Ask me the name of my all-time favorite book and I’ll respond “Written on the Body” by Jeanette Winterson before the question is even fully out of your mouth. To my thinking, Winterson’s prose is poetic and the hopeless romantic in me is captivated by her artful imaging.

Winterson, an openly lesbian English author, is perhaps best known for “Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit,” a semi-autobiographical novel that makes an appearance on many a lesbian “must read” list. But for my money, “Written on the Body” is Winterson’s most enjoyable work. As such, you will find it well-represented on this list of favorite Winterson quotes.

“There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.” — Written on the Body

“Whoever it is you fall in love with for the first time, not just love but be in love with, is the one who will always make you angry, the one you can’t be logical about.” — The Passion

“Trust me, I’m telling you stories. … I can change the story. I am the story.” — Written on the Body

“I am good at walking away. Rejection teaches you how to reject.” — Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles

“Do you fall in love often?” “Yes often. With a view, with a book, with a dog, a cat, with numbers, with friends, with complete strangers, with nothing at all.” — Gut Symmetries

“What kills love? Only this: Neglect. Not to see you when you stand before me. Not to think of you in the little things. Not to make the road wide for you, the table spread for you. To choose you out of habit not desire, to pass the flower seller without a thought. To leave the dishes unwashed, the bed unmade, to ignore you in the mornings, make use of you at night. To crave another while pecking your cheek. To say your name without hearing it, to assume it is mine to call.” — Written on the Body

“I didn’t know what hate felt like, not the hate that comes after love. It’s huge and desperate and it longs to be proved wrong. And every day it’s proved right it grows a little more monstrous. If the love was passion, the hate will be obsession. A need to see the once-loved weak and cowed beneath pity. Disgust is close and dignity is far away. The hate is not only for the once loved, it’s for yourself too; how could you ever have loved this?” — The Passion

“Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no. It will break out in tongues of praise, the high note that smashes the glass and spills the liquid.” — Written on the Body

“You said, ‘I love you.’ Why is it that the most unoriginal thing we can say to one another is still the thing we long to hear? ‘I love you’ is always a quotation. You did not say it first and neither did I, yet when you say it and when I say it we speak like savages who have found three words and worship them. I did worship them but now I am alone on a rock hewn out of my own body.” — Written on the Body

And, finally, my all-time favorite:

“While I can’t have you, I long for you. I am the kind of person who would miss a train or a plane to meet you for coffee. I’d take a taxi across town to see you for ten minutes. I’d wait outside all night if I thought you would open the door in the morning. If you call me and say ‘Will you …’ my answer is ‘Yes’, before your sentence is out. I spin worlds where we could be together. I dream you. For me, imagination and desire are very close.”

Did your favorite Winterson quote make the list? If not, share yours in the “Leave a Reply” section below.

The post 10 amazing quotes from lesbian author Jeanette Winterson first appeared on Lesbian.com.

We heart Tegan and Sara posing for NOH8.

BY HEATHER HOGAN
AfterEllen

Happy belated (American) Thanksgiving readers! As we gorge ourselves on turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese and green bean casserole and pecan pie, we thought we’d take a look back at this year in lesbian/bi pop culture and remember the things that fill us with gratitude. So, guzzle that wine and join us as we countdown 50 reasons we’re thankful to be gay ladies in 2013. From lesbian-themed novels to Orange is the New Black, Tegan and Sara to The Fosters, the list is long. Dig in!

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The post 50 reasons to be grateful you’re a gay lady in 2013 first appeared on Lesbian.com.

You’re a girl on the go, a dyke in the know. Make sure you’re prepared for all the twists and turns life throws you. Whether you came out last week, or last century, don’t be caught without these ten lesbian essentials.

A Tool Kit

Every woman, regardless of sexual orientation should have a good tool box stocked with the essentials of hammer, Phillips and flat screwdrivers, a few wrenches, pliers — including needle-nose, tape measure, level and an electric drill, to start.

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Now that Labor Day has come and gone, it’s time to say goodbye to the most jam-packed summer of lesbian TV ever. Over the last few months, there have been times when we were convinced we were living inside a fever dream of queer lady heaven. “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Fosters,” “Under The Dome,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “Mistresses,” “Skins Fire,” “The Bridge,” “The Killing,” “Defiance,” “True Blood,” and “Warehouse 13” all featured lesbian/bi characters this summer — but it wasn’t all lesbian weddings and lady-on-lady make outs. So, let’s take a look at the 10 things we learned during the summer of lesbian plenty.

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The post 10 things we learned from the best lesbian TV summer ever first appeared on Lesbian.com.

But you love it! Don’t you love it?

BY CHLOË
AfterEllen

Tumblr is a hotbed of lesbian activity and my time honored hobby. My love affair with Tumblr began three years ago, during my senior year of college, when I finally summoned the courage to come out. When a girlfriend told me about tumblr, I created an account and was slowly transfixed by this strange and different world where actual real life lesbians from around the nation proudly talked about life and socialized with each other. Tumblr became my secret outlet and I came out on Tumblr long before most of my friends. On Tumblr, for the very first time, I began to write. Frankly I had no one else to talk to. After I came out my friends drifted away, and I let them. Being gay meant losing a community. Tumblr replaced that community. It was isolated and it was blissfully, wonderfully, all mine.

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The post The big gay world of lesbian Tumblr first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The ’80s bestowed some valuable lessons. Use condoms. The Berlin Wall won’t stand forever. Never elect an actor president. More influential however, than real world events (if you can call Reagan a “real world event,” I prefer to think of him as an animatronic escapee from Disney’s Hall of Presidents), were movies. Eighties movies had their own special logic. You know, like, if your dance partner can’t perform, don’t pluck another trained professional from your troop, instead teach a shy teenager how to merengue.

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AfterEllen is the pop culture site that plays for your team.

The post Love lessons we learned from ’80s films first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Though Russia is under fire for its legalized oppression of homosexuals, make no mistake that homophobia is alive and well in American politics as well. Look no further than the disgusting campaign flyers that groups have created to deride LGBT people across the nation.

Here are five flyers that are sure to make you hang your head in shame:

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The post 5 outrageous anti-gay political flyers first appeared on Lesbian.com.