Analyzing Book Reviews of Lesbian Romance Novels in the 1990s
By Sanoe Rapozo (2024)
How did the citizens of the United States of America react to new works of lesbian romance fiction published and marketed in the 1990s; praise or backlash? Aftershocks by Jess Wells (1992), Entwined by Beatrice Stone (1995), and Speaking in Whispers by Kathleen E. Morris (1996) were popular lesbian romance novels published and marketed by Third Side Press in the 1990s due to their unique, romantic, and homosexual plots. Through the use of book reviews of these 3 novels, I will be able to gain insight on how these works of lesbian romance fiction were being criticized in the 1990s. Each book will be accompanied by two book reviews, each from different geographical areas of the United States and most of which were published by gay newspapers to gain LGBTQ+ perspective. Through these book reviews from different sources, I argue that the 1990s in the United States of America was a positive developmental time for lesbian works of romance fiction.
Third Side Press was a publishing company that promoted women’s health and lesbian fiction books. The company started in 1991 but was dissolved in 2003, about 5 years after ceasing active publication [1]. The 3 books I will be analyzing were published by this company, which is the main reason why I chose these novels in particular. The book reviews I chose to accompany these books were chosen based on the geographical region it was published. I wanted to get an LGBTQ+ perspective while also trying to gain as much perspective from different geographical regions of the United States as well.
Aftershocks by Jess Wells was a book published in 1992 about a lesbian couple rebuilding their life after a major earthquake damaged their home. An article titled “Effects of the Book still linger,” written by Caitlin Sullivan and published by Seattle Gay News Weekly in 1993 highlights that Aftershocks really understood the lesbian community and the struggles that many lesbian relationships must endure. Moreover, she explained how a great book is a book that a reader thinks about much later, which is what Aftershocks did for her [2]. Another article written by Noreen Barnes and published by Bay Area Reporter in 1992 titled “Surviving the Tremors,” also explains how Jess Wells captured the different varieties of lesbian relationships and that the novel was very relatable to the readers. The Bay Area Reporter was a newspaper company that serves the LGBTQ+ community of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Seattle Gay News is an LGBTQ+ newspaper that serves the Washington and Pacific Northwest and it’s considered “one of the largest Gay/Lesbian/LGBTQ newspaper in the world” [3].
Entwined by Beatrice Stone was a book published in 1995 based on true stories of multiple lesbians and their journey to love, historically set in the early twentieth century. An article written by N. Ward in 1997 titled “Two women, different alike,” gives a brief description of the book and promotes it by explaining how it portrays women’s struggle for independence during the early twentieth century. The publisher of this article is unknown. Another article published in 1996 and written by Judith Branzburg titled “The Spirit is Willing,” gives valuable insight on the cons of general lesbian literature during this time. They explain how most lesbians the author knew would call lesbian romance novels simple, underdeveloped, and predictable. However, the author goes on to say how most mainstream novels have these qualities as well and that it’s a privilege to read lesbian writing because the authors are sharing their stories. Entwined was an engaging yet frustrating read in the way most works of exemplary literature is [4]. Although the publisher of “Two women, different and alike” is unknown, “The Spirit is Willing” was published by The Lesbian Review of Books. There is not much information on this publisher other than it was stationed in Altadena, California [5].
Lastly, Speaking in Whispers by Kathleen E. Morris was published in 1996 and was very popular for being a revolutionary African American lesbian erotica. An article published by The Lambda Book Report in 1997 and written by Karen Shoffner describes how the erotica novel was wildly representative and included a variety of settings for African American lesbians. “Is an indescribable pleasure to see ‘us’ presented in such a light, and that moves me in a way I hadn’t expected.” [6] The author began the article with her doubts regarding the author from the depictions she gained through observing her biography at the end of the book. However, as she dove deeper she realized the author is straightforward and writes “honest, get-to-the-point erotica that featured black women.” [7] She goes on to clarify how these are beneficial elements since she’s listening to her readers. Moreover, another article that mentions Speaking in Whispers was published by the Plain Dealer in 1998. It was written by Steve Dollar and Sonia Murra, titled “Black Arts Festival in Atlanta is Thriving.” Rather than analyzing another book review, this source actually mentions how Speaking in Whispers was revolutionary for black literature since the author was invited to speak at the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. This source explained how the festival was so popular that they ran out of space and reached the maximum capacity of tickets meant to be sold. Kathleen E. Morris was put on panel with other million plus book selling authors. The Lambda Literary Review is a newspaper (now a website) that reviews queer books and the place of publication was identified to be Washington D.C. Additionally, Plain Dealer (the publisher of “Black Arts Festival in Atlanta is Thriving”) is established in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest newspaper company in Ohio and the only newspaper company listed in this paper that doesn’t specialize in lesbian/gay/LGBTQ+ publications [8].
What do all of these book reviews have in common? They all involve one or more characteristics that these books brought to the lesbian community. The Aftershocks book reviews highlighted how the book brought variety, perspective on lesbian struggles, and many of the readers felt that the author really understood the lesbian community. The Entwined book reviews portrayed women’s struggle for independence. And the Speaking in Whispers book reviews explained how the book provided representation for African American women and lesbians, providing variety and inclusion for lesbians of other races. All of these have multiple characteristics in common; variety, representation, and inclusion for women and the lesbian community in the United States. Moreover, most of these book reviews were published in a different geographical region of the country; Plain Dealer from Cleveland, Ohio, Lambda Book Report from Washington D.C, Seattle Gay News from Seattle, Washington, Bay Area Reporter from San Francisco, California, and The Lesbian Review of Books from Altadena, California. I conclude from this that LGBTQ+ newspapers were not fairly uncommon during the 1990s.
