Uninvited Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability [Paperback]

White writes with considerable flair, and her arguments are always interesting... Choice

Uncovering a massive trove of what she calls 'lesbian representability'images of lesbian desire, love and lifein mainstream movies, White provides an insightful look at classic American films.... her myriad examples and finely wrought arguments prove both convincing and engaging. Publishers Weekly

Conspiratorial and witty, Uninvited is a mischievous invitation to dissect classical cinema by someone who wields the razor with glee. OUT Magazine

Lesbian characters, stories, and images were barred from onscreen depiction in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s, together with all forms of sex perversion. Looking at the lure of some of the great female stars and at the visual coding of supporting actresses, the book identifies lesbian spectatorial strategies.

Patricia White, Assistant Professor of English and Film Studies, teaches film and cultural studies at Swarthmore College. Her work has appeared in Screen, The Oxford Guide to Film Studies, and in numerous collections of feminist and lesbian/gay film studies. She is co-editor of a Wide Angle special issue devoted to the work of the feminist film distributor Women make Movies and a member of the editorial collective of Camera Obscura.

Introduction
Chapter 1: Reading the Code(s)
Chapter 2: Lesbian Cinephilia
Chapter 3: Female Spectator, Lesbian Spectator
Chapter 4: Films for Girls: Lesbian Sentiment and the Maternal Melodrama
Chapter 5: Supporting Character
Chapter 6: On Retrospectatorship
Notes
Works Cited
Index