The Muted Lesbian Voice: Coming Out of Camouflage
2nd year dissertation for the degree of BA English Literature at Leicester University, June 1989
Introductory note 2000: Written some ten years ago, this essay is a product of its time. That may seem an obvious thing to say, but I'm aware of how easy it can be to make assumptions about written texts which removes them completely from their historical and cultural contexts. more ...

Lesbian eXcursions: Journeying through the personal narrative
Dissertation submitted for the degree of MA Modern Literature: Theory and Practice at Leicester University, 1991
I had known for a long while that books could be friends, but something happened to me at sixteen/seventeen which meant that life was only mediated through stories. I had my notebooks then, grey, not blue like Mary's, but funnily enough purchased at Boots where I recently discovered "Poor Miss P" (see Christine Crow's Miss X or The Wolf Woman) exchanged her library books. The notebooks were friends too because they opened up an imaginary Wilderness to me, where I could tentatively embrace the Unknown and consider who or what 'X' might be. Some of the thoughts were turned into poems. more ...

"You never see lesbians": Reading "lesbian" through Channel 4 TV's Brookside
Paper presented at Women's Studies Network (UK) Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 July 1994
In the last two years it has become possible to read "lesbian" in seemingly more places than ever before. Apparently lesbians are now "fashionable" and "lesbian chic" is debated throughout a range of popular texts, from the August 1993 Vanity Fair front cover featuring Cindy Crawford and k d lang to Joanna Briscoe's recent article in the Sunday Times ("Lipstick on her collar" 5 June 1994). To read "lesbian" here is to read a story of our popularity, but it is also to become involved in an orchestrated spectacle. more ...

"Celebrating self help"
Opening presentation at Women's Health 2000: a Celebration of Self Help event, London Voluntary Sector Resource Centre, 6 May 2000
I have been involved in women's health promotion and community projects for the last 12 years. Some of these operated as self help groups and support networks in which I participated because of my own experiences and support needs. My involvement in other projects has been as a paid worker employed to support and service similar groups. My personal experience of self help has everything to do with being a woman and, more specifically for me, being a lesbian. more ...

Brief articles:

How do Lesbians Read?
Previously unpublished article written in 1994
You may think that an article about lesbians and our reading habits would ask "What do lesbians read?" I'm interested in this too, but just think for a minute - if you haven't already asked yourself how you read, you may want to take a closer look at yourself (and others, perhaps) after reading this. And I'm not talking about how you learned your ABC... more ...

A Woman Shaved: a sign of what?
Previously unpublished article written in 1994, with revisions made in 1999
It occurred to me recently that I'm a walking social survey. With several advantages which help me to receive uncensored opinion: no clipboard to hide in the act of waylaying "unsuspecting" interviewees; in fact no need to ask questions at all, let alone invite people to speak to me. My shaved head is invitation enough. A woman with a shaved head is public property, it seems. A prime candidate for objectification. more ...

Blog articles:

For current opinion, read my blog, Out on a dike, which is regularly updated.
Here is a selection of columnist-style blog entries:

A Night of Lesbian Entertainment
Sunday, February 25, 2007
What might that look like? I can think of a few things. But if I have to start somewhere, then An L of a Night at Nottingham Playhouse paints a satisying image. That's where I spent an enjoyable evening last night, along with my partner and 708 other lesbians! Can you imagine that many lesbians in one room? more ...

Shaved: when the media has it in for you
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The stereotypes about women with shaved heads are alive and well, then. I don't know if Britney Spears is experiencing a breakdown. Perhaps she is. It's none of my business, and not for me to judge. But why should the media assume that choosing to shave her head is the ultimate sign that she's close to the edge and no longer in control of her own actions? Why can't this be an act of self-care? more ...

Hair to Stay
Friday, January 12, 2007
Good for Shazia Mirza, the British Muslim comedian, whose New Year's resolution was to stop shaving her body hair. Is hair really one of the last taboos when it comes to the female body? Is it true that hairiness will not be tolerated? more ...

Keeping On Coming Out
Friday, September 8, 2006
Julie R. Enszer won’t be celebrating National Coming Out Day this year. She says the focus on individual action, encouraging each person to come out and tell their story, has resulted in a whole generation of narcissistic queer people and doesn’t further the human rights cause. Julie believes that equality can only be achieved through an awareness of social responsibility and collective action. more ...

Welcome to the World, Baby Dyke
Friday, August 4, 2006
It's 20 years to the week since I came out for the very first time by uttering the words "I think I'm gay" within earshot of another human being. It was very, very scary, and also exhilarating and liberating. From there, I just wanted to tell more and more people more ...

Lesbians on TV: fewer ponytails please!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
The May edition of Diva dropped through my letterbox last week, its front cover advertising a subject close to my heart: Lesbians on TV. Even the obligatory picture is there of (Brookside characters) Beth Jordache and Margaret Clemence kissing. more ...

The future's pink
Monday, January 23, 2006
Does everyone who writes for The Guardian or Observer need to be called Polly? Today, in The Guardian, Polly Curtis turned her attention to the pink pound. more ...

Deeply Depilatory
Sunday, January 22, 2006
I came across a hair-related article the other day just crying out for my response. After all, I am the woman who shaves her head and lets the remainder of her body hair fend for itself - apart from one or two stray eyebrows, that is. (We all have our weaknesses.) more ...

Out on a Brighton dike
Monday, September 5, 2005
Today I'm sorting out my best clothes ready to venture into that other British gay coastal resort beginning with B. The one that isn't Blackpool. That would be Brighton, then. The number one (it has to be said) British gay coastal resort beginning with B. more ...

You don't always get what you want
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
A selection (a very small selection) of films from the 19th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival are playing in Nottingham this week at Broadway. I did at least remember to check what was on this year. Months go by and I forget to view a Broadway programme, even though they're available in the foyer where I work. more ...

Somewhere in the rainbow
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
The Pride season has started. On Sunday I went over to Birmingham for an hour to squeeze myself through the crowded streets. I amused the people selling the 'end homophobia' wrist bands by picking over the rainbow ones. A rainbow colour version is now available to complement the pink. more ...

On this day ...
Saturday, April 30, 2005
On Saturday 30 April 1988, I joined the demonstration in London protesting against Clause 28. Clause 28 was passed into law as Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 on 24 May, with support of then Local Government minister, Michael Howard. How many connections there are for one week, almost half a lifetime on! Don't forget that's what the man stands for when it comes to voting this May 5th. more ...

Dykeopoly
Sunday, April 24, 2005
I know the sun is shining and I should be out there enjoying the spring weekend, but instead I'm looking back to the depths of winter and my activities in the Christmas break, when a certain activity present kept me busy. more ...

Other writings & related interests:

You might have noticed I shave my head.
Read the BBC News article Mark of a Woman (Tuesday, 20 February, 2007). I was interviewed for this article following my blog post on Britney Spears and what shaving my head means to me.

Be sure to visit Woman-Stirred, where I'm part of a collective of queer women writers. There's always plenty going on here, including Woman-Stirred Radio streaming live over the web from WGDR (Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont). I have a regular weekly slot on the show, providing commentary from a British lesbian perspective.

Here is a list of my published writings.

Visit my Studio for new work and ideas in progress. I'm now working on a coming out hypertext project, based on my own experiences as a young lesbian.

Between November 2000 and February 2001 I held a "writer's attachment" with the online writing centre trAce. I kept an online journal describing my progress. Read my Journal with a road movie theme ... particularly if you're a fan of Thelma & Louise.