Vampires and Violets

The story of lesbians and the cinema, told for the first time in Vampires and Violets, is a love-hate affair in which the invisible becomes visible in fascinating and surprising ways. With wit, insight, and liberal use of illustrations, the author brings a wide range of films, both popular and forgotten, as well as the work of contemporary directors such as Chantal Akerman, Barbara Hammer, Su Friedrich, Ulrike Ottinger, and many others, into her discussions.

Vampires and Violets:
Penguin USA 1993. 184 pages. Paperback.

An accessible, worthy addition to gay and lesbian cinema studies. An invaluable resource.
– Publishers Weekly

Vampires and Violets is a thoughtful and useful interrogation of the image of lesbians in film. The book weaves together ideas from academic film theory with a real world understanding of how films influence us. Her analyses are subtle and groundbreaking, while never sacrificing the book’s high degree of readability. Vampires and Violets does tremendous work in advancing the discussion to more sophisticated and productive levels.
– Harmony H. Wu, International Gay and Lesbian Review

“A smart, provocative, stunning history of lesbians in film. Every feminist will want to read it.”
– Blanche Wiesen Cook

“The most complete history of lesbians in film ever published, wonderfully intelligent and fun to read… Abounds with fascinating facts, stunning insights and provocative analysis. It’s a treasure.”
– Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers

“A unique contribution to the history of cinema…Weiss’ research is impressive, and Vampires and Violets is smart and entertaining.”
–Diane L. Coleman, The Washington Blade

“Weiss’ observations are so masterful, she leaves one longing to know her opinions on those films she doesn’t examine… A first-rate piece of scholarship, brilliant.”
– Daniel Mangin, Bay Area Reporter

Reader review on Amazon:
5.0 out of 5 stars  “Well-written and slyly witty”, Feb 29 2004
“I bought this book in college for a paper I never actually wrote, but I kept it because it was so engaging. Weiss writes about lesbians in film so well I’m rather surprised this book hasn’t gotten more attention; it isn’t a political screed or a narcolepsy-inducing thesis but simply a good book on an interesting subject. I haven’t seen half the films mentioned herein but I’m dying to; she makes it THAT interesting.”
–Shannon Watkins (Radford, VA)

(Hey thanks, Shannon!)

The book is currently out of print but can be purchased from Jezebel Productions here.