Book Description
Media, Gender and Identity is an accessible introduction to the relationship between media and gender identities today. It begins with an assessment of the different ways in which gender and identity have previously been studied and provides new ways for thinking about the media's influence on gender and sexuality.
David Gauntlett explores the gender landscape of contemporary media and draws on recent theories of identity negotiation and queer theory to understand the place of popular media in people's lives. Using a range of examples from films, television programs, and men's and women's magazines, Media, Gender and Identity shows how the media are used in the shaping of individual self-identity. The book is supported by a regularly updated website at: www.theoryhead.com/gender.
Customer Reviews:
excellent introduction, not only for media students!.......2002-10-30
There are dozens of books on popular culture and its relation to gender and identity issues out there, but this one is extraordinary: concise, up-to-date, and very readable. Mr Gauntlett wrote not only an introduction to the main theories of popular culture like Giddens, Foucault or queer theory - he illustrated all the discussed theoretical concepts with recent examples like movies, TV series, music, websites, and magazines.
If you are a student of media studies and always wanted to know how popular culture influences our lifestyles and our concepts of gender and identity - grab this book! It is well written and clearly structured with plenty of cross-references and suggestions for further reading. A unique feature is the accompanying website where additional material can be found.
Amazon.com
An award-winning science fiction writer, esteemed professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and celebrated essayist and memoirist, Samuel Delany is one of America's keenest observers. He was also a longtime habitué of many of the sex theaters in New York City's Times Square, spending, by his own estimate, "thousands and thousands of hours" at the Capri, Variety Photoplays, the Eros, and the Venus. In the 1990s all of these theaters were shut down through new restrictive zoning laws, part of a combined effort by the Walt Disney Corporation and the administration of Mayor Rudy Giuliani to gentrify the area, replacing these seedily memorable institutions with antiseptic, innocuous architectural and cultural creations in the name of health safety. But as Delany reveals in his new book, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, the decision to clean up Times Square had little to do with public health, and everything to do with corporate greed.
In the two essays that comprise this eloquent, provocative book, Delany grieves for the loss of this strip of sexual release. Though he is careful not to romanticize or sentimentalize the peep shows and porn theaters, he does illuminate the way in which these venues crossed class, racial, and sexual orientation lines, providing a delightfully subversive utopia--and a microcosm of New York life. In the first essay, "Times Square Blue," Delany details his shared erotic and conversational encounters with working-class and homeless men in the theaters (which primarily showed straight porn films) and the genuine friendships that resulted; these immensely personal reminiscences also provide a social history of late-20th-century Times Square. Drawing on historical and theoretical resources in the second essay, "Three, Two, One, Contact: Times Square Red," Delany next builds a thoughtful and passionate argument against the gentrification of the area and the classist, characterless direction in which he sees New York heading. Read together, the essays of Times Square Red, Times Square Blue are both heartfelt homage to a beloved city and lament for a quirky vitality increasingly phased out by encroaching capitalism. --Kera Bolonik
Book Description
"Measured but emotional, illuminating but challenging." -The San Francisco Chronicle
"Remarkable." -Salon
"Essential." -The Nation
"In a provocative and persuasively argued cri de coeur against New York City's gentrification and the redevelopment of Times Square in the name of 'family values and safety,' acclaimed science fiction writer Delany proves himself a dazzlingly eloquent and original social commentator. . . . This bracing and well-calibrated blend of journalism, personal history and cultural criticism will challenge readers of every persuasion." -Publishers Weekly[starred review]
Both a celebration of the kaleidoscopic possibilities inherent in urban diversity and a eulogy for the plurality of human contact and stimulation squelched by the Times Square makeover." -Village Voice
If one street in America can claim to be the most infamous, it is surely 42nd Street. Between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 42nd Street was once known for its peep shows, street corner hustlers and movie houses. Over the last two decades the notion of safety-from safe sex and safe neighborhoods, to safe cities and safe relationships-has overcome 42nd Street, giving rise to a Disney store, a children's theater, and large, neon-lit cafes. 42nd Street has, in effect, become a family tourist attraction for visitors from Berlin, Tokyo, Westchester, and New Jersey's suburbs. Samuel R. Delanysees a disappearance not only of the old Times Square, but of the complex social relationships that developed there: the points of contact between people of different classes and races in a public space. In Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, Delany tackles the question of why public restrooms, peepshows, and tree-filled parks are necessary to a city's physical and psychological landscape. He argues that starting in 1985, New York City criminalized peep shows and sex movie houses to clear the way for the rebuilding of Times Square. Delany's critique reveals how Times Square is being "renovated" behind the scrim of public safety while the stage is occupied by gentrification. Times Square Red, Times Square Blue paints a portrait of a society dismantling the institutions that promote communication between classes, and disguising its fears of cross-class contact as "family values." Unless we overcome our fears and claim our "community of contact," it is a picture that will be replayed in cities across America.
