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Joan Nestle

ジョーン・ネストル

Joan Nestle

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1940-05-12 （New York City, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
New York City, United States → Australia (resident)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Editor, Archivist, Teacher
Active Years
1960-
Affiliations
Lesbian Herstory Archives, CUNY-related (Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies CLAGS), Gay Academic Union (founding member)
Influenced By
Lillian Faderman (scholar)

Education

Queens College, City University of New York
English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
New York University
English
Degree: Master's degree
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Worked toward a doctorate for two years before returning to teach at Queens College

Awards

Trailblazer Award
2015
Organization: Golden Crown Literary Society
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Anthology — Fiction
2000
Work: The Vintage Book of International Lesbian Fiction
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Studies
1999
Work: A Fragile Union: New and Collected Writings
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Anthology — Fiction
1997
Work: Women on Women 3
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement
1996
Organization: Publishing Triangle (award organization)
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Anthology — Nonfiction
1994
Work: Sister and Brother: Lesbians and Gay Men Write about Their Lives Together
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Anthology
1992
Work: The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Lambda Literary Award for Anthology
1990
Work: Women on Women 1
Organization: Lambda Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
American Library Association Gay/Lesbian Book Award
1988
Work: A Restricted Country
Organization: American Library Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Fragile Union: New and Collected Writings

1998 Essays / Collected writings

A collection of Nestle's essays and shorter writings addressing feminism, lesbian history, and personal memoir.

lesbian historyfeminismpersonal memory

A Restricted Country

1988 Short fiction

A collection of Nestle's short fiction exploring lesbian life and sexual expression; a controversial work at the time.

sexualitybutch-femme relationships

The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader

1992 Anthology / Scholarly reader

An important anthology compiling essays and testimonies about femme-butch culture, widely referenced in research and teaching.

femme-butchcultural historyidentity

Women on Women series (editor)

1990 Anthology (lesbian short fiction)

A series of lesbian short fiction anthologies edited by Nestle, collecting works by many authors across volumes.

lesbian literaturecommunity expression

Bibliography

  • A Restricted Country (1988)
  • Women on Women 1: An Anthology of Lesbian Short Fiction (1990) (ed.)
  • The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader (1992) (ed.)
  • Sister and Brother: Lesbians and Gay Men Write about Their Lives Together (1994) (co-ed.)
  • Women on Women 3 (1996) (co-ed.)
  • A Fragile Union: New and Collected Writings (1998)
  • The Vintage Book of International Lesbian Fiction (1999) (co-ed.)
  • GENDERqUEER: Voices from Beyond the Binary (2002) (co-ed.)

Adaptations

  • Appeared in the documentary 'Hand on the Pulse' (2002)
  • Appeared in the documentary 'Not Just Passing Through' (1994)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
political and activist essaysexplicit and direct sexual expressionarchive-centered writing
Recurring Motifs
butch-femme relationshipslesbian community and memoryJewish identity

Health

  • Colorectal cancer (diagnosed)
    1995（引退の理由となった病気）
    Led to retirement from Queens College in 1995
  • Breast cancer (diagnosed)
    2001（診断）
    Diagnosed in 2001; continued to be active thereafter

Legacy

Nestle is a leading activist, editor, and writer who pioneered the documentation and preservation of lesbian history. Her co-founding of the Lesbian Herstory Archives created a key institution for community history, and her work has strongly influenced lesbian and femme-butch studies.

Academic Societies

  • CLAGS (Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY)
  • Gay Academic Union (founding member)

Archives

  • Lesbian Herstory Archives
  • Australian Queer Archives (patron)

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared in documentaries ('Hand on the Pulse', 'Not Just Passing Through', etc.)

Quotes

  • “As a woman, as a lesbian, and as a Jew, I know that much of what I call history others will not. But answering that challenge of exclusion is the work of a lifetime.”
    Source: Jewish Women's Archive (source)

Trivia

  • The Lesbian Herstory Archives, which she co-founded in 1974, began in the pantry of the apartment she shared with a partner.
  • She began writing fiction in 1978; her erotic focus on butch-femme relationships provoked controversy during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s.
  • Now lives in Australia with partner Dianne Otto (law professor at the University of Melbourne) and has taught there.