Best Lesbian Erotica

Apparently the earlier reviewers are second wave feminists who believe in gender essentialism and think that BDSM is violent abuse. For them, this erotic collection is distateful because it is full of lesbians who call themselves bois and like to spank one another. As an intersexed person who has gender transitioned and whose feminism is third-wave flavor, I found the erotica OK, but somewhat tedious. Yes, gender transgression is fun and has a long dykely history. Yes, sex can be fun when it's got an edge to it and doesn't take place in a field of pretty butterflies. But the kink and genderqueerity in this book tend to run in familiar, tame ruts. Use a strap-on and swagger? Then you're a boi. Wanna show you're edgy? Add some light D/s or a reference to some fetish like boot-blacking. For erotica to be truly engaging, it has to be inventive, at least for me, and this is genre fiction (albeit a genre second wave lesbian feminists find nasty). Furthermore, some problematic themes are pervasive. Transbois somehow get to be considered under the rubric "lesbian," while trans women, who actually ought to qualify, are noticeably absent. Women of color appear, but share the motivations and character traits and cultural frame of the white majority. Matters like these put me off my libidinal feed. Still, I gave the book four stars, because it seems to deliver what lesbians in 2008 want, the other reviews notwithstanding.