Subjects:  1. Gay & Lesbian    2. Gays' writings    3. General    4. History and criticism    5. Homosexuality and literature    6. Homosexuality in literature    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Reference    11. Sexuality In Literature    12. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian    14. Literary studies: general    15. Literature of special Gay & Lesbian interest   

Reviews (1)

READ THIS!
This book is chockful of great monographs on gay and lesbian history.After a world-shaking introduction by all three editors, the book offers monographs from many periods in history.And not only is Western history profiled--there is also Asian gay history, and other non-European monographs as well.Everything is scholarly, and well-documented, and some of the information that you read in here is incredibly surprising!I am glad that a book like this finally exists, and, as a historian myself, know from this book that history is changing for the better by including the gay population and other minorities. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The discovery and uncovering of lesbian and gay history is a process that has, historically speaking, just begun. While historians like Blanche Wiesen Cook and Allan Berube have reinterpreted the past in a new, gay light there is still more work to be done. Mark Blasius and Shane Phelan have compiled Read more

Reviews (1)

This indispensable book needs to be everywhere
Interest in GLBT politics and a consequent recognition that I (like most Americans) had very little of the background information needed to make informed decisions about today's issues ultimately prompted me to purchase this book.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay liberation movement    3. Gay men    4. History    5. Homosexuality    6. Lesbian Studies    7. Political aspects    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. Gay & Lesbian studies    13. Human rights    14. Social Science / Lesbian Studies   

Reviews (1)

Male bonding and the "gay coded" character in 50's-90's media
Like many of my generation, I can trace back some of my earliest same-sex attractions to teen characters I saw on TV shows or in films of the early 1960's.Frankie Avalon had Annette Funicello as a girlfriend, but why did he seem to be so much happier when he spent all of his time with his surfer buddies?Why was Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman) always starting the show by telling the audience that "I really like girls", but then spent most of his time with his best buddy, Maynard (Bob Denver), and only chasing one girl, Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld) who obviously didn't like him?And why did I always prefer Ricky Nelson, even though he seemed to be a bit of a sissy compared to his athletic big brother David?
Read more

Subjects:  1. Film & Video - General    2. Film & Video - History & Criticism    3. Film Criticism    4. Gay Studies    5. Homosexuality    6. Homosexuality and motion pictures    7. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Teenage boys in motion pictures    12. Teenage boys on television    13. Gay & Lesbian studies   

Reviews (4)

Toward a history of sexuality AND race
This is a very inspiring book on historical relations between the formation of "homosexual/heterosexual" identities and the drawing of color line in American history, especially in the early Twentieth Century.
Very disappointing
The chosen gay jargon of the "closet" is so woefully inadequate to the historical condition of gays dealing with passing for straight.I hoped this book might have really seized on the similarities in the dilemma of passing as it affected Blacks and gay people, but unfortunately this isn't the case. Queer theory gets a dose of history
Queering the Color Line is a successful attempt to integrate (no pun intended) queer theory with a historically-based cultural studies methodology, which makes it all the more interesting. Somerville has donean admirable job taking popular texts and showing how they reflectedcontemporary medical and sexological discourses about race andhomosexuality. I would have liked her to build more historicalarguments--which is something I think the previous reviewer was hintingat--rather than doing these textured readings, but I think Somerville ispointing the way toward something very exciting. My one criticism is thatshe doesn't say anything about the amazing photograph on the book's cover!Who is it, where was it taken (it's from a Yale archive, but we don't knowanything else about it!), and in what way(s) is Somerville using it!It'stoo good to not remark on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. Gay Studies    3. Gender Studies    4. Gender identity    5. History    6. Homosexuality in literature    7. Human Sexuality    8. Race awareness    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. 20th century    13. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    14. American history: from c 1900 -    15. Cultural studies    16. Ethnic studies    17. Gay & Lesbian studies    18. USA    19. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Colm Tóibín, May His Tribe Increase!
Once captured by the liquid, informed prose of Colm T�ib�n it is difficult to ignore anything this brilliant writer has written.Still under the spell of 'The Master' and having just sadly finished 'The Story of the Night' (that novel could have been extended another 300 pages!), it seemed only appropriate to read an investigative work, just to see how this man's mind absorbs and dissects the world of reality instead the one of fiction.
LOVE THAT ILLUMINATES
Colm Toibin's "Love in a Dark Time" is a superior group of essays by one gay writer about other gay writers. What distinguishes this 2001 collection is how effectively Toibin sells the work of each figure essayed. I was never interested in James Baldwin before, but after reading Toibin's take, I ran out and enjoyed two Baldwin books. In the piece on Thomas Mann, we see how many of his male infatuations Mann turned into art--which infatuations into which stories--a subject being studied in detail only now by his biographers. And in the profile of Pedro Almodovar, we meet the Spanish torch singer Chavela Vargas, whom Almodovar rescued from obscurity because her confessional art mirrored so closely the values of his own cinema of women. A wonderful collection of essays that illuminate, indeed sell, each subject.

