|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Though an era of great repression for lesbians and gay men, the 1950's and 60s were actually a heyday for lesbian pulp novels in the United States. Although the themes were often dark and the outlook bleak, mass-market lesbian paperbacks played a vital role in the formation of a much broader and more visible lesbian community. In this story we meet "the queen of lesbian pulp", Ann Bannon, whose romantic stories defined lesbian lust for the pre-Stonewall generation.
Visit Ann Bannon
www.annbannon.com
Queer Pulp, by Susan Stryker
www.amazon.com
Original Airdate: Saturday, Nov. 23/02 @ 11:30pm
Repeats: Sunday, Nov. 24/02 @ 11:30pm
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
STRANGE SISTERS: The Golden Age of Lesbian Pulp
Strange. That word figures prominently in dozens of tawdry paperback book titles of the period of 1950 to the late 60's as a sort of code for lesbian content, recognized by male and female readers alike. In exploring the illicit pleasures of lesbian love, these steamy pulps were the products of the paperback publishing industry's most sensational era. Long before the sexual revolution of the Sixties, they offered a thrilling peek into the deviant underworld of wild passion and scandalous girl-on-girl sex.
Author Ann Bannon has been hailed "the grandmother of lesbian pulp" after helping to openly pioneer the lesbian novel in 1957 with her frank depictions in Odd Girl Out. Her subsequent novels dared to raise social issues (interracial romance, gay and lesbian marriage) that were pretty much unheard of at the time. Now in her 70's, Ann is enjoying a new-found readership with a recent series of reprints by Cleis Press and her originals continue to be collected, studied, and highly-regarded in university collections.
I was pretty surprised to learn that to be a lesbian in the 1950s meant that you were not only part of a contemptible social group, but an illegal social category. At a time when the government’s attitude towards homosexuals was self-righteous and censorious at best, the sanctity of one’s own private consensual habits became the focus of official condemnation.
Ann knew what it felt like to be “the odd one out.” It’s not that she was too young and naïve to understand there were other lesbians, she just didn’t know where to look. According to her, their lives were so insular, their access to information so restricted, that many lesbians were convinced they were an isolated mistake of nature. Ann has often likened her first look at Greenwich Village to Dorothy's amazement upon throwing open the door of the old grey farmhouse and viewing the Land of Oz for the first time.
I think that one of the reasons that Ann Bannon’s books continue to find an audience is that - in addition to providing readers with a historical snapshot of the times - they appeal to the lonely, confused, and strange soul in all of us. Bit by bit, and almost in spite of herself, Ann (and writers like her) was simultaneously informing the world at large that she was here, that she was fully human, fully lovable, and a fully competent human being who was not going to go away.
Tanya Spreckley
Segment Producer
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking for something in particular? A past Sextv story or just something that intrigues you?
Type it in below and search.
|
|
|
|
|
For Seasons 1, 2 & 3, click here to connect to our old Sextv site.
|
|
