Chapter 1 Summary

Jess Goldberg, a "stone butch" lesbian (one who dresses and behaves like a traditionally masculine man) writes a letter to her long-lost lover, Theresa. Times have changed since Jess made her first forays into gay bars in the early 1960s - only no one used the word "gay" back then. Back then, the bars were frequented by butches, femmes (lesbians acting in traditionally feminine ways) and drag queens (gay men dressed up as women).Now, in the late 1980s, the violence is rarer, but the enemies come from their own ranks - lesbians teemed in modern feminism, who see tired sexual stereotypes in the idea of butches and femmes.

The bars are home to gays, but unfortunately they are not fortresses. Police raids are common, sudden, and crushing. Like other fraternities of masculine men, police officers take special delight in terrorizing gays. Jess...