In this special issue, we asked the question, “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provo... more In this special issue, we asked the question, “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world.a synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted toward queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with trans-phobia. to face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. the rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. an understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
At the intersection of feminism and ecology, ecofeminism has recognized that the liberation of al... more At the intersection of feminism and ecology, ecofeminism has recognized that the liberation of all women from patriarchal oppressive structures will not be fully effected without the liberation of nature. This bond between women and nature is not new, it has been experienced in different times, cultures, and geographies, and revisited during second-wave feminism in the West. Although sometimes this connection was essentialist, for some lesbians the identification with the land was not biological but spiritual, romantic, and erotic. The understanding of the planet's identity shifted from "Mother Earth" to becoming a sister, a lover, the Goddess. This passion for the more-than-human aligns with contemporary discourses explored in queer and trans ecology, ecosexuality, and new materialism, where the agency of nature goes one step further into the lesbian embrace.
This special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publi... more This special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publication of Monique Wittig’s Le corps lesbien by exploring the ways Wittig’s text continues to resist categorization and the relevance of Wittig’s practices of resistance in our present moment. What might we have yet to learn from Wittig’s linguistic practices, especially in the service of social change? We are seeking innovative approaches to The Lesbian Body that explore elements of the text that remain as yet un- or underexplored and its ongoing relevance and relationship (or not) to Gender, Lesbian, Trans, and/or Queer Studies.
This call invites proposal submissions for a special issue on the subject of Central and Eastern ... more This call invites proposal submissions for a special issue on the subject of Central and Eastern European (CEE) lesbian studies. The issue takes as its starting point both the invisibility of lesbian scholarship in CEE and the invisibility of CEE lesbians in global scholarship, and investigates these omissions through the lens of lesbians working in, from, and on the region.
In recent decades, extremist right-wing political movements around the globe have worked to rever... more In recent decades, extremist right-wing political movements around the globe have worked to reverse decades of progress toward reproductive justice. From challenges to abortion rights, the right to parent, and access to basic healthcare and reproductive technologies, conservative actors have used law and policy to deny people bodily autonomy and self-determination. Racialized women, queer, and transgender people have been especially affected and targeted. These new political winds must be evaluated in light of the historical oppression of coloniality, as manifested through eugenic programs and eugenicist ideologies, and drawing on critical perspectives on the maintenance of white supremacy through capitalist structures.
Ali Smith is an anomaly in the contemporary publishing scene: an experimental writer
popular enou... more Ali Smith is an anomaly in the contemporary publishing scene: an experimental writer popular enough to be interviewed by the prime minister of Scotland; a lesbian writer lauded as a universal genius and “Nobel laureate-in-waiting”; a political writer whose ruminations on art, aesthetics, belonging, and memory transcend the current political moment while speaking directly to it. Currently, Ali Smith is enjoying a critical moment with the success of her Brexit tetralogy; Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture dedicated a volume to her writing in 2019, and in May 2022, post45 published a cluster of essays on Ali Smith. Nevertheless, with the attention to Ali Smith, a strange, sometimes explicit, de-queering of Ali Smith’s life and art occurs. In this special issue we aim to analyze Ali Smith investments in queer genealogies, queer aesthetics, and lesbian and queer lives.
In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provoca... more In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world. A synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted towards queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with transphobia. To face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. The rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. An understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
At the height of the feminist sex wars, Joan Nestle published "Lesbians and Prostitutes: An Histo... more At the height of the feminist sex wars, Joan Nestle published "Lesbians and Prostitutes: An Historical Sisterhood," which traced the discursive relationships between two sexualized categories of outlaw women. Since then, the landscapes of both lesbian life and the sex industry and have shifted dramatically: Legal and social changes have removed many of the economic conditions that made survival sex work necessary for working class lesbians, and the sex industry-once largely confined to the counter-public of the red-light district, now operates via the same devices used to text our colleagues and order groceries.
