books
Unsolved Mysteries
Recent titles explore human penchant for self-destruction,
potential power of femme mystique
The Stone Gods
by Jeanette Win ter son; Harcourt, 2008; $24
hardcover
With global warming, increased dependence
on technology and a society where success is
measured in growth and consumption, it’s not
difficult to imagine a world that can no lon
ger support our needs. Lesbian author Jeanette
Winterson’s latest novel, The Stone Gods, takes
readers to the ends of such worlds, so to speak,
as she explores a seemingly human penchant for
self-destruction.
The story begins with Billie Crusoe at a time
when planet Orbus has been all but destroyed
by human carelessness. Billie, with a healthy
skepticism for technology, is forced to join an
early mission to the newly discovered Planet
Blue—a pristine planet perfect to replace Or
bus except for one thing: the dinosaurs. Among
her shipmates are Captain Handsome, the sto
ry’s Han Solo; Pink, a stereotypical bimbo; and
Spike, a sexy Robo sapiens— a robot designed
to save humans the responsibility of think
ing. When things go wrong, as they inevita
bly do when elements beyond human control
interfere, Billie finds herself shipwrecked with
en
Spike as a human-instigated Ice Age descends j Glamour Girls:
on Planet Blue.
Femme/Femme
In characteristic Winterson fashion, worlds
Erotica
repeat. Civilizations destroy themselves and
Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel; Haworth
are reborn; the same mistakes are made over
Press, 2006; $ 16.95 softcover
again. As hopes for a new life fade for Billie
Sugar and spice and everything nice—that’s
and Spike on Planet Blue, so do hopes for Billy
what femme/femme love is made of. Unfortu
Crusoe, inadvertently abandoned on Easter
nately for femme women who love and desire
Island in 1774. Here, Billy finds another civi other femme women, not everyone sees the vis
lization on the brink of collapse with two war ceral heat of such a combination. As editor/writer
ring factions and a landscape decimated in the
Rachel Kramer Bussel points out in the thought
creation of the island’s giant stone heads.
ful and engaging introduction to Glamour Girls:
And then there is Billie Crusoe, abandoned
Femme/Femme Erotica, an anthology in praise of
as a baby, who finds herself caught between Tech
the new love that dare not speak its name, some
City and Wreck City at a time when the world is
consider the double dose of sensual femininity to
recovering from war and Robo sapiens have yet to
be nothing more than “air on air.” She and 25
be developed beyond Spike’s head.
other writers unapologetically, articulately and
Readers familiar with Winterson’s previous
erotically disagree.
works will recognize the blurring of boundaries
While the queer community has fought hard
between the future and the past and the long
to expand the mainstream’s understanding and
ing for things lost and things not yet found.
acceptance of same-sex love, it has struggled with
The Stone Gods is an intricately layered nov
its own discomfort with femme/femme fornica
el—and part cautionary tale—that ultimately
tion, seeing it as an affirmation of sexual stereo
suggests we may have within ourselves all that
types that the proper lesbian or bisexual should
we need.
eschew. Sex worker-centric stories including
—Karen Kudej
Kramer Bussel’s “Lap Dance Lust,” Lori Seiki’s
“Diary of a Lost Child, Part I” and Jen Collins’
“The G String” are a partial response to such
misconceptions and offer peeks iQto the unique
world within which femme-loving femme sex pro
fessionals explore their mutual attractions.
Tantalizing insights into the potential power of
the femme mystique are further revealed in stories
such as “Two Girls in the Basement” by Cheryl
B. and “Dressing Desire” by Tenille Brown, each
of which tells the story of a bi-curious woman,
a character increasingly familiar to the real world
of femme romance and lust.
It is precisely this real world that Kramer Bus
sel and her mostly female literary companions
present in this often thoughtful, frequently de
lightful celebration of the femme/femme love
continuum. Whether a nervous novice removing
another woman’s clothing for the first time or a
confident daughter of Sapphos urgently press
ing her painted lips against those of another, the
femmes in this collection prove that they and
their passion are more than merely “air on air.”
—Theresa “Darklady" Reed ft)
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