However, a counterargument that I’ve encountered during my research is that there’s not many book reviews of lesbian romance novels in mainstream newspapers (e.g., Publishers Weekly, Booklist, The New York Times, and etc.). The Rubenstein Rare Book Collection at Duke University did not seem to have book reviews of the 3 novels from mainstream newspapers. In the future, I hope to be able to develop a stronger argument by diving deeper with the publications of book reviews of lesbian romance novels in mainstream newspapers.
Despite this, scholars further agree with my argument that the 1990s was a positive developmental time for lesbian romance literature. An article written by Ann M. Ciasullo on the “Cultural Representations of Lesbianism and the Lesbian Body in the 1990s,” explains how the 1990s was in love with lesbianism. She deciphers the meaning of “butch body” image (masculine lesbian women) and explains how she doesn’t find much representation of them in mainstream media rather lesbian representation with “striking homogeneity, a certain safeness,” She describes the 1990s as a place where lesbians aren’t as sexualized and more represented and seen [9].
In addition to this, another article written by Erin Clair describes the 1990s as a rediscovering time for lesbian authors and literature. This further develops my note on Kathleen E. Morris and how she got invited to speak at the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta for Speaking in Whispers. Not only was the 1990s a principal time for lesbian literature but even for women of color in lesbian literature. She also states that lesbian literature at this time was not all in one place, it was everywhere in bits and pieces. This also develops my argument that lesbian literature at this time was being positively developed around the entire United States and not just part of it. Lesbian literature was seen everywhere and anywhere in the 1990s [10].
A paper written by Gabriele Griffin titlied “Romancing the Margin: Lesbian Writing in the 1990s,” discusses how lesbian literature affected lesbian identity during this time. It discusses how other works of lesbian writing provided harmful identities for lesbians everywhere, portraying them as naive or masochists. This was a big reason why many lesbians didn’t particularly find lesbian romance novels interesting, rather found them harmful to the LGBTQ+ community because they weren’t as inclusive and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community as they should’ve been. However, the 1990s focuses on reshaping this view and providing variety on lesbian identity [11].
Linda Garber, the author of “Claiming Lesbian History: The Romance Between Fact and Fiction,” further discusses this point but also adds lesbian desire and intentions. She argues that for decades before the 1990s, lesbians were written into a type of stereotype where the plots didn’t explain the history that many contemporary lesbians wanted. She interprets multiple works of lesbian fiction to find that many decided to add endless amounts of variety, identity, and desires of the lesbian community, rather than fit them into a stereotype [12].
Through the analysis of 6 book reviews written and published in the 1990s through different newspaper publishing companies, I argue that the 1990s provided a positive developmental time for lesbian romance literature in the United States. A common theme seen in each book review is each book provided a new perspective on lesbian identity, inclusion, and independence, along with variety and a deeper understanding of the lesbian community. Each book gave the lesbian community an outlet to see themselves. The book reviews explain how many lesbians didn’t particularly enjoy reading lesbian romance novels because they didn’t feel connected to it or felt that it provoked harmful stereotypes on the lesbian community. Some explained how the writing was too simple and the plots were too predictable.
In conclusion, there was a shift in lesbian romance writing in the 1990s, as seen through the analysis of the book reviews of each novel above. With the use of scholarly histories, I was able to further deepen my argument by gaining insight from scholarly writers on their interpretation of lesbian romance fiction in the 1990s. They all agreed that the 1990s involved lots of different reasons as to why this particular time provided multiple positive characteristics for the lesbian community. This includes inclusion for different varieties of lesbian identities, along with writing more than typical lesbian stereotypes. Through the different geographical regions of publications of the book reviews, it’s clear to add that these works of lesbian fiction weren’t just seen in a particular region in the United States. These novels affected the entire country and were a huge change for lesbian works of fiction everywhere.
End Notes:
[1] “Third Side Press Records, 1991-2003.” Duke University Libraries Catalog. 1991. https://find.library.duke.edu/catalog/DUKE004059282.
[2] Sullivan, Caitlin. “Effects of the book still linger.” Seattle Gay News: Your Lesbian & Gay News weekly, 1993.
[3] “Seattle Gay/Lesbian/LGBTQ News.” Seattle Gay News. 2024. https://www.sgn.org/.
[4] Branzburg, Judith. “The Spirit Is Willing.” The Lesbian Review of Books. Vol. II edition, sec.
No. 4. 1996.
[5] The Lesbian Review of Books. Duke University Libraries Catalog. January 1, 1970. https://find.library.duke.edu/catalog/DUKE004396762.
[6] Shoffner, Karen. “Rare Cultural Reflections Enthrall Searching Reader”. Philadelphia Gay News. 1997
[7] Shoffner, Karen.
[8] Cleveland Plain Dealer | Cleveland, Ohio Newspaper. Cleveland.com. 2024. https://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/.
[9] Ciasullo, Ann M. “Making Her (in)Visible: Cultural Representations of Lesbianism and the Lesbian Body in the 1990s.” Feminist Studies 27, no. 3. 2001. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178806
[10] Clair, Erin. “Searching for Lesbian Literary History.” Feminist Formations 23, no. 1. 2011 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/searching-lesbian-literary-history/docview/873113456/se-2 .
[11] Griffin, Gabriele. “‘Romancing the Margins’? Lesbian Writing in the 1990s.” Journal of Lesbian Studies 4, no. 2. 2008. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1300/J155v04n02_01?scroll=top&needAccess=true.
[12] Garber, Linda. “Claiming Lesbian History: The Romance Between Fact and Fiction.” Journal of Lesbian Studies, no. 1. 2015. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10894160.2015.974381?needAccess=true.
Bibliography
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