Customer Reviews:
hey, reader! stop giving no-star ratings to this book!.......2004-01-31
A confused "Amazon Customer" is repeatedly inserting blurbs from other periodicals into the "customer review" section of this page, AND failing to give "star" ratings to these inserts -- thus steadily dragging down the star-rating of this book. Since the blurbs are positive and have been repeatedly entered, I assume this "Amazon Customer" wants people to be interested in the book. Well, by failing to give a star rating, you're doing exactly the opposite! So either stop inserting blurbs altogether, or start giving them star ratings. This book is too cool to be muddied up by your confusion.
Prelude and fugue.......2000-03-11
Samuel Delaney has done the near imposible - he has written a book that is both titillating and informing. Dividing his cogent 21st Century social philosophy into two parts is at first disconcerting: Why are we reading (buying) a book that lets us in on the gossip of firsthand observation of Times Square New York, then in a page turn becomes a sophisticated academic treatise on our current social problems, in the City, and in a Country? Once past this mirage of a hurdle Delaney makes it patently clear why he chose this format. If we are introduced to a problem in a seductive manner, we pay closer attention to the bigger issues. This superb little book is illuminating in its exploration of where we are in our interpersonal relationships, our interplay with those around us (street, neighborhood, city, country), and our current drive to homogenize our world. Beautifully written, immensely readable, and a very important contribution to our social perceptions!
An intelligent, touching book.......2000-01-06
I always thought of Samuel Delaney as a writer of science fiction, my least favorite genre, so this is my first book by him. I was impressed and delighted. The worst thing I can say about it is that Mr. Delaney has a love of dependent clauses strung along inside comma-copious sentences that were sometimes hard to read. But he has awesome insights too, and compassion and wisdom lace every page. Makes me wish I was old enough to partake of that culture.
Sex and the City.......1999-11-24
A remarkable book, with both the frankest discussion of people's sexual desires and needs of any book I've read in years, and a compelling argument about the crucial role places like the old Times Square play in the life of a city. A paeon to America's cities and an intimate history of a culture being destroyed. Delany's masterful prose makes this brief book a treat to read. A great stocking stuffer for the intellectually and sexually adventurous.
Not worth it.......1999-11-20
This book promises to be a history and social commentary on Times Square's sleazy recent past. But in reality the book is told from a very narrow and restrictive point-of-view (. . . )There's nothing wrong with that except he practically ignores the fact that the West 42nd Street sex shops, peep shows, and massage parlors were also an attraction for heterosexual men. The reader will get painfully tired of reading endless descriptions of Delaney's sexual exploits among the XXX theater crowd. Additionally, the handfull of black and white photos of the empty storefronts of the "Forty Deuce" were taken after most of the shops had been driven out of business. Without good photos of the way 42nd Street used to be, the vibrant nature of the area is greatly diminished and Delaney's text doesn't make up for it. If you are looking for a social history of the old Times Square, something balanced and better illustrated, try Josh Alan Friedman's "Tales of Times Square" instead.