An intriguing collection of essays
In this series of essays, Colm T�ib�n explores the lives of nine artists whose homosexuality greatly influenced their art, and whose art greatly influenced their lives. He writes about Oscar Wilde, Thomas Mann, Thom Gunn, Pedro Almod�var, James Baldwin, Roger Casement, Elizabeth Bishop, Mark Doty, and Francis Bacon (with a final essay about Catholic Ireland and how it is changing, with references to Miche�l Mac Liamm�ir and Cathal � Searchaigh). T�ib�n writes about not only their lives and art, but also the challenge and limitation of being labeled a "gay artist". These essays are fascinating and illuminating, and are a welcome addition to literary criticism, especially since it's a fellow writer bringing an interesting view to the canon. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. American - General    3. Gay & Lesbian    4. Gay Studies    5. Gays' writings    6. Gender Studies    7. History and criticism    8. Homosexuality in literature    9. Literary Criticism    10. Literature, Modern    11. Men In Literature    12. Sexuality In Literature    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    14. Literary studies: general    15. Literature of special Gay & Lesbian interest    16. Literature: History & Criticism    17. Men's studies    18. Sexual behaviour   

Subjects:  1. Bio-bibliography    2. Biography    3. Dictionaries    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. Lesbian authors    6. Lesbianism    7. Lesbians    8. Lesbians' writings    9. Literary Criticism    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian    12. Literature of special Lesbian interest    13. Reference works   

Reviews (10)

A fabulous reading
This book is probably the best book on how to ground and use Foucault in relation to contemporary social movement politics - an incredibly important rejoinder to the depoliticized, sterile versions of Foucault that do the rounds today in British sociology departments etc.Halperin is one of the best (and certainly most entertaining) readers of the History of SexualityVols 2 & 3.Do yourself a favour & get it!

An Outstanding Classic!
This is the best book I have ever read on Foucault, no contest--though one must be clear that Halperin is EXPLICITLY NOT attempting any general and comprehensive explanation of Foucault's life work and thought, which Halperin makes quite clear, though there seems to be some confusion below regarding this point.In fact, the tone of some of the reviews only serve as a demonstration of some of Halperin's points.
Wonderful Book!
I thought Halperin's book was great. What I can't believe is the reaction his book has gotten from the other reviewers. You would think that of all people Foucault fans would not be homophobic or heterosexist -- and yet this is common with heterosexuals interested in Foucault. They often say, "It's what he said that is important, not what he was." As if there were a difference, which, of course, there is not. Straight people often attempt to colonize gay thinkers (Wittegnstein, for example), and the first thing they do is hide from others the sexual orientation of these thinkers as much as they can. Then, when someone mentions how awful gay people are based on what he or she saw from skewed footage of a Pride parade on the news, do these colonists ever say, "Well, not all gay people are silly and frivolous: look at Foucault, look at Wittgenstein, look at Alan Turing, and a whole host of other famous minds." No, they keep quite about all that and nod their heads in agreement. Tisk. Tisk. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay & Lesbian    2. Gay Studies    3. History & Surveys - Modern    4. Literary Criticism    5. Philosophy    6. Semiotics & Theory    7. Biography: general    8. Gay & Lesbian studies    9. Literature/English | World Literature | Literary Criticism    10. Social Science / Gay Studies    11. Western philosophy, from c 1900 -   

Reviews (1)

