I Wish I Was a Lesbian

Women's Lives beyond Heterosexuality

Angela C. Wild

• Publisher: Spinifex Press
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781922964311
• Subtopic: Feminism & Feminist Theory
• Index: Social Sciences

Bringing together women across cultures and generations – from lifelong lesbians exploring their experiences through a lesbian feminist lens, to women consciously leaving heterosexuality behind to embrace lesbianism – I Wish I Was a Lesbian addresses those questions and more. Once understood as the cornerstone of patriarchal control of women, any current political analysis of heterosexuality is now buried under an avalanche of essentialist ideas that serve to invisibilise its political nature and de-radicalise feminism. From autobiographical and theoretical essays to poetry and artworks, I Wish I Was a Lesbian defies taboo and silencing and reopens the conversation. It challenges the notion that heterosexuality is the natural and inevitable fate of most women. There are many forces keeping women in heterosexual relationships. The latest is to accuse lesbians who have had previous relations with men of being ' not real lesbians' , ' pretenbians' or ' bisexuals' . But the idea that lesbians are ' born that way' is not based in either reality or science. There are no lesbian genes or lesbian brains. For women currently rejecting men and saying they wished they were lesbians but don' t know how to get there, this book offers a vital tool for political reflection and consciousness raising. It invites women everywhere to connect the personal with the political and to ask themselves the most radical question of all: " What is heterosexuality – and do I really want to be part of it?"

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction • Angela C. Wild
• Late-blooming ‘Privilege’ • Hazel Holloway
• Compulsory Heterosexuality • Radfem Kollektiv Berlin
• Flame • Kelly Frost
• On Dating Men (And Reasons Not To) • Yağmur Uygarkızı
• Choosing to Love Women: A Korean 4B Story • Hyejung Kim
• I Wasn’t Born This Way and I Am Proud of It • Julie Bindel
• The Labyrinth of Crooked Mirrors • Margherita Rubin
• Women and Heterosexuality, a Lesbian of Color Perspective • Daniela Medina
• Looking for Aliens • Syldys
• Does It Matter If They Did It? A Return to the Debate • Sheila Jeffreys
• Gender Dysphoria: A New Manifestation of Compulsory Heterosexuality in Modern Years • Charlie May
• A Political Awakening • Alima
• The Joy of Choosing to Become a Lesbian • Renate Klein
• An Approach to the Myth of Sexual Orientation • Ananda Castaño
• Choosing Women: A Working Vision for Political Lesbianism • Jesika Gonzalez
• The Birth of a Lesbian • Angela C. Wild
• Solitude as Resistance and the Survival of Lesbian Feminist Communities • Frances Woods
• The Door Behind the Wallpaper • Yana
• My Journey from lesbian to Lesbian • Anne Ehrlich
• Born That Way • Ann E. Menasche
• A Return to Lesbianism: This Time It’s Political • Michelle Kerwin
• I Wish I Was a Lesbian • Tabata Spinster
• Any Woman Can Be a Lesbian – And It’s Never Too Late • Cris Walker
• Choosing Life, Six Acts • Elizabeth Vigo
• Global Campaign to Suppress Heterosexuality and Other Forms of Male Diseases • Yağmur Uygarkızı
• Political Lesbianism: A Revolution of the Imagination • Lynn Alderson
• Is Lesbian Political Potential Impacted by the Doctrine of Born-That-Way? A Structural Analysis • WDI USA Lesbian Caucus
• Reject Performance, Start Be-ing • Tabata Spinster
• Women, You Can Dodge the Dogma! • KatJ
• Towards a Lesbian-centric Universe • Susan Hawthorne
• Observing and Documenting the Transit of Patriarchy • Suzanne Bellamy
• The Lucid Darkness of the Lesbian • Kenia Namiliz Salas Pelaez
• Biographical notes