Average customer rating:
- Dull, Dull and Dreadful
- Much Ado about Nothing
- By no means a serious study of GayHollywood, but a good read
- Beef Jerky for the Brain
- Deeper analysis of being gay in Hollywood
|
Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998
David Ehrenstein
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
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Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star
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ASIN: 0688153178 |
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If David Ehrenstein's Open Secret says that somebody is gay, you can safely assume that he or she is (which is why the chapter on Tom Cruise reveals nothing more than reasons why people believe--or want to believe--he might be gay). Interviews with contemporary "out" stars, writers, and studio execs are balanced against the reminiscences of those who spent Tinseltown's golden age in the closet. This reveals how open Hollywood's tolerance of its gay and lesbian members has become, but it also shows the lack of similar progress in how the press deals with potential celebrity queerness. There isn't much difference, for example, between the scandal sheet Confidential's 1955 exposé of Tab Hunter's bust at a "pajama party ... for the boys" and the 1997 "Kevin Spacey Has a Secret" cover story in the ostensibly more respectable Esquire.
Open Secret flits from a visit to the set of the Ian McKellen-Brendan Fraser film Father of Frankenstein (based on the novel by Christopher Bram) to an analysis of Ellen DeGeneres's protracted coming-out process, from an overview of the impact of AIDS on the entertainment industry to the story of how Gus Van Sant almost made a movie of Randy Shilts's The Mayor of Castro Street. But the intersection of queer sexuality and Hollywood admittedly covers a lot of territory, and Ehrenstein does an admirable job of providing an overview. One bit of advice: skip over the very brief prologue, which tries a bit too hard to convince readers of the book's seriousness, and allow the informative and entertaining stories here to speak for themselves. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
Hollywood isn't just a place or an industry -- it's a fantasy that unfolds in the minds of moviegoers the world over. And talking about "who's gay in Hollywood" has always been the most socially acceptable way of talking about homosexuality period.But times have changed for gays and lesbians inside Hollywood and in the culture at large. Ellen DeGeneres "came out" to a world quite different from the one that allowed Marlene Dietrich to "stay in." And while Rupert Everett may be called "the gay Cary Grant," the real Cary Grant would never have described himself as gay -- even though he was.So what has it meant to be gay in Hollywood, not just as a star but behind the scenes as well? How homosexual actors and actresses came to define straight America's sexual self-image is only one of the paradoxical and provocative questions explored in Open Secret, a revealing cultural chronicle of gay Hollywood. From the silent era to the age of the multiplex and beyond, homosexuality has been a fact of life in the film industry, and scores of important personalities -- stars, writers, directors, producers -- have enjoyed long and spectacular careers on both sides of the camera, despite mainstream America's professed bias against gays.
Part social history and part Tinseltown expose, this entertaining book spans seventy years, painting knowing and vivid portraits of many of Hollywood's foremost gays and lesbians, often in the words of eyewitnesses or the principals themselves. Veteran entertainment journalist David Ehrenstein traces the gradual transformation from an era when gays and lesbians had no public profile in "polite" society to the modern era when many top entertainment figures are not merely comfortable with their sexuality but actually celebrate it -- and are in turn celebrated for it. In the process, he presents a unique reflection of American society as a whole and its ever-changing attitudes and values.
Customer Reviews:
Dull, Dull and Dreadful.......2005-11-12
This book has no life to it---I mean the writing--it is redundant, heavy, lackluster. Reads like a boring college research textbook. The author repeats and repeats and is consumed and obsessed with Ellen Degeneres over and over again. It is not like a book, but an overblown article. There is nothing new in the book--it is a historical account of gay and lesbians in Hollywood and boring as can be. Sorry I bought it but am thankful I got a used copy and did not pay much. I could hardly wait to finish it to throw it out as I did not even want to keep it. Forget this dull and dreadful book!
Much Ado about Nothing.......2003-03-05
It seems odd that this book, with its good intentions, would just be so unsatisfying as a read. You almost get the feeling that the author is on the outside of Hollywood looking in. He seems to be obsessed with Ellen. The book has a certain bitterness to it that doesn't play well.
I couldn't in all honesty recommend purchasing this book. Though if you find it at a public library, might be worth flipping through- but not checking out.
By no means a serious study of GayHollywood, but a good read.......2000-03-25
...nonetheless. This book is not a distasteful one unlike a vast majority of books about gays in Hollywood. It is also quite entertaining and should be regarded only as such: an entertaining book on a summer's day... In this case it does not really matter, whether the material is credible or not. If you do not take what you read TOO SERIOUSLY, then you will enjoy this book. If you want some serious study about gay actors, then look some place else for it.
