Everything you need to understand or teach Venus Envy by Rita Mae Brown.
True to established form, Rita Mae T Brown's fiction incorporates many social concerns which often have to do with being the outsider or the minority in a given situation or community. Predictably, Brown deals mostly with women, gays and people of color, how society reacts to these groups, and how these groups react to society.
Venus Envy, while touching on topics such as AIDS, alcoholism, male friendships, female friendships...