We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent... more We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent a diversity of geographical perspectives. We also encourage submissions of short, public-facing, and/or experimental articles, as well as visual art and poetry. Please send your 250–500-word proposal to by June 1, 2022 to lesbianstudiesjournal@gmail.com Full manuscripts are due by August 15, 2022. Please spread the call far and wide.
Call for Proposals
Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us... more Call for Proposals Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About” A Special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies Abstract proposals due March 15. Full manuscripts June 15
The Journal of Lesbian Studies is inviting proposals for the theme of solidarity. This special is... more The Journal of Lesbian Studies is inviting proposals for the theme of solidarity. This special issue seeks to address the question:
What does "solidarity" mean to, and for, lesbians and wider LGBTQ+ communities?
We welcome papers from a wide range of disciplines. The editors would welcome early expressions of interest and are happy to discuss proposals for contributions.
In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provoca... more In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world. A synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted towards queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with transphobia. To face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. The rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. An understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
This special issue aims to present cutting-edge psychological research that enhances understandin... more This special issue aims to present cutting-edge psychological research that enhances understanding of lesbians’ lives in context. A wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple theoretical approaches (e.g., minority stress, sexual configuration theory, and intersectional lens) are welcomed as well as theoretical reviews and commentaries on the state of the field of lesbian psychology. The issue will strive for a balance of empirical work (both quantitative and qualitative) and theoretical work. The aim for this issue is to serve as an eclectic community space for a global conversation on lesbian psychology today.
This special issue is devoted to the phenomenon that is Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. We are lo... more This special issue is devoted to the phenomenon that is Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. We are looking for papers that explore Anne Lister and/or Gentleman Jack, in relation-however discomfiting-to lesbian histories, identities, communities, or cultures. Gentleman Jack is an eight one-hour episode series-created, written, and directed by Sally Wainwright-that premiered on BBC One and HBO in Spring 2019. The show introduced most of its audience, for the first time, to Anne Lister, a woman who lived in West Yorkshire, England (1791-1840), and is often called "the first modern lesbian." Lister's life is known only because she left a journal of approximately five million words. Much of the journal is written in a secret code, that details her active sexual life with other women, and her secret marriage to Ann Walker. The show is based faithfully on the journals, and brings Anne Lister to life in a way that has captivated audiences, especially lesbians. The international response to the show and to its subject, Anne Lister, has been a phenomenon in itself among lesbians. It has created a fascination with Anne Lister and her life that has ignited multiple large fan groups, inspired pilgrimages to her estate, Shibden Hall, spurred academic papers, organized the #Annelistercodebreakers (a group of volunteers from around the world who have transcribed the entire five million words), and led to public monuments like the Anne Lister College at York University, and a bronze statue of Lister in Halifax, both unveiled in October 2021.
In this study, we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ pa... more In this study, we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rooted in intersectional theory that conceptualizes identities as shaped by interlocking forms of oppression and privilege, we compared interviews with "Baby Boomers" to those with "Millennial" participants , who came into adulthood in a time of greater legal and social inclusion for LGBTQ people. Our analysis focused on three questions: How do participants understand their sexual identities? How are the identities of sexual minority participants coconstructed with intersecting forms of oppression? What motivates LGBTQ people in our sample to engage in social justice work? We found that white LGBTQ people tended to see their sexualities as primary to their identity, compared to LGBTQ Black and/or Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) who tended to see their identities in intersectional terms. Younger LGBTQ people were more likely to delink sex and gender identity; consequently, they were more likely to frame their sexual identities with terms not rooted in a gender binary (e.g., pansexual or queer). Experiences with homophobia were prevalent across generations, and intersected with racism and economic oppressions, but younger
Our esteemed and beloved justice colleague Professor Emeritus Ronald L. Cohen passed away on Marc... more Our esteemed and beloved justice colleague Professor Emeritus Ronald L. Cohen passed away on March 31, 2020. He was 75 years old.