Beef Jerky for the Brain.......1999-07-13
As one reader comments, this book is "a must for any serious Hollywood History library." Yes--in the same sense that the complete works of Ed Wood belong in every comprehensive home video collection.
Deeper analysis of being gay in Hollywood.......1999-06-18
If you want gossip, get a tabloid. If you'd rather read a thoughtful analysis of "gay Hollywood" in a social/historical context, get this book. This is not a list of who's gay and who isn't; Ehrenstein has chosen to write about what happened (and happens) to gays who are part of the Hollywood machine. He demonstrates, through first-person interviews and anecdotal accounts, in what ways Hollywood--the studios, the executives, the media, the audience--is and is not accepting of homosexuals. Not everyone in his book is famous, or a big time movie star, but they all have something to say or show about the difference between the gay Hollywood of the Cary Grant and Rock Hudson era and the gay Hollywood of the Ellen Degeneres and Tom Cruise era.
Ehrenstein's skill is in keeping the history together, so that James Whale's story is appropriately connected to the "Gods and Monsters" story, but each stands on its own as well. He has also taken care in choosing what to cover in this book. It would be impossible to write the entire history of Gay Hollywood in one book; and Ehrenstein has selected only certain aspects of that history and examined them in depth rather than touch only the surface of too many things.
Book Description
In the years since Stonewall, the world has witnessed an outpouring of research, critical inquiry, and re-interpretation of gay life and culture. This book draws on groundbreaking new material to present a comprehensive survey of all things gay, stretching back to ancient Sumeria and ranging to the present day. Critically acclaimed historian Robert Aldrich and ten leading scholars juxtapose thought-provoking essays with an extensive selection of images, many never before seen. This masterful combination reveals the story behind gay culture from the industrialized world to the remotest corners of tribal New Guinea. Among the contributors are noted names in GLBT studies such as Brett Beemyn (author of Bisexuality in the Lives of Men), Charles Hupperts (expert on classical antiquity at the University of Amsterdam), Helmut Puff (University of Michigan expert on the medieval world), and Florence Temagne (author of A History of Homosexuality in Europe). The book covers such topics as the Old Testament relationship between Jonathan and David, the Age of Confucius, Native American berdaches, Polynesian mahus, Berlin in the '20s, Stonewall and the disco-flavored hedonism that followed, and the advent of AIDS, Act Up, and Angels in America. This book is an important contribution to understanding what makes gay life and culture universal throughout human culture and across time.
Customer Reviews:
Gay studies essential #1.......2007-09-30
This collection of intriguing articles by highly reputable academics is an seminal work, essential to anyone with an interest with identity formation or gender studies. I have used it in the field of health policy. However, there is no need to have a professional background or tertiary degree, or to be gay, to enjoy this intriguing guide through eras and societies. A great book to be enjoyed on many levels.
Buy it.
More than a Coffee Table Book.......2007-09-06
An excellent pictorial tour through the centuries on fine paper, with easy top understand prose, and plenty of references for further research and reading.
However, I am not sure that averything should be looked at from our contemporary narrow view of what constitutes 'gay'. The term is a dis-service for men who (occasionally) like men - appreciating the beauty or the person they see. Which has nothing to do with sexual orinetation. In those terms the gay label has put everyone either in or out of a new closet.
Former centuries did not have such terms and sexual behaviour was in many ways freer and less bound to convention. it used to be the that the upper and working classes were far more libertine in their approach to personal relationships. Some of this comes though inthis tome. A laudable effort.
A Visual Feast, An Incredible Read.......2007-01-27
A Visual Feast, An Incredible Read
Aldrich, Robert, editor. "Gay Life and Culture". Universe Publishing, 2006.
Amos Lassen and Literary Pride
I received a book today that is one of the most beautifully laid out books I have ever seen, "Gay Life and Culture" edited by Robert Aldrich. If you are looking for the perfect holiday gift for someone special, look no further. This is it. It is a big coffee table book with a big price, $49.95, but worth every penny.
