Image credits: The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University - see image reference at the end
See our collections fon display in our free exhibitions "All work and low pay: the story of women and work" and "Cycling to Suffrage: The Bicycle and Women's Rights, 1890-1914" and related events
Key class numbers and search terms
Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions
PeriodicalsPress cuttings and ephemera
Zines and artist books
Electronic resources
Archives (personal, organisational papers and oral histories)
Museum collection (objects, textiles and visual materials)
Images
Web Archive
Further information
The Women's Library, founded in 1926 as the Library of the London Society for Women's Service, exists to document and explore women's lives in Britain in the past, now and in the future. Printed material, ephemera, archives, oral histories and museum objects together form The Women's Library collections. The collections include a wide range of resources for the study of sexuality particularly in relation to sex, gender and feminism. In addition to contemporary books, pamphlets, periodicals and zines on aspects of sexuality the collections also contain related material on the history of sexuality, sexual orientation in socio-cultural contexts, as well as pornography and prostitution.
Key class numbers and search terms
The printed collections of The Women's Library are arranged in the Dewey Decimal Classification and listed on London Metropolitan University's online catalogue, available in the Reading Room and via the website. Key class numbers and search terms for women and sexuality include:
Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions
The Library holds the following guides and bibliographies, useful for identifying further information and material on the subject:
Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Garry (ed). Who's who in gay and lesbian history: from antiquity to World War II 2nd edition. London; New York: Routledge, 2002. Quick reference 306.7660922WHO
Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Garry (ed). Who's who in contemporary gay and lesbian history: from World War II to the present day 2nd edition. London; New York: Routledge, 2002. Quick Reference 306.7660922WHO
Hope, Melissa. (ed) Encyclopedia of prostitution and sex work. 2 vols. Ditmore Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006. Reading room 306.7403 ENC
Jónasdóttir, Anna G. Bryson, Valerie, Jones, Kathleen B. Sexuality, gender and power : intersectional and transnational perspectives. New York ; London : Routledge, 2011 Reading room 306.7082 SEX
McAuliffe, Mary, Tieran, Sonja. (eds.) Histories of sexualities. Vol. 2, Sapphists and sexologists. Newcastle, UK : Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2008. Reading room 306.766322 HIS
Murphy, Timothy F. Reader's guide to lesbian and gay studies. Chicago; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. Women's Library Oversize 016.3067663REA
Pilcher, Jane. 50 key concepts in gender studies London: Sage, 2004. Reading Room 305.3PIL
Seruya, Flora. Sex and sex education: a bibliography. New York; London: Bowker, 1972. Reading Room 016.3067SER
Sex and sexuality, 1640-1940 [microfilm] Pt.2, Romantic friendships and lesbian relationships in literature and history. Marlborough : Adam Matthew, [2001] Reading room 306.7 SEX
Stryker, Susan and Whittle, Stephen (eds.). The Transgender studies reader. New York: London: Routledge, 2006. Reading Room 306.768TRA
Worrell, Judith (ed.). Encyclopedia of women and gender San Diego; London: Academic, 2001. Quick Reference 305.4203ENC
Zimmerman, Bonnie (ed.). Lesbian histories and cultures: an encyclopedia. New York; London: Garland Publishing, 2000. Quick Reference 306.766303LES
See The Women's Library most recently published and newly available acquisitions.
Periodicals
The Library holds a wide range of periodicals on women, including academic titles, popular magazines and campaigning newsletters. Some relevant periodical titles related to sexuality are Sex roles: a journal of research, Journal of the history of sexuality, Chroma and Dykelife. See a fuller list of relevant periodicals.
For more guidance on identifying periodicals click here and identify further periodical titles through the online catalogue.
Press cuttings and ephemera
The press cutting collections cover the whole of the 20th century and are particularly valuable for identifying contemporary comment where retrospective online newspaper coverage is unavailable. The Library holds cuttings up to 1979 on sexuality at UDC press cuttings 392.6. In addition to the general press cuttings we also hold scrapbooks of press cuttings with material on prostitution and other related subjects.
The Library's ephemera collection contains information relating to women's and LGBT organisations including leaflets, flyers, minutes of meetings, agendas and all kinds of campaign literature. There is ephemera from over 100 organisations relating to sexuality, including the Gay Liberation Front, the Older Lesbian Network, and the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre. A full listing of relevant organisations can be found in the ephemera card index in the Reading Room.
