Hi CJK— I’m a big fan of classic 70s feminist SF, so the first two stories that pop into my head are James Tiptree, Jr.’s “The Women Men Don’t See” and Joanna Russ’s “When It Changed” (although the second one isn’t as much as an alien-contact story as you may be looking for).
Have you read Michel Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things? It’s a first-contact book in a religious context, which would usually not be my thing at all. I found the book to be intriguing, though.
Will post again if I think of anything else. The forums have been disappointingly quiet lately, so if you don’t get much of a response, it’s not you.