"Gay Life and Culture" is a world history of people like us. That is to say that is our story. It is lavishly illustrated with photographs and art work that reflect our history and is stunning just to browse through. Here is a one volume, contemporary history of not just gay life but Gay culture as well. It is heavily researched, having drawn on new scholarship to give us a contemporary look at all things gay going as far back as ancient Sumeria and coming as far present as the day it was published. Aldrich leaves virtually no stone unturned in his rendition of our history. He combines all of the new research, critical inquiry and reinterpretation there is on the subject and turns it all into readable prose.
Aldrich used nine different historians from nine different countries in his exploration of same sex history and the book studies relationships through the centuries while charting shifting attitudes toward homosexuality and the gradual emergence of a self identity for a homosexual community. It deals with AIDS, with same sex marriage, gay rights and civil partnerships beginning with Greece and Rome and following them to the present. The book also includes non Western cultures and gives an insight into same-sex relationships throughout history and around the globe.
We get a good look at the homoerotic poetry of Persia and learn of cross dressing women in Italy in the eighteenth century and learn of the hedonism of Berlin between-the-wars as well as the third gender concept in Asia and among native North Americans. The research comes from heretofore unlooked at letters and diaries, archives and works of art and literature.
The book also covers topics from the Old Testament--the story of David and Jonathan, the age of Confucius, the legends of Amerinds and Polynesian mahus as well as Stonewall and the golden age of American promiscuity which followed the riots, In American history there is detailed discussions of the advent of AIDS, the power of "Act Up" and the influence of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America".
This is a major contribution to understanding what makes gay life and culture so universal throughout culture and across timelines. Divided into fourteen chapters, each section deals with a particular time and place. The women are included throughout the book and the introduction by the editor lets the reader know how the book came to be and by which processes it was researched and written. Fifty bucks is a small price to pay for what you get here. Even if you just read the final chapter about "The Gay World: 1980 to the Present" you will be amazed at how much there is to learn. This book is a must have in every thinking gay man's library and a wonderful addition to our lives. Remember it when you are making up your holiday gift list. The person you give it to will be your friend forever after he receives this book.
Crompton's book is much better.......2007-01-17
I am assuming that most readers do not have infinite space on their bookshelves. If you want an excellent one-volume overview, the place to get it is Crompton's "Homosexuality and Civilization" -- not here.
If you want a volume filled with sumptuous pictures, may I suggest "L'Amour Bleu," a supposedly "out-of-print" book which keeps being continually reprinted?
The book under review is much weaker, in all respects.
A mixed bag.......2007-01-17
Many books purporting to offer a history of homosexuality concentrate mainly on the last two centuries in Europe and North America. Since many readers of such books are interested in self-understanding, this bias is understandable. Unfortunately, it is supported by a mistaken theory known as Social Construction which holds, in essence, that there was no homosexuality before ca. 1870 and then only in European countries. In his introduction Robert Aldrich rightly eschews this error. His book includes important material on classical antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and non-Western civilizations.
Unfortunately, some of his authors do not follow this principle, and regurgitate the old Social Constructionist platitudes. There is also a discord concerning levels of accessibility, as some contributions are technical while others border on the simplistic.
Physically, the book is sumptious, with over 250 splendid illustrations gathered by the picture editor, the late Wendy Gay. Unfortunately, the illustrations seem to have been gathered independently of the texts, whose authors hardly ever refer to them.
In short, this book has much to offer. However, it would have benefited from a firmer editorial hand, so as to shape the contributions into a more organic whole.
Book Description
It's the classic TV sitcom-now finding a new generation of fans in reruns on Lifetime. Go behind the scenes with
Q Guides to find out just what it is about Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sofia that so attracts both gay and young hetero fans.
Customer Reviews:
Not exactly what we were looking for.......2007-08-16
Bought this book for my wife. She said there was more info in it about the actresses themselves than the characters or the show. Depends on what you are looking for I guess, my wife is more into the show than the real lives of the actors.
I really didnt like the book.......2007-08-15
It wasnt what I expected and it was really boring me and I am a BIG Golden girls fan!!
