This groundbreaking critical anthology gathers together a wide range of primary source material on lesbian lives in the past. The material here is drawn from a diverse range of sources, including court records, newspaper reports, literary sources, writings on lesbianism from psychologists, doctors, anthropologists, as well as personal letters and journals.

The sources are arranged into thematic chapters, covering topics such as archetypes of lesbians - cross-dressing women and romantic friends, the making of lesbianism in culture, professional discourse on lesbians, public perceptions of lesbianism and women's own experiences.

This book will be a milestone in the publishing of lesbian history, and is set to provoke the impetus for fresh research.

Tracking the changing representation of female gender-crossing in the press, this text breaks new ground to reveal findings where both desire between women and cross-gender identification are understood.

Her Husband was a Woman! exposes real-life case studies from the British tabloids of women who successfully passed as men in everyday life, perhaps marrying other women or fighting for their country. Oram revises assumptions about the history of modern gender and sexual identities, especially lesbianism and transsexuality.

This book provides a fascinating resource for researchers and students, grounding the concepts of gender performativity, lesbian and queer identities in a broadly-based survey of the historical evidence.

Tracking the changing representation of female gender-crossing in the press, this text breaks new ground to reveal findings where both desire between women and cross-gender identification are understood.

Her Husband was a Woman! exposes real-life case studies from the British tabloids of women who successfully passed as men in everyday life, perhaps marrying other women or fighting for their country. Oram revises assumptions about the history of modern gender and sexual identities, especially lesbianism and transsexuality.

This book provides a fascinating resource for researchers and students, grounding the concepts of gender performativity, lesbian and queer identities in a broadly-based survey of the historical evidence.

Contents:
Introduction 1. Cross-Dressing Women 2. Romantic Friends and Lesbian Couples 3. Medicine 4. Education 5. Law 6. The Well of Loneliness 7. Social Perceptions 8. Identities and Networks Bibliography

Where exactly is queer England? There has been much discussion of London as a queer city, but what about the many thousands of queer lives lived elsewhere? From Manchester's bars and nightclubs, to Brighton's seafront, the attractions of Leeds to the dockside delights of Plymouth, in Queer Beyond London two leading LGBTQ historians will take you on a journey through four cities with rich and diverse queer histories. They show how geography, size, economy, city government and local history and culture shaped LGBTQ life in these places, each city forging a vibrant queer culture of its own. Using the pioneering community histories that have been produced in each of these cities, and including the voices of queer people who have made their lives there, the book tells local stories to change our national history. -- .

Ranging from the mid-19th century to the present, and from Edinburgh to Plymouth, this powerful collection explores the significance of locality in queer space and experiences in modern British history. The chapters cover a broad range of themes from migration, movement and multiculturalism; the distinctive queer social and political scenes of different cities; and the ways in which places have been reimagined through locally led community history projects. The book challenges traditional LGBTQ histories which have tended to conceive of queer experience in the UK as a comprising a homogeneous, national narrative. Edited by leading historians, the book foregrounds the voices of LGBTQ-identified people by looking at a range of letters, diaries, TV interviews and oral testimonies. It provides a unique and fascinating account of queer experiences in Britain and how they have been shaped through different localities.

Ranging from the mid-19th century to the present, and from Edinburgh to Plymouth, this powerful collection explores the significance of locality in queer space and experiences in modern British history. The chapters cover a broad range of themes from migration, movement and multiculturalism; the distinctive queer social and political scenes of different cities; and the ways in which places have been reimagined through locally led community history projects. The book challenges traditional LGBTQ histories which have tended to conceive of queer experience in the UK as a comprising a homogeneous, national narrative. Edited by leading historians, the book foregrounds the voices of LGBTQ-identified people by looking at a range of letters, diaries, TV interviews and oral testimonies. It provides a unique and fascinating account of queer experiences in Britain and how they have been shaped through different localities.