`This is a ground-breaking study which should lead to a profound reassessment of some key elements of feminist and non-feminist understandings of women's relationship to employment and the domestic sphere'. - Christine Griffin, University of Birmingham `It's rare to read research that is truly exciting and path-breaking - and this is...The linkages made here between sexuality, domestic life and economic opportunities serve to locate the work within central areas of sociological concern and alert us to the intersections between sexuality and other aspects of social life. I found the work fascinating and thought-provoking.' - Stevi Jackson, University of Strathclyde 'Dunne mounts a powerful argument that lesbianism should not be studied simply as an aspect of "difference" among women, in line with current post-modern preoccupations with feminism; rather the study of lesbian lifestyles can provide important analytic insights concerning inequality and power, revealing that it is not merely gender but also heterosexuality as a social institution which leads to female dependence and inequalities in the division of labour.' - Harriet Bradley, University of Bristol This fascinating book illustrates the importance of analyzing sexuality by examining ways in which stepping outside heterosexuality necessitates and facilitates long-term economic independence. Based on a life-history study, the book charts key stages in the lives of non-heterosexual women, including their experiences of gendering in childhood and their responses to `the culture of romantic heterosexuality'. In particular it documents the impact of `coming' out on their lives and the way sexuality has affected their approach both to intimate relationships and paid work.