Tomboys and Bachelor Girls : A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain 1945-71

Author: Jennings, Rebecca

Humanities

Published on 1 August 2013 by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Paperback / softback | 220 pages, 1, black & white illustrations
138 x 217 x 14 | 298g

Using a rich array of oral histories and archival sources, Tomboys and bachelor girls provides the first detailed academic study of lesbian identity and culture in post-war Britain. Described by psychiatrists as immature and neurotic, and widely ignored as taboo by mainstream society, lesbians nevertheless recognised and accepted their same-sex desire and sought out women like themselves. Challenging the conventional picture of the post-war decades as years of austerity and conservative femininity, this book traces the emergence of a vibrant lesbian social scene in Britain, centred on the metropolitan nightclubs of post-war London, but also developing across the country, through lesbian magazines and social organisations. This fascinating book brings to life the rich history of post-war lesbian culture for the scholarly and general reader alike. -- .