first on Unzipped Blog.