Lillian Faderman (born July 18, 1940) is an American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
whose books on
lesbian
A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
history and
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
history have earned critical praise and awards. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' named three of her books on its "Notable Books of the Year" list. In addition, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' named her book, ''Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers,'' one of the Top 10 Books of Radical History. She was a professor of English at
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
(Fresno State), which bestowed her emeritus status,
and a visiting professor at
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA). She retired from academe in 2007. Faderman has been referred to as "the mother of lesbian history" for her groundbreaking research and writings on lesbian culture, literature, and history.
Early life
Faderman was raised by her mother, Mary, and her aunt, Rae. In 1914, her mother emigrated from a
shtetl
or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...
in
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
to New York City, planning eventually to send for the rest of the family. Her aunt Rae came in 1923, but the rest of the family was killed during
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's extermination of
European Jews, and Mary blamed herself for not being able to rescue them. Her guilt contributed to a serious
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
that would profoundly affect her daughter.
Mary and Rae, Faderman's mother and aunt, worked in the
garment industry for very little money. Lillian was her mother's third pregnancy; her mother (unmarried) aborted the first two pregnancies at Lillian's biological father's request, but insisted on bearing and raising the third. Mary married when Lillian was a teenager and died in 1979, continuing to have a profound influence on her daughter's life.
Using pseudonyms such as Gigi Frost, Faderman did nude modeling and made softcore nude film loops which paid for her education. She gave her experience in the softcore porn industry in her memoir book ''Naked in the Promised Land''.
Education
Faderman studied first at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, and later at UCLA.
Personal life
Her family moved with her to Los Angeles where, with her mother's encouragement, Lillian took acting classes. She began modeling as a teenager, discovered the
gay bar
A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
scene, and eventually met her first girlfriend. Before she graduated from
Hollywood High School, she married a gay man much older than herself—a marriage that lasted less than a year.
Faderman came out as lesbian in the 1950s.
She lives with her
partner, Phyllis Irwin. She and Phyllis raised one son, Avrom, conceived through artificial insemination by an anonymous Jewish donor.
Awards and honors
* ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (Notable Book of 1981) for ''Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present''
*
Stonewall Book Award (1982) for ''Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present''
*
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...
(Editor's Choice Award, 1992) for ''Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America''
* ''The New York Times'' (Notable Book of 1992) for ''Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America''
* Stonewall Book Award (Nonfiction, 1992) for ''Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America''
* Lambda Literary Award for Best Non-fiction Book (2000) for ''To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done For America - A History''
* Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian/Gay Anthology (2003) for ''Naked in the Promised Land''
*
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
James
Brudner Prize for Exemplary Scholarship in Lesbian/Gay Studies (2001)
*
Paul Monette-Roger Horwitz Trust Award (1999)
*
Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement (
Publishing Triangle, 2004) for ''Naked in the Promised Land''
*
Judy Grahn Award for Memoir (Publishing Triangle, 2004) for ''Naked in the Promised Land''
* Two Lambda Literary Awards for Best Nonfiction Book & LGBT Arts and Culture Award (2007) both awards for ''Gay L. A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians''
* Lambda Literary Award (Pioneer Award, 2013)
* ''The New York Times'' (Notable Book of 2015) for ''The Gay Revolution''
* ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' (Notable Nonfiction Book of 2015) for ''The Gay Revolution''
*
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Nonfiction, 2016) for ''The Gay Revolution''
*
Golden Crown Literary Society 2017 Trailblazer Award
Works
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Adaptations
Filming on an adaption of the book ''Scotch Verdict'' by Flora Nicholson and Sophie Heldman took place in 2025, with the title ''
Miss Pirie and Miss Woods''. The story was also the inspiration for
Lillian Hellman's 1934 play ''
The Children's Hour''.
References
External links
Official websiteAward-winner Lillian Faderman
Interview with Lilian Faderman
C-Span Book TVLillian Faderman*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faderman, Lillian
1940 births
Living people
21st-century American historians
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American memoirists
American women historians
Historians of LGBTQ topics
Historians of the United States
Jewish American historians
Lesbian academics
American lesbian writers
American LGBTQ historians
GLAAD Media Awards winners
Lesbian Jews
Lesbian memoirists
American women memoirists
American people of Latvian-Jewish descent
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Writers from Fresno, California
California State University, Fresno faculty
Lambda Literary Award winners
Stonewall Book Award winners
21st-century American Jews
Hollywood High School alumni
LGBTQ educators