A revolutionary look at queer politics
This anthology of writings on GLBT politics is certainly not the first nor will it be the last such title, but the scope of collected writings is impressive.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. Gay Studies    4. Gay liberation movement    5. Gay men's writings, American    6. Gender Studies    7. History    8. Lesbian Studies    9. Lesbians' writings, American    10. Literary Criticism    11. United States   

Reviews (3)

terrific compendium of stories from history
This is a great book that taught me a lot (and I know a fair amount) about gay, lesbian, bi, and transgendered [GLBT] history.It explores a wide range of stories that the average reader would NOT be familiar with and these span different cultures , times, and even ethnic groups(including Native American and Chinese, although African stories are less well documented than African-American ones and others.I think anyone who is serious about learning more about the entire range of the GLBT experience will come away a great deal more informed from reading this special book. It is deftly set up so that questions after each passage evoke questions and thought, yet it doesn't come across as very academic.It is clear that the editor has done a careful job of helping the reader sift through many facets of the GLBT experience.I look forward to more books of this type and have recommended this volume to others frequently.

A must-have book for dealing with G&L issues.
I use this book as a text book in my college course for teachers called"Gay and Lesbian Issues in the Classroom."It is a realeye-opener for what is usually a mostly straight group of teachers. Thechapter on Eleanor Roosevelt alone is worth the price!

Lesbian/Gay History for everyday people
I commend Jennings for his selections. I found every single one of theminteresting. Even though I had read several of the selections in otherbooks, Mr. Jennings' comments prefacing each selection shed new light onthem and made them fresh reading. Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    3. Gays    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Homosexuality    8. Reference    9. Social Science    10. Sociology - General    11. Lesbian studies   

Editorial Review

Although this new history of same-sex desire does not offer the long, satisfying narratives of Lillian Faderman's

Reviews (3)

NOT BAD FOR A QUICKIE...
...but amazon.com's own editor-review (and Professor Hugo B. Schwyzer's review) are both certainly right; it's no Lillian Faderman-quality work! Faderman's work is never a gloss-over, never leaves the reader with the feeling that underneath the information and/or conclusions proffered there is still a great deal not only unsaid but *unseen* by the author.Perhaps that is why I found this book personally unsatisfying; I want to know something more, something different than the same old well-and-better-plowed ground.Compared to Faderman's work --- and that of some other good lesbian historians, as well (and I would also highly recommend `Boots Of Leather, Slippers Of Gold' for a "limited-community" history) this book's brevity and surface feel is rather like a history of the Civil War that wound up offering the premise that "In the 1860's, the North and the South fought each other over a lot of things, including slavery, and then Lincoln freed the slaves, and then the North won."Where *are* the reasons and the events??? Selfishly, perhaps, I just plain expect more from a purported lesbian history, even one limiting itself primarily to the last 50 years in small communities, than I found in `A Desired Past'. While Rupp does offer somewhat of a new chronicle in her attention to the growth of academic acceptance of lesbian teachers, professors and students, it's just not enough to rescue the book and make it at all engaging.Lacking the the sweep, the depth, and the sheer power of `Odd Girls And Twight Lovers' and `To Believe In Women', for example, Rupp's book is really more a 20th-century Lesbian History 101 text than anything else. But in that context, it's good for introducing newbies (and perhaps your local scared-to-come-out academic) to the subject, it's still competently written and it's still a nice, light read for all lesbians. Excellent general overview
This fall semester (2001), I will be teaching a course in Lesbian and Gay history at my community college.In preparation for this course, I looked at many different books, hoping to find an ideal survey text for an introductory course in GLBT history.Alas, Rupp's book falls short of the ideal -- but is nonetheless the best brief introduction to the history of same-sex sexuality available on the market today.I will be using her book in my class this fall. informative overview
Leila Rupp has done a competent job of examining same-sex relationships in American life, beginning with colonial attitudes, all the way through the "coming out of the closet"era of our own time. She has laid aside her historian's objectivity to tell us bits of her own life story. I hadn't realized that many same-sex involvements were looked upon more tolerantly in earlier times. The entrenched positions, pro and con, that are present today, are anomalies, considering the history she provides. One comes away from the book, also, with an appreciation for the confusions and mysteries that still cloud our view of same-sex attachments. No one has the answers, and no research thus far has explained why things happen this way. As a hetero wife and mother of four, I must admit that I have very little understanding of the feelings of gays and lesbians, especially since my own view of female sexuality is not limited to just the male-female attraction, and copulation. To me, female sexuality is that and much more---it is bound up also with maternity, with conceiving, bearing, and raising one's children, with breast-feeding one's babies, with nurturing a family, with holding grandchildren in your arms. Rupp makes one weak reference to "diffuse female sexuality." Yes, it is diffuse, compared to male behavior. I can understand "romantic friendships" as Rupp describes them. Most girls go through this stage as young adolescents, and throughout their lives, most women treasure their female friends, who often are able to provide more necessary emotional support than their husbands. Yet somehow it seems sad to me that lesbians live their lives outside the fulfillment of diffuse female sexuality, which involves a male partner, pregnancy, nursing---a rich, heterosexual family life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    3. Gays    4. Gender Studies    5. General    6. History    7. Homosexuality    8. Human Sexuality    9. Lesbian Studies    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. United States    13. American history    14. Gay & Lesbian studies    15. Social Science / Lesbian Studies    16. USA   

