Conclusion

The conclusion considers some of the legacies of the Women in Print movement and the Southern lesbian feminists who animated it, by considering contemporary examples of small press publishing and queer distribution networks.

Queer Sexuality and the Lesbian Feminist South

This chapter explores the central role of transgressive sexuality in the literary creations of Southern lesbian feminists, both in their embrace of grotesque sexual southernness and their critiques of the intersection of sexuality and power. Most Southern feminist writers embraced the Southern grotesque to explore a wide range of hitherto unspeakable sexual practices.

Women’s Space, Queer Space

This chapter explores the spatial reimaginations of Southern lesbian feminists, from communes to queer contact zones. This chapter uses geography to reassess the landyke movement and its role in lesbian feminism literature, which reimagines and queers space.

Creating a Southern Lesbian Feminist Culture

This chapter introduces the authors and publishers who created the Southern lesbian feminist literary tradition and situates them within the Women in Print movement. It also situates these figures within an ongoing debate regarding literary merit and political efficacy.

The Radical South

This chapter explores the engagement of Southern lesbian feminists with radical politics and Southern identity, with a particular focus on anti-racist coalitions and nascent intersectional feminist alliances.

Introduction

The introduction situates the literary movement of Southern lesbian feminism within Southern Studies, histories of feminism and lesbian feminist, and queer studies, and suggests that the archive of Southern lesbian feminism revises and challenges each scholarly speciality.