Published in 1991, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers recounts the romantic relationships of lesbians of all ages, over the course of six decades. Faderman achieves a narrative of profundity and fundamental humanity within a culture that is often viewed as perverse by heteronormative society. Based in the facts of her own life, Faderman’s story shows the tender, personal side of the evolution of lesbian identity in the United States. She succeeds in documenting the paradox of tolerance and intolerance that lesbians faced throughout an era of immense social change.
Faderman’s groundbreaking non-fiction book explores personal narratives of lesbians from 1900 through the 1960s. The real genius of her work within this book is that she tells an often overlooked history via stories of real women who shape the image of subcultures and lifestyles without allowing the ever present heteronormative culture to define them from the outside. By retelling personal stories that she obtains from oral histories, journals, medical literature, and unpublished manuscripts, she recounts a history that would otherwise be interred with its early twentieth century Sapphic lovers.
Winning the Stonewall Book Award for non-fiction in 1992, and being selected as the Editor’s Choice at the 4th annual Lambda Literary Awards demonstrates how remarkable this book is among the LGBT and feminist community. In 2011, it was listed as one of the top 100 feminist non-fiction books by Ms. magazine. Recounting hidden female records that were unknown to many people and ensuring that lesbians of the early 20th century would not be scrubbed from history enforces the lasting worth and importance of Faderman’s work.
Work that is historically accurate and conscientious is vitally important in safeguarding minority relationship narratives. Through her work, Faderman protects the history of lesbian relationships from the exploitive and objectifying nature of the heteronormative male gaze that occurs within modern-day media portrayals. Faderman did not limit her choice of stories to only “hot lesbians”; she unabashedly recounts stories that are from lesbians of all backgrounds, regardless of physical appearance.
This book is educational and moving. It opens up the reader to reflect upon stereotypes and misconceptions about romantic female friendships and lesbian relationships. Her writing style is easy to read and follow, but also is scholarly and exact. The stories she writes about are tender, moving, and poignant tales which form a consummate picture of the evolution of lesbian relationships in America.
Lillian Faderman was professor emerita of English at California State University, Fresno, and retired in 2007. She is the author of the award-winning Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love between Women from the Renaissance to the Present. Her new book The Gay Revolution was published on Sept. 7, 2015.
