Is there a feminist in this text? Ten years (1979–1989) of the lesbian novel: a retrospective

The decade 1979–1989 saw an explosion of lesbian fiction, partly as a result of the Women's Liberation Movement during the 1970s. This article looks at the relationship between lesbianism and feminism, as it is manifested in the novel, taking a few paradigmatic texts, such as The Wanderground (1979), Zami (1982), Relatively Norma (1982), Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985), She Came Too Late (1986), Heartbreak on the High Sierra (1989), and the anthology Serious Pleasure (1989). Explorations into the identity and literary form signify an increasing amount of self-consciousness within the category “lesbian fiction,” which reflects the problematization of both the Lesbian, and the Literary.