''Macho Sluts'' is a 1988 book of

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by Pat Califia, published by

Alyson Publications Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the ...

. Then lesbian identified, Califia had written the stories between 1977 and 1988 during a period of fierce struggle between

lesbian feminist Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logica ...

sadomasochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...

practitioners and anti-pornography feminists in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Media scholar Carolyn Bronstein has characterized these articles, and the anthology, as lesbian

romance fiction A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the developme ...

. As such, they made lesbians visible within the

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

and sadomasochist communities, and lesbians practicing what came to be known as "power exchange" visible in the feminist community. Bronstein characterizes the collection as an activist response to anti-pornography feminists' characterization of sadomasochism as a "dangerous form of sexuality that reproduced the positions of power associated with

heterosexuality Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or ...

." Exploring sadomasochism fantasy concepts, it includes the stories "The Calyx of Isis" and "Jessie" along with six other shorter works, "The Finishing School", "The Hustler", "The Surprise Party", "The Vampire", "The Spoiler", and "A Dash of Vanilla". It includes lesbians, gay men, and those of indeterminate sexuality, with their broad ranges of fantasies. On its original publication the book was sold in a plastic shrink wrap with a free

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

stating "Macho Slut".

References

1988 short story collections 1990s LGBTQ literature Alyson Books books BDSM literature Erotic short stories LGBTQ literature in the United States {{LGBT-fiction-stub