Bridging Narratives: Predictors of Jewish American and Arab American Support for a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2019
In a survey study of Arab and Jewish Americans, we examined which beliefs best predicted support ... more In a survey study of Arab and Jewish Americans, we examined which beliefs best predicted support for a two-state solution. We compared the role of a sense of collective victimhood, dehumanization of the outgroup, a zero-sum view, and a monolithic narrative on the conflict. In both the Arab American and the Jewish American samples, framing the conflict in terms of a monolithic narrative played the strongest role in predicting rejection of a two-state solution. On the other hand, when Jewish Americans agreed with the Palestinian narrative, that depicts the Palestinians as indigenous to the land but as dispossessed, they were more likely to support a two-state solution. Similarly, when Arab Americans agreed with the Israeli narrative, in which Israelis want to live in peace but need to defend themselves, they were more likely to support a two-state solution. In a second study, we examined if group values and concerns such as commitment to tikkun olam (commitment for justice for other minority groups) and concern with anti-Semitism mediated between identification as Jewish and acceptance of the Palestinian narrative on the conflict. We found that concern with anti-Semitism mediated between Jewish identity and rejection of the Palestinian narrative. On the other hand, grounding Jewish identity in values of tikkun olam mediated between Jewish identity and agreement with the Palestinian narrative. This research makes applied contributions by illuminating the key belief associated with support for peace among Arab and Jewish Americans. It also contributes to psychological theory on intergroup reconciliation by operationalizing and measuring the role of acknowledgement of the narrative of the other, group threat, and inclusive victimhood consciousness, in promoting peace.
Emerging adulthood is a time of identity exploration during which youth actively engage with beli... more Emerging adulthood is a time of identity exploration during which youth actively engage with beliefs and values that shape their political orientation. In this study, we examine the processes and consequences of young adults' exploration of their Jewish identity as it is embedded in the Birthright trip (a free 10-day trip to Israel that is offered to Jewish American emerging adults). In a pretrip/posttrip survey, we found significant increases in Birthright participants' endorsement of the Jewish root narrative on the Israeli– Palestinian conflict (Jewish people want to live in peace but must defend themselves), disavowal of the Palestinian narrative and understanding of the conflict, sense of collective victimhood, and understanding of the conflict as a zero-sum game. In a separate interview study, participants' narratives of the trip suggested that identification with the Israeli soldiers as being " just like us " as well as border-making between safe (Jewish) and unsafe (Arab) spaces, led to an understanding of the conflict that was based on the Jewish root narrative. Our findings highlight some less examined consequences of identity exploration among emerging adults who are members of groups enmeshed in violent conflict.
Influenced by social identity theory, psychologists have focused primarily on the role of shared ... more Influenced by social identity theory, psychologists have focused primarily on the role of shared identity in leading people to engage in collective action. In this study, we are concerned with the factors that lead individuals who do not share a collective identity to act in solidarity with an outgroup. We explored this question by looking at the narratives and motives that brought non-Palestinian university students to participate in collective action for Palestine. In-depth interviews with campus activists and a yearlong observation of campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggested a number of motives for solidarity activism. First, activists drew parallels between their in-group collective narrative and the collective narrative of the Palestinians. Second, an intersectional narrative of identity increased activist self-efficacy by highlighting the ways that activists were both marginalized and privileged. Third, activists explained their affinity to these narratives as rooted in personal experiences with marginalization and discrimination. A final motive arose through the practice of coalition building that further empowered students of different minority groups. Findings from this study contribute to an understanding of the current surge in Palestinian solidarity activism on college campuses in the United States.
In this special issue, we asked the question, “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provo... more In this special issue, we asked the question, “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world.a synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted toward queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with trans-phobia. to face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. the rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. an understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
At the intersection of feminism and ecology, ecofeminism has recognized that the liberation of al... more At the intersection of feminism and ecology, ecofeminism has recognized that the liberation of all women from patriarchal oppressive structures will not be fully effected without the liberation of nature. This bond between women and nature is not new, it has been experienced in different times, cultures, and geographies, and revisited during second-wave feminism in the West. Although sometimes this connection was essentialist, for some lesbians the identification with the land was not biological but spiritual, romantic, and erotic. The understanding of the planet's identity shifted from "Mother Earth" to becoming a sister, a lover, the Goddess. This passion for the more-than-human aligns with contemporary discourses explored in queer and trans ecology, ecosexuality, and new materialism, where the agency of nature goes one step further into the lesbian embrace.
