Introduction: Straight Talk

Abstract

In preparing this anthology for publication, I was repeatedly asked, by people I met both professionally and socially, about the value of a book that confined itself to what in their eyes was an artificial category (lesbian/gay writing) written by contributors all of whom are themselves lesbian/gay. Was not the enterprise doomed from the start because of its narrow focus, its inward-lookingness, its exclusivity? I initially determined that this was the one subject I would not be addressing, and for two reasons: first, I assumed the doubters were merely expressing a veiled form of heterosexism and did indeed appreciate the purpose of the book; secondly, I was determined not to appear to be on the defensive, not to have to justify the enterprise. As lesbian/gay people, we often find ourselves expending great time and emotional effort just to establish basic principles of justice in our lives — the right to equality in law, in housing, in custody cases, in access to balanced sex education, freedom from physical attack and so on — and it seemed to me dangerously concessionary even to raise the issue at all of the rationale for an anthology such as this one is.