title: Naming the Violence: Speaking Out about Lesbian Battering (New Leaf Series)
author: Lobel
description: Sponsored by the Lesbian Task Force of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, this book is "by and for battered lesbians and those who work to support their empowerment." Contributors note that the topic is especiallydifficult for lesbians because, as Barbara Hart, an activist lawyer, states in the preface, lesbian battering "contradicts our belief in the inherent nonviolence of women," and publicity about it "may enhance the arsenal of homophobes." Lobel alternates personal histories with commentary by counselors, activists and others who offer advice on how to treat victims and how to deal with the problem generally. (They note the many parallels to man-woman battering cases.) The victims' stories are wrenching: one battered woman has become so suspicious that when she sees an adult and several girls flying kites in a park (while she writes her contribution to this volume), she remarks only, "I hope that their relationship is as loving and playful as it looks." This collection constitutes a challenge to lesbians who abuse their lovers and to those who tolerate such abuse. <br />Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  When Lightning Strikes
  
  Rexanne Becnel
  
  ![](images/00001.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In 1855 Nathaniel Hawthorne complained to his publisher, “America is now
  wholly given over to a damned mob of scribbling women and I should have no
  chance of success.”
  
  To scribbling women everywhere,
  
  I fondly dedicate this book.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Contents
  
  [Chapter 1](index_split_003.html#filepos4098)
  
  [Chapter 2](index_split_004.html#filepos25892)
  
  [Chapter 3](index_split_005.html#filepos62133)
  
  [Chapter 4](index_split_006.html#filepos90469)
  
  [Chapter 5](index_split_007.html#filepos123018)
  
  [Chapter 6](index_split_008.html#filepos157025)
  
  [Chapter 7](index_split_009.html#filepos175051)
  
  [Chapter 8](index_split_010.html#filepos201441)
  
  [Chapter 9](index_split_011.html#filepos223842)
  
  [Chapter 10](index_split_012.html#filepos247720)
  
  [Chapter 11](index_split_013.html#filepos280786)
  
  [Chapter 12](index_split_014.html#filepos309859)
  
  [Chapter 13](index_split_015.html#filepos329725)
  
  [Chapter 14](index