Reviews for Inventing ourselves

The average rating for Inventing ourselves based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-04-27 00:00:00 Sean Beach So far this is the most diverse collection of lesbian oral histories I have read. It features a number of interviews with women who grew up outside of the UK, PoC, Muslim and Jewish women. It's also unusual for oral history interviews to be conducted with younger people; there are a few interviews with women in their 20sand onwards. The interviews are arranged in descending order by age and offer insights into coming of age at different times in more than half a century. It was especially striking to me that while lesbian identity was the unifying factor, these are very much social and political histories as well. And looking back now, more than thirty years later, this collection has become a historical document on yet another level. As someone born years after these stories were told, I can't help but wonder about how experiences and identities in the accounts would be constructed differently today in the light of more awareness around asexuality, bi/pansexuality and genderqueerness in today's queer communities. Nonetheless, struggles around racism, ableism and ageism still ring true today. The introductory material and epilogue are nuanced and show awareness of and reflection on intent, interpretation, intersectionality and fluidity and have, dare I say, aged well.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-06-04 00:00:00 Daniel Alfano nice!!