Tomboys and bachelor girls

Book excerpt: Using a rich array of oral histories and archival sources, Tomboys and Bachelor Girls provides the first detailed academic study of lesbian identity and culture in post-war Britain. Described by psychiatrists as immature and neurotic and widely ignored as taboo by mainstream society, lesbians nevertheless recognised and accepted their same-sex desire and sought out women like themselves. Challenging the conventional picture of the post-war decades as years of austerity and conservative femininity, this book traces the emergence of a vibrant lesbian social scene in Britain, centred on the metropolitan nightclubs of post-war London, but also developing across the country, through lesbian magazines and social organisations. This fascinating book brings to life the rich history of post-war lesbian culture for the scholarly and general reader alike.