Reviews (1)

Academic articles of differing quality...
On the coattails of "Colonialism and Homosexuality," a fascinating historical work by Robert Aldrich that gives a great view of gay history in colonial contexts (with the very notable exception of Latin America), I decided to pick up "Infamous Desire" to fill in the huge gap that that book had left for me, especially since my main area of interest is Latin America.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay men    3. Gender Studies    4. History    5. Homosexuality    6. Latin America    7. Lust    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay liberation movement    4. Gay men    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. Lesbians    9. Pennsylvania    10. Philadelphia    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. United States - State & Local - General   

Subjects:  1. 121-180    2. Ancient - Rome    3. Ancient and Classical    4. Correspondence    5. Emperor of Rome,    6. Fronto, Marcus Cornelius    7. Gay Studies    8. History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical    9. History - General History    10. Letters    11. Love letters    12. Marcus Aurelius,    13. Rome    14. Social Science    15. Sociology    16. History    17. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Reviews (3)

A Much-Needed Work
Thomas Hubbard has produced the most significant anthology about Greek and Roman homosexuality ever. I had wanted to do such a book twenty years ago, but I lacked the skill. A master of the Greek tongue, he found the best translations of texts often misunderstood or bowdlerized, and when he couldn't find any, he translated them himself or commissioned others to do so.He additionally placed extensive and erudite introductions along with very useful bibliographic notes at the beginning of each of chapter. Each chapter is well footnoted, and as Hubbard says in his preface, "The footnotes are geared to a general undergraduate audience that has little previous knowledge of classical civilization and may need explanation of basic cultural artifacts or historical references.The notes also include points of interpretation, which should interest both the general and the more knowledgeable reader."
um, modernity bias, anyone?
this is an excellent source book for texts on sexuality in antiquity, but one should COMPLETELY DISREGARD ALL AUTHOR'S NOTES.Halpern has an adjenda, as one can see in the title, since homosexuality as we define it now was invented in the nineteenth century and is inaplicable to classical studies.learning about the unique sexual categories and identities of the ancient world is fascinating, but do not be led astray by Halpern into thinking that the ancients had the same social/sexual mores as we do.other than the notes and some very odd exclusions and excerptations ("the dildo", a poem from ancient greece, is not included in its entirety, even though it is <100 lines long and really fascinating), this is an excellent book.just read with a grain of salt, and always try to find alternate translations!

An Indispensible Sourcebook
This is an exhaustive, absolutely fascinating compendium of a vast number of ancient texts, all of which make reference to classical attitudes concerning homosexuality.The array is fascinating, the conclusions myriad.For anyone who really wants to get down the the nitty gritty of ancient opinions -- or to see what day to day ancient life was like -- this book is indispensible. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. Gay Studies    4. Gender Studies    5. Greece    6. History    7. Homosexuality    8. Rome    9. Social Science    10. Social life and customs    11. Sociology    12. Sources    13. Ancient Greece    14. Ancient Rome    15. BCE to c 500 CE    16. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    17. Gay studies (Gay men)    18. Social Science / Gender Studies   

Reviews (10)

Social Constructionism....
When C.A. Tripp began to exchange information with Larry Kramer about Lincoln's homosexual experiences, I warned him that because Larry was so close to Jonathan Ned Katz, Katz might be inspired to revisit the question about Honest Abe's homosexuality and take an equivocal position on it, which he did in Love Stories. Katz was hampered by his adherence to "social constructionism" - the notion that before the coining of the word homosexual in 1869 homosexuals didn't exist.