This special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publi... more This special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publication of Monique Wittig’s Le corps lesbien by exploring the ways Wittig’s text continues to resist categorization and the relevance of Wittig’s practices of resistance in our present moment. What might we have yet to learn from Wittig’s linguistic practices, especially in the service of social change? We are seeking innovative approaches to The Lesbian Body that explore elements of the text that remain as yet un- or underexplored and its ongoing relevance and relationship (or not) to Gender, Lesbian, Trans, and/or Queer Studies.
This call invites proposal submissions for a special issue on the subject of Central and Eastern ... more This call invites proposal submissions for a special issue on the subject of Central and Eastern European (CEE) lesbian studies. The issue takes as its starting point both the invisibility of lesbian scholarship in CEE and the invisibility of CEE lesbians in global scholarship, and investigates these omissions through the lens of lesbians working in, from, and on the region.
In recent decades, extremist right-wing political movements around the globe have worked to rever... more In recent decades, extremist right-wing political movements around the globe have worked to reverse decades of progress toward reproductive justice. From challenges to abortion rights, the right to parent, and access to basic healthcare and reproductive technologies, conservative actors have used law and policy to deny people bodily autonomy and self-determination. Racialized women, queer, and transgender people have been especially affected and targeted. These new political winds must be evaluated in light of the historical oppression of coloniality, as manifested through eugenic programs and eugenicist ideologies, and drawing on critical perspectives on the maintenance of white supremacy through capitalist structures.
Ali Smith is an anomaly in the contemporary publishing scene: an experimental writer
popular enou... more Ali Smith is an anomaly in the contemporary publishing scene: an experimental writer popular enough to be interviewed by the prime minister of Scotland; a lesbian writer lauded as a universal genius and “Nobel laureate-in-waiting”; a political writer whose ruminations on art, aesthetics, belonging, and memory transcend the current political moment while speaking directly to it. Currently, Ali Smith is enjoying a critical moment with the success of her Brexit tetralogy; Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture dedicated a volume to her writing in 2019, and in May 2022, post45 published a cluster of essays on Ali Smith. Nevertheless, with the attention to Ali Smith, a strange, sometimes explicit, de-queering of Ali Smith’s life and art occurs. In this special issue we aim to analyze Ali Smith investments in queer genealogies, queer aesthetics, and lesbian and queer lives.
In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provoca... more In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world. A synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted towards queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with transphobia. To face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. The rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. An understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
At the height of the feminist sex wars, Joan Nestle published "Lesbians and Prostitutes: An Histo... more At the height of the feminist sex wars, Joan Nestle published "Lesbians and Prostitutes: An Historical Sisterhood," which traced the discursive relationships between two sexualized categories of outlaw women. Since then, the landscapes of both lesbian life and the sex industry and have shifted dramatically: Legal and social changes have removed many of the economic conditions that made survival sex work necessary for working class lesbians, and the sex industry-once largely confined to the counter-public of the red-light district, now operates via the same devices used to text our colleagues and order groceries.
We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent... more We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent a diversity of geographical perspectives. We also encourage submissions of short, public-facing, and/or experimental articles, as well as visual art and poetry. Please send your 250–500-word proposal to by June 1, 2022 to lesbianstudiesjournal@gmail.com Full manuscripts are due by August 15, 2022. Please spread the call far and wide.
Call for Proposals
Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us... more Call for Proposals Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About” A Special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies Abstract proposals due March 15. Full manuscripts June 15
The Journal of Lesbian Studies is inviting proposals for the theme of solidarity. This special is... more The Journal of Lesbian Studies is inviting proposals for the theme of solidarity. This special issue seeks to address the question:
What does "solidarity" mean to, and for, lesbians and wider LGBTQ+ communities?
We welcome papers from a wide range of disciplines. The editors would welcome early expressions of interest and are happy to discuss proposals for contributions.
