Dagger: On Butch Women

Edited by Lily Burana, Roxxie and Linnea Due

Adventures in genderbending, edited by “two butches and a barracuda femme.” “What is butch? Sexual power of a kind that no woman is supposed to have… A fearless collection of stories and art, essays and interviews by butches (and the women who love them).” Or, says one dyke daddy, “I’m proud of my tits and I want people to look at them… FUCK YOU!” GR

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 232 pages
Illustrated

Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex

Pat Califia

Kick-ass, “kinky-dyke” lesbian comes out swinging. Her first piece on pornography, in 1979, sets the tone: “I think the only problem with pornography is that there’s not enough of it, and the porn that does exist reflects the sexual fantasies of aging Catholic gangsters.” She’s still “fussing and fuming about sexual repression and censorship… Being a sex radical means being defiant as well as deviant. It means being aware that there is something dissatisfying and dishonest about the way sex is talked about (or hidden) in daily life. It also means questioning the way our society assigns privilege based on adherence to its moral codes, and in fact makes every sexual choice a matter of morality.” A decade of the author’s journalism, culled from various publications. Essays on “Gay Men, Lesbians and Sex,” where she expounds on her experiences in handballing gay men. “Sluts in Utopia: The Future of Radical Sex,” where she lists 42 things you can do to make the future safer for sex. “The Age of Consent: The Great Kiddy-Porn Panic of ‘77,” explains when a bogus issue called “the huge child pornography industry” meant to homophobes that homosexuals were “seducing their children into prostitution.” GR

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 264 pages

Sexwise

Susie Bright

A new collection of essays, interviews and reviews, in which, among others, America’s favorite X-rated intellectual does Dan Quayle, Stephen King, Camille Paglia, Madonna, the Black Panthers and the GOP. AK

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 180 pages

Susie Sexpert’s Lesbian Sex World

Susie Bright

An honest and upfront look at the sexual and social lives of lesbians—from lipstick lezzies to straightforward butches and new-wave leather chicks. AK

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 156 pages

I Am My Own Woman: The Outlaw Life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Berlin’s Most Distinguished Transvestite

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf

“The exquisitely written autobiography of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose lifelong pursuits of sexual liberty and antique furniture offer a unique perspective on European history. During World War II, von Mahlsdorf murdered his father, dubbed himself Charlotte (after his cross-dressing lesbian aunt’s lover) and has lived openly as a transvestite since. Dressed in high-heeled sandals and a good suit, Charlotte has collected furnishings from the Gründerzeit for half a century: in the Third Reich, she ‘rescued’ pieces from Jewish deportees; in the German Democratic Republic, she protected ‘bourgeois cultural assets’ from the Stasi. Now well past 60, a quietly passionate, steadfast and serene figure, Charlotte shuns makeup, wearing the simplest of frocks. The Gründerzeit Museum-which Charlotte and her friends have defended against assault from skinheads—has become a symbol for the German lesbian and gay community.”

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 183 pages
Illustrated

Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry

Edited by Fredérique Delacoste and Priscilla Alexander

“Voices of pain, voices of power, voices of hard work.” Candid, funny and raw narratives from the women who inhabit America’s tinseled and tawdry sex world. “Street prostitutes, exotic dancers, nude models, escorts, porn actresses and workers in massage parlors speak out on sex work—their work.” GR

Publisher: Cleis
Paperback: 352 pages