Girls are back (they have never went away)!.......2007-01-16
Nice book for all true fans of the Golden Girls. Concentrates though too much on the "Girls" meaning in gay culture etc. trivial information. But even I as a devoted fan got a lot new information about the history and especially the creation of the show.
GREAT BOOK FOR ALL FANS!.......2007-01-06
I love the Golden Girls so when I heard about this book, I knew I had to have it! It's informative,fun, and a lot of laughs! I love this book!
Re-tread fan.......2006-11-28
I used to watch "The Golden Girls" along with several other sitcoms. I really hadn't watched it in a while, but after reading this book, I am an energized fan! I loved all the trivia, backgrounds and insights on the characters, writing and the development of the show itself. This is a fun book to pick up and re-read. It is extremely well-written and layed out with lots of interesting sections and surprises. I highly recommend this one!
Average customer rating:
|
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 0415306515 |
Book Description
The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture covers gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) life and culture post-1945, with a strong international approach to the subject.
The scope of the work is extremely comprehensive, with entries falling into the broad categories of Dance, Education, Film, Health, Homophobia, the Internet, Literature, Music, Performance, and Politics. Slang is also covered. The international contributors come from a wide array of backgrounds: scholars, journalists, artists, doctors, scientists, lawyers, activists, and an enormous range of ideologies and points of view are represented. Major entries provide in-depth information and consider the intellectual and cultural implications of their subjects in a global context. Information is completely up to date, including full coverage and analysis of such current or ongoing issues as same-sex marriage/civil union and the international AIDS epidemic. Additionally, there are important appendices covering international sodomy laws and archival institutions, which will be of great value to researchers. The Encyclopedia is fully cross-referenced and many entries carry a bibliography. Where possible World Wide Web references have been given. There is a full index.
The combination of its wide scope, determined international coverage and appendices make the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture a uniquely ambitious work and an extremely rich source of information. It is a priority addition for all libraries serving scholars and students with an interest in GLBTQ culture, history and politics across the disciplines.
Average customer rating:
- Always the Novelist
- Essential Percy
- A brilliant and relatively unknown work
- Dense essays about man's 20th century blahs
|
The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do With the Other
Walker Percy
Manufacturer: Picador
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The Moviegoer
ASIN: 0312254016 |
Book Description
In Message in the Bottle, Walker Percy offers insights on such varied yet interconnected subjects as symbolic reasoning, the origins of mankind, Helen Keller, Semioticism, and the incredible Delta Factor. Confronting difficult philosophical questions with a novelist's eye, Percy rewards us again and again with his keen insights into the way that language possesses all of us.
Customer Reviews:
Always the Novelist.......2001-11-13
The precursor to the, in comparision, pithy 'Lost in the Cosmos,' Message in a Bottle is less accessible than his later, more famous, book. However, Message... provides all of the necessary academic rigor that 'Lost in the Cosmos' lacks (not that LC is not a great book, it is).
Percy claims that he is, in fact, not philosopher or scientist. Rather, he wishes to be thought of as mere novelist writing as he perceives scientists and philosophers. In fact, this is a sort of claim of superiority in the sense that Percy thinks he knows more about philosophers and scientists than they know about themselves (which may be true). Even so, Percy's methods are quite scientific and philosophic. Message in a Bottle deals with the most important question of all: What is Man? Percy contends, as any good Heideggerian would, that we are essentially castaways on an island. We aren't quite sure how we got here and we don't quite know what we're supposed to do now that we are here. But Percy is a Thomist, not an existentialist (although the two are connected). While Percy finds the greatest evidence for our essential 'lostness' in the altogether baffling phenomenon of language, Percy is nevertheless concerned with what we are to do about out anxiety about existence. Percy is interested in pursuing the Thomistic project; 'completing' reason with revelation.
Essential Percy.......1998-12-04
A few of the essays in this collection make for somewhat dry reading (Percy even says so himself), but if wonder and enlightenment are your goals, then this is an extremely rewarding book. His insights on symbolic reasoning, the origins of mankind, Hellen Keller, Semioticism, and the incredible Delta Factor are invariably fresh and thought-provoking. Percy is really onto something here; he may have only scratched the surface, but what he has revealed has powerful implications for all of us.
