Introduction to the Special Issue: Under Pressure

This article introduces this special issue on the theme “Under Pressure.” It uses an analysis of experimental lesbian filmmaker Su Friedrich's Seeing Red (2005) to frame the issue's focus on the ways that the category “lesbian” is placed under pressure and/or the pressure “lesbian” places on twentieth- and twenty-first-century cultural production. After this overview, the introduction summarizes all seven articles in the order that they appear in the issue. These summaries also show the connections between the articles and suggest possibilities for future critical dialogues on the theme.