Mairead Sullivan, "Lesbian Death: Desire and Danger Between Feminist and Queer" (U Minnesota Press, 2022)
The loss of lesbian spaces, as well as ideas of the lesbian as anachronistic, has called into question the place of lesbian identity within our current culture. In\xa0Lesbian Death: Desire and Danger Between Feminist and Queer\xa0(U Minnesota Press, 2022), Mairead Sullivan probes the perception that lesbian status is in retreat, exploring the political promises\u2014and especially the failures\u2014of lesbian feminism and its usefulness today.\nLesbian Death\xa0reads how lesbian is conceptualized in relation to death from the 1970s onward to argue that lesbian offers disruptive potential.\xa0Lesbian Death\xa0examines the rise of lesbian breast cancer activism in San Francisco in conversation with ACT UP, the lesbian separatist manifestos \u201cThe C.L.I.T. Papers,\u201d the enduring specter of lesbian bed death, and the weaponization of lesbian identity against trans lives.\nBy situating the lesbian as a border figure between feminist and queer,\xa0Lesbian Death\xa0offers a fresh perspective on the value of lesbian for both feminist and queer projects, even if her value is her death.\nCover alt text: Background covered entirely by yellow text, quoting the reasons the author wrote this book; the main title in black follows the block of text\nMairead Sullivan is Associate Professor of Women\u2019s and Gender Studies at Loyola Marymount University.\nSohini Chatterjee\xa0is a PhD Candidate and Vanier Scholar in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Western University, Canada. Her work has recently appeared in Women's Studies: An inter-disciplinary journal, South Asian Popular Culture and Fat Studies.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies