By Trisha Franzen

Americans have lengthy held speedy to a inflexible definition of womanhood, revolving round husband, domestic, and youngsters. girls who rebelled in contrast definition and carved out self reliant lives for themselves have usually been rendered invisible in U.S. history.

In this strange comparative research, Trisha Franzen brings to mild the striking lives of 2 generations of self sustaining girls: innovative period spinsters and mid-twentieth century lesbians. whereas either teams of ladies comparable paths to independence--separating from their households, pursuing schooling, discovering paintings, and developing woman-centered communities--they confronted varied fabric and cultural problem and got here to assert very diverse identities.

Many of the turn-of-the-century girls have been trendy in the course of their time, from the world over famous classicist Edith Hamilton via early administrators of the Women's Bureau, Mary Anderson and Freida Miller. Maturing throughout the time of a huge and strong women's move, they have been between that era's new ladies, the often-single ladies who have been considered as within the leading edge of women's fight for equality.

In distinction, never-married ladies after global struggle II, specially lesbians, have been thought of past the light of genuine womanhood. prior to the women's and gay/lesbian liberation activities, that they had no confident modern photographs of different lives for girls. Highlighting the similarities and ameliorations among women-oriented ladies confronting altering gender and sexuality structures, Spinsters and Lesbians therefore lines a continuum between girls who built lives outdoors institutionalized heterosexuality.