Synopses & Reviews
From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.
Lubavitcher Hasidim are famous for their efforts to inspire secular Jews to become more observant and for their messianic fervor. Strict followers of Orthodox Judaism, they maintain sharp gender-role distinctions.
Levine spent a year living in the Lubavitch community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, participating in the rhythms of Hasidic girlhood. Drawing on many intimate hours among Hasidim and over 30 in-depth interviews, Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers offers rich portraits of individual Hasidic young women and how they deal with the conflicts between the regimented society in which they live and the pull of mainstream American life.
This superbly crafted book offers intimate stories from Hasidic teenagers' lives, providing an intriguing twist to a universal theme: the struggle to grow up and define who we are within the context of culture, family, and life-driving beliefs.
Review
"It is wonderful to have Out of the Closets again available. A pioneering anthology that had a profound impact in its first incarnation in 1972, it still speaks powerfully to the condition of gay men and lesbians in American life, recounting sorrows and joys, offering solace and strategy, celebrating the remarkable diversity and creativity of those who are different." -Martin Duberman,Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York
Review
"Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers presents a comprehensive snapshot of women's experience in Crown Heights . . . Levine's personal response to the Lubavitcher way of life weaves itself into each chapter and is one of the book's most engaging aspects."-Eric Caplan,CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly
Review
"In an age that is at times overly concerned with girls' self-destruction, here is a welcome sign of girls' strength and healthy development. Levine teaches an important and seldom taught lesson: we may find resilience where we least expect it. Her unprecedented insight into this hidden culture is an important addition to the growing body of work on girls."-Rachel Simmons,author of Odd Girl Out
Review
"Lively tales of girls who long for the lives of male scholars, and rebels who visit strip clubs, smoke pot, and dream of high-powered careers."-Books to Watch out For,
Review
"Stephanie Levine's book is full of surprises."-Midstream,
Review
"In an era seemingly plagued with sex, anorexia and depression among our nation's girls, a page from Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers is a refreshing peek into the possibilities for growth, strength and self."-The Jewish New Weekly of Northern California,
Synopsis
Filled with Joyous self-affirmation, angry manifestos, and searching personal reflections, this classic work provides a close look at the individuals and ideologies of this important social movement. In the tradition of Sisterhood is Powerful, Out of the Closets presents , in their own words, the views, values attitudes, aspirations, and circumstances of the early generation of gay and lesbian liberationists. Highlighting both how much and how little has changed since Stonewall, this work is essential reading for anyone concerned with the history of sexuality and the legal and social status of lesbians and gays in contemporary America.
Synopsis
Filled with Joyous self-affirmation, angry manifestos, and searching personal reflections, this classic work provides a close look at the individuals and ideologies of this important social movement. In the tradition of Sisterhood is Powerful, Out of the Closets presents , in their own words, the views, values attitudes, aspirations, and circumstances of the early generation of gay and lesbian liberationists. Highlighting both how much and how little has changed since Stonewall, this work is essential reading for anyone concerned with the history of sexuality and the legal and social status of lesbians and gays in contemporary America.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. lv-lvi).
About the Author
Karla Jay has written, edited, and translated nine books, the most recent of which are Dyke Life and Lesbian Erotics. Dyke Life won the 1996 Lambda Literary Award in the category of Lesbian Studies. She is editor of NYU Press's series, "The Cutting Edge: Lesbian Life and Literature." This is the only lesbian studies series in the world from a university press. In existence since 1992, the series now spans some 20 books of original criticism, reprints, translations and recovered archival letters and manuscripts. Dr. Jay has written for many publications, including Ms. Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, and Lambda Book Report. She is Professor of English and Director of Women's Studies at Pace University in New York City. She is currently at work on two books, Ten Decades of Struggle: Gay and Lesbian Life in the United States (Oxford UP) and Tales of the lavender Menace (Basic).