In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provoca... more In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world. A synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted towards queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with transphobia. To face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. The rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. An understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.
This special issue aims to present cutting-edge psychological research that enhances understandin... more This special issue aims to present cutting-edge psychological research that enhances understanding of lesbians’ lives in context. A wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple theoretical approaches (e.g., minority stress, sexual configuration theory, and intersectional lens) are welcomed as well as theoretical reviews and commentaries on the state of the field of lesbian psychology. The issue will strive for a balance of empirical work (both quantitative and qualitative) and theoretical work. The aim for this issue is to serve as an eclectic community space for a global conversation on lesbian psychology today.
This special issue is devoted to the phenomenon that is Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. We are lo... more This special issue is devoted to the phenomenon that is Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. We are looking for papers that explore Anne Lister and/or Gentleman Jack, in relation-however discomfiting-to lesbian histories, identities, communities, or cultures. Gentleman Jack is an eight one-hour episode series-created, written, and directed by Sally Wainwright-that premiered on BBC One and HBO in Spring 2019. The show introduced most of its audience, for the first time, to Anne Lister, a woman who lived in West Yorkshire, England (1791-1840), and is often called "the first modern lesbian." Lister's life is known only because she left a journal of approximately five million words. Much of the journal is written in a secret code, that details her active sexual life with other women, and her secret marriage to Ann Walker. The show is based faithfully on the journals, and brings Anne Lister to life in a way that has captivated audiences, especially lesbians. The international response to the show and to its subject, Anne Lister, has been a phenomenon in itself among lesbians. It has created a fascination with Anne Lister and her life that has ignited multiple large fan groups, inspired pilgrimages to her estate, Shibden Hall, spurred academic papers, organized the #Annelistercodebreakers (a group of volunteers from around the world who have transcribed the entire five million words), and led to public monuments like the Anne Lister College at York University, and a bronze statue of Lister in Halifax, both unveiled in October 2021.
In this study, we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ pa... more In this study, we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rooted in intersectional theory that conceptualizes identities as shaped by interlocking forms of oppression and privilege, we compared interviews with "Baby Boomers" to those with "Millennial" participants , who came into adulthood in a time of greater legal and social inclusion for LGBTQ people. Our analysis focused on three questions: How do participants understand their sexual identities? How are the identities of sexual minority participants coconstructed with intersecting forms of oppression? What motivates LGBTQ people in our sample to engage in social justice work? We found that white LGBTQ people tended to see their sexualities as primary to their identity, compared to LGBTQ Black and/or Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) who tended to see their identities in intersectional terms. Younger LGBTQ people were more likely to delink sex and gender identity; consequently, they were more likely to frame their sexual identities with terms not rooted in a gender binary (e.g., pansexual or queer). Experiences with homophobia were prevalent across generations, and intersected with racism and economic oppressions, but younger
Our esteemed and beloved justice colleague Professor Emeritus Ronald L. Cohen passed away on Marc... more Our esteemed and beloved justice colleague Professor Emeritus Ronald L. Cohen passed away on March 31, 2020. He was 75 years old.
Bridging Narratives: Predictors of Jewish American and Arab American Support for a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2019
In a survey study of Arab and Jewish Americans, we examined which beliefs best predicted support ... more In a survey study of Arab and Jewish Americans, we examined which beliefs best predicted support for a two-state solution. We compared the role of a sense of collective victimhood, dehumanization of the outgroup, a zero-sum view, and a monolithic narrative on the conflict. In both the Arab American and the Jewish American samples, framing the conflict in terms of a monolithic narrative played the strongest role in predicting rejection of a two-state solution. On the other hand, when Jewish Americans agreed with the Palestinian narrative, that depicts the Palestinians as indigenous to the land but as dispossessed, they were more likely to support a two-state solution. Similarly, when Arab Americans agreed with the Israeli narrative, in which Israelis want to live in peace but need to defend themselves, they were more likely to support a two-state solution. In a second study, we examined if group values and concerns such as commitment to tikkun olam (commitment for justice for other minority groups) and concern with anti-Semitism mediated between identification as Jewish and acceptance of the Palestinian narrative on the conflict. We found that concern with anti-Semitism mediated between Jewish identity and rejection of the Palestinian narrative. On the other hand, grounding Jewish identity in values of tikkun olam mediated between Jewish identity and agreement with the Palestinian narrative. This research makes applied contributions by illuminating the key belief associated with support for peace among Arab and Jewish Americans. It also contributes to psychological theory on intergroup reconciliation by operationalizing and measuring the role of acknowledgement of the narrative of the other, group threat, and inclusive victimhood consciousness, in promoting peace.