Important But Quirky
Before Freud ruined so much of human relationships with his misguided and anti-human theory, people could have deep friendships across many, if not all, social and gender boundaries without fear of being labeled as deviate or shameful. In the mid-to-late 19th century, deep, and sometimes sexualrelationships between men, found a common theme. Male/male love was now seen, by well-educated devotees, as a rediscovery of ancient Greek traditions. Britain and America thought themselves the heirs to the Greco-Roman legacy, and those platonic (or not) friendships were a part of that. The role that Walt Whitman played in giving the movement a voice and a testament gets thorough treatment here.
Fascinating!
I find the subject of all-male attraction finally being validated in this work and presented in a realistic manner--not meant to trash but to inform and educate. To see such honored men among the group, which attests to male on male sexual attraction as being part of a "normal" everyday sensation that so many men encounter, is more than welcomed. I also find the subtlety of this subject matterwritten in an erotic fashion (although presented as "fiction" for reasons of the people meant to protect) in a recent, although little known work, entitled Love, Lust & Terror. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Gay Studies    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: World    6. United States - General    7. Gay studies (Gay men)    8. Social Science / Gay Studies    9. The Americas   

Editorial Review

In this penetrating and irreverent study, queer theorist Alexander Doty directs a gay gaze at six famous and well-loved films (Read more

Subjects:  1. Cinema/Film: Book    2. Film & Video - General    3. Film & Video - History & Criticism    4. Gay Studies    5. Homosexuality and motion pictu    6. Homosexuality and motion pictures    7. Homosexuality in motion pictur    8. Homosexuality in motion pictures    9. Lesbian Studies    10. Performing Arts    11. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    12. Film theory & criticism    13. Gay & Lesbian studies    14. Performing Arts / Mass Media   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Europe - France    3. European - French    4. French literature    5. Gay & Lesbian    6. Gay Studies    7. History and criticism    8. Homosexuality in literature    9. Lesbianism in literature    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. France    14. French    15. Gay & Lesbian studies    16. Literary studies: from c 1900 -   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. China    3. Film & Video - General    4. Film & Video - History & Criticism    5. Gay Studies    6. History    7. Homosexuality, Male, in motion pictures    8. Motion pictures    9. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Films, cinema    13. Gay studies (Gay men)   

Reviews (1)

The two sides of D'Emilio for the new millenium
This book reflects D'Emilio's roles as gay history scholar and policy director at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). It resembles both his rigorous scholarly "Sexual Politics,..." and his social commenting "Making Trouble." This book will be both a challenge and a pleasure to everyday gay folks and nerdy queer theorists. The book is a compilation of essays regarding gay rights in the 90s, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, and other such topics. Some people may not like the scrapbook feel here. D'Emilio chose to start the work with the heady academic stuff and that may scare off readers who will really enjoy the rest of it. Many of the entries are speeches he gave and they become repetitive after a while. Still, he does a great job of assessing gay rights in the last decade and summarizing the struggle over the past half century. D'Emilio is ever the counterintuitive thinker, but that's exactly what open-minded gay people need to be reading. A lot of the chapters center upon boys, but D'Emilio still maintains his status as a very pro-feminist, anti-androcentric gay male theorist. He does include this chapter about his changing sex life which implies that he and his partner are celibate; a fact that I highly doubt. However, his discussion about NGLTF is wonderful; there hasn't been enough analysis of gay institutions. At times, the book is kinda preachy and defensive. Still, I'm glad he opens a space for gay work that is not as light as "The Advocate" but not as heavy as Foucault. He still shows that he's a sharp progressive thinker and many ppl would benefit by getting their hands on this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay men    4. Gay rights    5. Gender Studies    6. History    7. Lesbians    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Cultural studies    12. Gay & Lesbian studies