The Girls Next Door

By Lindsy Van Gelder

Book Overview

Lesbian women, with voices often less heard, are given a platform in this witty and insightful landmark book from journalists Lindsy Van Gelder and Pamela Robin Brandt.

Long misperceived as a separatist coven, a default option, or a sort of ladies' auxiliary to the gay men's movement, lesbian life has achieved a new visibility in the past few years. But for all the interest in who's out and who's not (yet), there's been surprisingly little understanding of the diversity and richness of lesbian experience.

This funny, lively, and perceptive book will change all that. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with women around the country, and on their own keen wits and eyes, Van Gelder and Brandt have composed an unprecedented portrait of how gay women today--lipsticked and flannel-shirted alike--think, feel, love, and live. Three major "tribal" events--the long-running Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, "Dinah" (the annual Dinah Shore Golf Tournament and party circuit, a mecca for upwardly mobile luppies), and a cross-country trek with the activist Lesbian Avengers en route to the 1994 Stonewall commemoration--provide points of entry into an exploration of lesbian identity, social dynamics, and politics that's as entertaining as it is revealing. The result is a kaleidoscopic portrait that will resonate with lesbians themselves and reveal to their "neighbors" a world of unsuspected vibrancy and depth.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684839571
• ISBN13: 9780684839578
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book that is easy and fun to read.

This book is an excellent resource for the burning question "how do i meet people like me?" It is an excellent look at the lesbian/gay lifestyle in the US today, while being both very entertaining and educational. Many of the stories and places mentioned seem to center around the Southern California area, with specific club names and local contributors. I loved this book and all of the stories that these two intelligent women had the courage and humor to tell. I would recommend this book to anyone hoping to learn more about themselves or loved ones.

Enlightening and entertaining

This is a clever, informative book that attempts to explore the lesbian experience in the US without taking itself too seriously. The authors' breezy, almost conversational tone makes this a fun and educational read. Far from being elitist, the authors have attempted (and succeeded, IMO) to portray to vast diversity within our culture, from the Birkenstock-clad Michigan womyn to the lipstick crowd at Dinah, and everything in between. They sometimes poke gentle fun at some of the absurdities of lesbian society, without being critical or judgmental. I highly recommend this book for anyone, gay or straight, who wants to learn something about lesbian life and culture.

Funny yet thought-provoking

Most people associate non-fiction with "dry and boring." This book is not dry or boring in any way. There are parts that had me laughing so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and the Lesbian Avengers. Funny and insightful stuff. It isn't intended to be purely comedic and there are some serious parts. (It isn't fluff writing). The authors just have a witty writing style and they aren't afraid to poke fun at dyke culture. They interviewed over 100 women in preparation for this book (sex shop owners, ex-nuns, political activists, closeted teachers, sex workers, divorced lesbians, long-term couples, etc).

Highly educational, comedic review of lesbian existance

When I started reading this book, I could hardly set it down but for a moment. This book tells of a realistic lesbian existance in this world, much to many people's dismay. It is a multi-faceted approach that deals with a community of women--their lives, interests, and pasttimes. It is also a good book for resources of various sorts: musical, social, environmental, political, etc.

A great insightful and revealing work

Who should read this book? The answer is: everyone should read it, both straight and gay, if for nothing else than to see how their labels and misconceptions stack up against the real thing. The "real thing" that the authors deliver comes from more than a hundred interviews with women around the country. They also take the reader to three lesbian events; the Michigan Womyns' Music Festival, the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament's party events, and a jaunt with the activist group Lesbian Avengers. All adventures and descriptions bring the reader closer (and farther away) from understanding women-loving-women in America, and the authors' style is intensely serious and at the same time, irreverent, funny and witty. The reader gets wonderful insights like, "Straights and gay men often just do what feels good. Lesbians analyze it, challenge it, justify it, wring it out and hang it up to dry on the village green." In a society that fears the unknown and is seeking desperately to preserve the traditional family, this book will help put faces and names on those not-so-terrible girls next door