Emerging adulthood is a time of identity exploration during which youth actively engage with beli... more Emerging adulthood is a time of identity exploration during which youth actively engage with beliefs and values that shape their political orientation. In this study, we examine the processes and consequences of young adults' exploration of their Jewish identity as it is embedded in the Birthright trip (a free 10-day trip to Israel that is offered to Jewish American emerging adults). In a pretrip/posttrip survey, we found significant increases in Birthright participants' endorsement of the Jewish root narrative on the Israeli– Palestinian conflict (Jewish people want to live in peace but must defend themselves), disavowal of the Palestinian narrative and understanding of the conflict, sense of collective victimhood, and understanding of the conflict as a zero-sum game. In a separate interview study, participants' narratives of the trip suggested that identification with the Israeli soldiers as being " just like us " as well as border-making between safe (Jewish) and unsafe (Arab) spaces, led to an understanding of the conflict that was based on the Jewish root narrative. Our findings highlight some less examined consequences of identity exploration among emerging adults who are members of groups enmeshed in violent conflict.
Influenced by social identity theory, psychologists have focused primarily on the role of shared ... more Influenced by social identity theory, psychologists have focused primarily on the role of shared identity in leading people to engage in collective action. In this study, we are concerned with the factors that lead individuals who do not share a collective identity to act in solidarity with an outgroup. We explored this question by looking at the narratives and motives that brought non-Palestinian university students to participate in collective action for Palestine. In-depth interviews with campus activists and a yearlong observation of campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggested a number of motives for solidarity activism. First, activists drew parallels between their in-group collective narrative and the collective narrative of the Palestinians. Second, an intersectional narrative of identity increased activist self-efficacy by highlighting the ways that activists were both marginalized and privileged. Third, activists explained their affinity to these narratives as rooted in personal experiences with marginalization and discrimination. A final motive arose through the practice of coalition building that further empowered students of different minority groups. Findings from this study contribute to an understanding of the current surge in Palestinian solidarity activism on college campuses in the United States.
Is lesbian identity obsolete? We pose this provocation in order to think through what has changed... more Is lesbian identity obsolete? We pose this provocation in order to think through what has changed and not changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments-from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. If lesbianism is (arguably) unique as a constellation of erotic, political, and social energies, how do changes in the latter categories challenge, destabilize, morph, reshape, and/or solidify lesbian identities and their meanings? We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent a diversity of perspectives. The editors are committed to transgender inclusion and centering the voices of nonwhite and non-U.S. thinkers. We also welcome considerations of this question from multiple historical perspectives.
Is lesbian identity obsolete? We pose this provocation in order to think through what has changed... more Is lesbian identity obsolete? We pose this provocation in order to think through what has changed and not changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments-from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. If lesbianism is (arguably) unique as a constellation of erotic, political, and social energies, how do changes in the latter categories challenge, destabilize, morph, reshape, and/or solidify lesbian identities and their meanings? We seek a wide-ranging set of contributions from multiple disciplines and are hoping to represent a diversity of perspectives. The editors are committed to transgender inclusion and centering the voices of nonwhite and non-U.S. thinkers. We also welcome considerations of this question from multiple historical perspectives. Possible topics for submissions include but are not limited to:-How has the political meaning and utility of lesbian identities changed over time and in response to cultural and political shifts?-How does the increased visibility of gender identities including but not limited to nonbinary, genderqueer, agender, and transgender expand lesbian identities?-How does the emergence of identity categories such as pansexual, asexual, demisexual, kink, and polysexual shift or support lesbian identities?-What are the current possibilities for trans-inclusive articulations of lesbian identities? How should progressive activists respond to so-called "trans-exclusionary radical feminists"?-How have disability activists rearticulated the relationship between dis/ability and sexuality? How have lesbian legacies of care been revisited-or ignored-in comparisons of the current pandemic to the AIDS crisis?-How does Black lesbian thought influence current movements? For example, how has the work of Audre Lorde and the Combahee River Collective informed Black Lives Matter and police abolition movements?
