Different Daughters: A Book by Mothers of Lesbians - Softcover

Mother's Day happens in May, so what better time to take another look at a second edition of one of the most useful anthologies ever. When Louise Rafkin came out in the mid-80s she was looking for a resource to help explain to her mother some of what being a lesbian meant, and mirror some of what her mom might be feeling about her "different" daughter. She had to create that resource, this book. Though public perceptions of lesbians have changed drastically in the last 10 years--we're out in the rock music world and professional sports and the highest levels of government--how many moms still wonder, with a wince, "Why my daughter?" The responses vary wildly showing how women of different generations react to lesbianism, the concern some mothers feel for their girls, the blame and guilt that goes both ways, and how the most unaccepting person can come around. Some updated entries are placed alongside their 1987 version to show what a long way we have come.

Louise Rafkin is the author of Other People’s Dirt and the editor of Different Mothers. She has been a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered and has written for Out Magazine. Her articles and essays appear frequently in the New York Times, Health Magazine, and Metropolitan Home. She lives in Oakland, CA.