Welcome to the Lesbian Resource Guide @ UIS. This is a guide to help lesbians at UIS to find the resources they may need. We want to make sure that queer women at UIS are able to find support on this campus. One of the ways we can do this is to find online and print resources that are relevant to lesbians whether that be resources about coming out, fashion, health, or finding a book for class. The Lesbian Resource Guide is a living document which means that we are open to suggestions for other resources that we might have missed. If you would like to leave a resource suggestion please email us at gss@uis.edu

Lesbian is a term used to describe female-identified people attracted romantically, erotically, spiritually, and/or emotionally to other female-identified people. The term lesbian is derived from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos and as such is sometimes considered a Eurocentric category that does not necessarily represent the identities of African-Americans and other non-European ethnic groups. This being said, individual female-identified people from diverse ethnic groups, including African-Americans, embrace the term ‘lesbian’ as an identity label.

Online Resources

I Think I Might Be A Lesbian, Now What Do I Do?
An online brochure from Advocates for Youth.

Elderly Lesbians
Old Lesbians Organizing for Change works to combat ageism in the LGBTQ community by social networking with lesbians age 60 and over

Fashion
All Women Stalk is a lesbian fashion blog.

Illinois Gay Wedding
This is a website that provides resources for Illinois same sex couples who want to get married or have a commitment ceremony.

Lesbian Chicago
The L Stop is an online resource for Chicago’s lesbian community that has article with a wide range of topics.

Lesbian Stereotypes
Here is a Huffington Post article that analyses some lesbian stereotypes and explains why they are problematic.

Here is a list of popular lesbian stereotypes from the feminist website Jezebel.

Pop Culture and Special Interests
After Ellen is a website that is devote to lesbian pop culture, entertainment, and celebrities.

Autostraddle is a website that talks about LBTQIA women and a wide range of topics from food/DIY, politics, feminism, gender, technology, and others.

Queer Disabled Dating
This is an article that talks about the intersectionality of disability and queerness when dating.

Jewish LGBT Resources
This is a website to learn more about the Jewish faith and it contains LGBTQ resources.

State Rights

Lambda Legal
This is an interactive map that shows which states have marriage equality and workplace protections for LGBTQ people.

Books from Lending Library

Learn more about our lending library.

Nine Nights on the Windy Tree
The Girls’ Next Door
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For
Rubyfruit Jungle
Choices
An Emergence of Green
Well of Loneliness
Desert of the Heart
Sex and Other Sacred Games: Love, Desire, Passion, and Possession
Aya The Secrets Come Out: Volume 3
Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Lesbian Primer
Lesbian Teachers: An Invisible Presence
Invisible Lives
Dyke Life
Lesbian Studies Present and Future
What a Lesbian Looks Like: Writings by Lesbians on their Lives and Lifestyle
Journal of Lesbian Studies
Lesbian Woman
Sappho Was A Right-On Woman
Woman+ Woman
Sisters, Sexperts, Queers
The Lesbian Path
A Restricted Country
Loving Boldly: Issues Facing Lesbians
Sunday’s Women
Lesbian Culture: An Anthology
Lesbian Texts and Contexts
Lesbian Subjects
Lesbian, Women & Society
Butch/femme
Inventing Lesbian Cultures in America
Lesbian Ethics
NWSA Lesbian Issue
Call Me Lesbian
The Lesbian Issue
Lesbian Philosophy: Explorations
Lesbian Psychologies
Making A Way: Lesbians Out Front
Lesbian Quotations
My Lesbian Husband
Lesbian (Out)Law
Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold
Lesbian Passion: Loving Ourselves and Each Other
Lesbians Over 60 Speak for Themselves
The Joy of Lesbian Sex
Lesbian Sex
The Lesbian Community
Surpassing the Love of Men
Ceremonies of the Heart
This is What Lesbian Looks Like
Looking Like What You Are: Sexual Style, Race, and Lesbian Identity
My American History
Dyke Ideas
The Femme Mystique
Lesbian Couples
The Lesbian Family Life Cycle
Of Woman Born
Surface Tension
Boston Marriages
We Say We Love Each Other
And Say Hi to Joyce
Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers
Why Can’t Sharon Kowalski Come Home?
Politics of the Heart: A Lesbian Parenting Anthology

Lesbians in History

These lesbians can be found in the Gender and Sexuality Student Services’ History Display which can be found online at https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/programs/lounge/.

1.    Willa Cather is an American writer who is best known for her novels “O Pioneers!” and “My Antonia.”- https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/willacarther/

2.    Bessie Smith is an American blues singer who is known for her recording “Downhearted Blues.”-https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/bessiesmith/

3.    Virginia Wolfe is a British writer who helped create the Hogarth Press and two of her novels are “Orlando” and “Mrs. Dalloway.”-https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/virginiawoolf/

4.    Audre Lord is an American poet and served as the Poet Laureate of New York from 1990-1991. –https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/audrelorde/

5.    Barbara Jordan is an American politician who served in the senate and gave a speech in support for the resignation of President Nixon.-https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/barbarajordan/

6.    Eleanor Roosevelt is an American reformer, diplomat, and writer. Some of her accomplishments include participating in the League of Women’s Voters, and the Women’s Trade Union League. –https://www.uis.edu/gendersexualitystudentservices/eleanorroosevelt/

Frequently Asked Questions at UIS

Have a question to add or ask please write us at gss@uis.edu.

1. Where do I go to meet other lesbians at UIS or Springfield? What support services are available?

Weekly LGBTea, weekly support and discussion groups called “Fluidity” and “SHADES.” Meetings and socials sponsored by the student group Queer Straight Alliance (QSA). Local area LGBTQ youth attend the Phoenix Center youth group.

2. What academic opportunities are there at UIS?
Women and Gender Studies at UIS would be a great program for anyone who would be interested in studying subjects related to sexual orientation, gender, or feminism. Here are some of the offered courses: WGS 232: ECCE: U.S. Sexual Minorities, WGS 301: Women, Gender & Society, WGS 357: LGBTQ & Allies Peer Education, WGS 411: Feminist Theories, WGS 418: Queer Theory.