Bonnie Zimmerman

Bonnie Zimmerman is an American literary critic and women's studies scholar. She is the author of books and articles exploring lesbian history and writings, women's literature, women's roles, and feminist theory. She has received numerous prestigious awards.

Early life and career Born in 1947, Bonnie Zimmerman grew up in a secular Jewish family in the suburbs of Chicago. as the primary source that created her reputation as a pre-eminent lesbian and feminist scholar of her day.

In "A Lesbian-Feminist Journey Through Queer Nation" (2007) she states, "Although I do not think I will ever publish much queer or gay and lesbian scholarship, I have also been instrumental in beginning LGBT studies on my campus, as I was in beginning Lesbian Studies within Women's Studies during the 1970s."

Zimmerman retired from teaching in 2010.

Education Following high school, she entered the music program at Indiana University Bloomington with a focus on classical voice. the Positive Visibility Award from GLAAD in 1996, the Most Influential Faculty Award in Women's Studies (which she received 3 times in 1985, 1990, and 1999), and the Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004.

Works Books The Safe Sea of Women: Lesbian Fiction 1969-1989 (1990), Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts. (Examines and analyzes literature specifically through the lens and themes of lesbian experience.) Professions of Desire: Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature (1995), ed., Modern Language Association of America, New York, NY. The New Lesbian Studies: Into the Twenty-First Century (1996), ed., The Feminist Press, New York, New York. Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia (2000), ed., Garland Publishing, New York, New York.