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popular enough to be interviewed by the prime minister of Scotland; a lesbian writer lauded as
a universal genius and “Nobel laureate-in-waiting”; a political writer whose ruminations on art,
aesthetics, belonging, and memory transcend the current political moment while speaking
directly to it. Currently, Ali Smith is enjoying a critical moment with the success of her Brexit tetralogy; Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture dedicated a volume to her writing in 2019, and in May 2022, post45 published a cluster of essays on Ali Smith.
Nevertheless, with the attention to Ali Smith, a strange, sometimes explicit, de-queering
of Ali Smith’s life and art occurs. In this special issue we aim to analyze Ali Smith investments in queer genealogies, queer aesthetics, and lesbian and queer lives.
Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About” A Special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies
Abstract proposals due March 15. Full manuscripts June 15
What does "solidarity" mean to, and for, lesbians and wider LGBTQ+ communities?
We welcome papers from a wide range of disciplines. The editors would welcome early expressions of interest and are happy to discuss proposals for contributions.
Abstract submission deadline: 28 February 2022
Manuscript deadline: 15 April 2022
collective action for Palestine. In-depth interviews with campus activists and a yearlong observation of campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggested a number of motives for solidarity activism. First, activists drew parallels between their in-group collective narrative and the collective narrative of the Palestinians. Second, an intersectional narrative of identity increased activist self-efficacy by highlighting the ways that activists were both marginalized and privileged. Third, activists explained their affinity to these narratives as rooted in personal experiences with marginalization and discrimination. A final motive arose through the practice of coalition building that further empowered students of different minority groups. Findings from this study contribute to an understanding of the current surge in Palestinian solidarity activism on college campuses in the United States.
popular enough to be interviewed by the prime minister of Scotland; a lesbian writer lauded as
a universal genius and “Nobel laureate-in-waiting”; a political writer whose ruminations on art,
aesthetics, belonging, and memory transcend the current political moment while speaking
directly to it. Currently, Ali Smith is enjoying a critical moment with the success of her Brexit tetralogy; Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture dedicated a volume to her writing in 2019, and in May 2022, post45 published a cluster of essays on Ali Smith.
Nevertheless, with the attention to Ali Smith, a strange, sometimes explicit, de-queering
of Ali Smith’s life and art occurs. In this special issue we aim to analyze Ali Smith investments in queer genealogies, queer aesthetics, and lesbian and queer lives.
Chicana Lesbians: Re-Engaging the Iconic Text “The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About” A Special Issue of The Journal of Lesbian Studies
Abstract proposals due March 15. Full manuscripts June 15
What does "solidarity" mean to, and for, lesbians and wider LGBTQ+ communities?
We welcome papers from a wide range of disciplines. The editors would welcome early expressions of interest and are happy to discuss proposals for contributions.
Abstract submission deadline: 28 February 2022
Manuscript deadline: 15 April 2022
collective action for Palestine. In-depth interviews with campus activists and a yearlong observation of campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggested a number of motives for solidarity activism. First, activists drew parallels between their in-group collective narrative and the collective narrative of the Palestinians. Second, an intersectional narrative of identity increased activist self-efficacy by highlighting the ways that activists were both marginalized and privileged. Third, activists explained their affinity to these narratives as rooted in personal experiences with marginalization and discrimination. A final motive arose through the practice of coalition building that further empowered students of different minority groups. Findings from this study contribute to an understanding of the current surge in Palestinian solidarity activism on college campuses in the United States.