Title: The lesbian menace : ideology, identity, and the representation of lesbian life /
Authors: Inness, Sherrie A.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press,
Year: 1997
Subjects: American literature History and criticism; Lesbians in literature; Lesbians United States Identity; Popular culture United States; Gays in popular culture.; Literature and society United States History
Abstract: Electroshock. Hysterectomy. Lobotomy. These are only three of the many "cures" to which lesbians have been subjected in this century. How does a society develop such a profound aversion to a particular minority? In what ways do images in the popular media perpetuate cultural stereotypes about lesbians, and to what extent have lesbians been able to subvert and revise those images? This book addresses these and other questions by examining how lesbianism has been represented in American popular culture in the twentieth century and how conflicting ideologies have shaped lesbian experiences and identity.