Dyke Life: From Growing Up to Growing Old, a Celebration of the Lesbian Experience

Jay asserts in her introduction to this wide-ranging, distinctive anthology that ""very real differences"" exist between lesbians and nonlesbians. To that end, the 57 selections--nearly all of them written for this volume--emphasize the special concerns and dynamics of lesbian couples, families, rituals and life rhythms, the ways they do not simply duplicate heterosexual lives. Essays deal with coming out as a rite of passage; problems that lesbians face as primary caretakers of elderly parents, children, friends with AIDS and ailing lovers; challenges in the corporate workplace and blue-collar trades; legal, medical and social complications of raising children. There are practical discussions of relationship contracts; seeking legal protections against discrimination; the added burden of growing up lesbian in a homophobic society; ""safer sex"" practices; and health problems such as alcoholism and breast cancer, which seem to affect lesbians disproportionately. Contributors include anthropologist Kath Weston, syndicated columnist Victoria Brownworth, novelists Terri de la Pena and Jane Futcher, activist Del Martin, family court judge Paula Hepner, incest expert Sandra Butler. Jay, Pace University professor of English and director of women's studies, co-edited Out of the Closets. (Nov.)