Zines and artist books
The library also holds an important collection of over 350 zines and artist books cover issues related to sexuality. Zines and artist books can be identified through the online catalogue.
Electronic resources
Electronic resources (online journals and databases) are currently only available to London Metropolitan University staff and students, and can be accessed via the online catalogue with their institutional identification and password. London Metropolitan Academic Liaison Librarians have provided a list of relevant e-resources.
Archives (personal, organisational papers and oral histories)
A brief guide to the archives is available on The Women's Library's website. Further details of archives available for research can be found in the archive and museum catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Information Desk. Note: In the archive and museum catalogue use "Gender minorities" when using the subject index search option rather than "lesbians." The following archives, relate to various aspects of sexuality:
2SJA St Joan's Alliance
3AMS Association for Moral and Social Hygiene
3LNA Ladies' National Association for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts 1871-1890
4BNC British National Commission for the suppression of the white slave trade
4BVA Records of the British Vigilance Association
4NVA National Vigilance Association
5WSC Women and Socialism Conference September 1973
7EAW Papers of Elizabeth Wilson and Angela [Weir] Mason
7HEF Papers of Helen Franks
7KMA Papers of Kitty Marion
7RTH/A Diaries of Rebecca Thackray
7VJH Papers of Vera (Jack) Holme
7SHR Papers of Sheila Rowbotham, including material on Gay Liberation
8CPC Civil Partnership Collection (c.2007)
10/03 Scrapbook [on women's suffrage and the campaign against the Contagious Diseases Act]
10/13 Scrapbook pages [of Edith How Martyn]: women's war work
10/55 Scrapbooks of press cuttings relating to abortion, divorce and gay and lesbian rights in Ireland
Museum Collection (objects, textiles and visual materials)
This includes badges, postcards, photographs, posters, textiles, some ceramics and other objects. Further details of museum objects available for research can be found in the archive and museum collections catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Enquiry Desk. Museum objects on this topic can be located in the catalogue using terms such as sexuality, lesbian, gay (though 'gay' does result in some irrelevant objects) and women and sexuality. Specifically the collection includes a range of material relating to sexuality, for example the posters of See Red Women’s Workshop, and badges with the slogans such as ''Mother Nature is a Lesbian''. To identify visual materials in the archives catalogue input in the relevant terms "any text" fiel using the AND/OR at the bottom of the screen. Also add one of the following in the object name (banner, postcard, badge, photograph). Click on search. A list of results will appear. Click on the number on the left hand side to see the record and its related image. The archives catalogue record often provides an image of the visual material.
Identifying images
Images can be found throughout The Women's Library's collections, for example in the printed collections a wealth of images can be found within the materials themselves. Search the printed materials catalogue using relevant keywords, such as sex*, lesbian*. The previous section provides a guide to identifying visual materials in musuem and archive collections.
Many digital images are also available on Flickr, Vads, the archives catalogue (click on the number in the left hand side) and Mary Evans Picture Library. Use Mary Evans Picture Library's fast service for a non-watermarked high resolution images suitable for publication. If you require an image which has not been digitised you are welcome to use our photographic service. Normal copyright conditions will apply.
BACK TO THE TOP
Web Archive
This collection of web sites about Women's Issues is maintained by the British Library in collaboration with the Women's Library, London Metropolitan University. The collection was established in 2005 and has regularly collected web sites since then. It includes sites of women's organisations and campaigns, research reports, government publications and statistics pertaining to women, personal sites of women, such as blogs, and women focused e-zines. Specifically relevant to Sexuality are sites such as Stonewall, Gender Identity Research and Education Society and Sisteract plus blogs such as Black British Lesbian Timeline. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) History Month blog although not in the collection might also be of intereet.
Further information
The staff of The Women's Library can help you find material relating to your subject area, please don't hesitate to ask. You can contact the Informaiton Desk staff prior to your visit via twlinfodesk@londonmet.ac.uk or by telephone 020 7320 3515 or in person at the Information Desk when in the Reading Room.
Image reference: Vera Jack Holmes with Evelina Haverfield in Serbia 7VJH/5
Return to source notes
|