A brilliant and relatively unknown work.......1998-12-04
This dense, well-written and extraordinary book is an excellent introduction to the works of a great 20th century thinker. In this collection of essays, Percy manages to confront some difficult philosophical questions in an exciting and readable context. Percy was first a novelist, and his writing is seldom inaccesible. He deals in everything from religion to science, from literary theory to travel. His best writing relates to theories of language and the human being. Yet like some of the greatest X-Files episodes, Percy leaves many things unresolved, liminal, only suggested. Message in a Bottle is designed to stimulate the reader rather than fill them with useless information. I finished reading this book with the desire to read it again, and whenever I see it on the bookshelf I am comforted by the thought that there are people in the world who think for themselves, and who have the courage to print what they think.
Dense essays about man's 20th century blahs.......1998-02-11
There are very few books that I have been unable to finish because of ennui, but this was one of them. I made it about 2/3 of the way through and had to call it quits. This book badly needs editing. Percy asks some engaging questions to begin the book, but it is all downhill from there.
Amazon.com
The history of gay male erotic images is largely undocumented. Even when the material has been available, "good taste" and "common decency"--those concepts used to stop all talk about sex--have prevented their display. Thomas Waugh's full-length, profusely illustrated study is a breakthrough book that has information and analysis enough for three books. Thoughtful, smart, and well-written,
Hard to Imagine uncovers a visual history of gay male eroticism that few know. It chronicles the complicated history of homosexual desire and how it has been depicted and repressed.
Book Description
Spanning more than a century of photography and film, Hard to Imagine is the first visual chronicle of the evolution of gay male image culture, from the canonical works of "art" photography and cinema to the private and often highly explicit productions of amateurs. This comprehensive work explores a vast, eclectic tradition in its totality, analyzing the aesthetics of the visual imagery, its production, circulation, and consumption, and broad social and legal implications.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Book.......2002-07-10
This book collects the amazing research the author has done on physique photography, magazines and gay porn of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It is great stuff, presented with a smart and detailed analysis. The only downside is the format, a weird and pricey mix of scholarly tome and coffeetable book. With the boom in "visual culture" and gay studies, it's a pity Cambridge has never brought this out in paper: it would be a surefire hit.
WOW.......1998-04-05
This is truly a great book..especially for vintage gay porn buffs... Its written and produces with an college text book feel.... which on one hand.. is good.. gives it a lot of depth.. and smarts.. but..
with the $75 price tag.. i was a bit dissapointed..
was hoping for some really great quality photos.. while the photo's quality arent bad at all. quite clear and sharp. was hoping for something along the lines of art book quality... so ifyou looking for an art coffee table book.. this really isnt one.. but if you r looking for indepth analysis (still with loads of pictures) of early gay porn.. then this is for U!!!!!!!
Book Description
"Bisexuality is about three centuries overdue . . . nevertheless, here it is: a learned, witty study of how our curious culture has managed to get everything wrong about sex."
-Gore Vidal
"A marvelous, witty, learned, and sexy book. Bisexuality is destined for landmark status--no one who reads its bold, persuasive argument will ever think the same way about sex."
-Diane Middlebrook, author of Anne Sexton
"Bisexuality uncovers a subject long buried deep within the closet of America's cultural unconscious. Garber's capacities as a cultural commentator--delivered here in funny, witty, and sexy prose--are quite dazzling. A tour de force of social criticism, Bisexuality is in itself a cultural event."
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The world is flat. The sun revolves around the earth. Human beings are either heterosexual or homosexual. The first two myths have long been abandoned, but the third has awaited its Columbus or Copernicus. Until now.
In this witty, learned, and scrupulously researched book, Marjorie Garber examines bisexuality and its many modes through a dazzling variety of critical lenses: cultural, literary, and psychological. Bisexuality is a monumental inquiry into what "normal" might mean, and just how difficult it is to make claims about sexuality-someone else's or one's own. Whether you're curious or seriously interested, a lay reader or a student of sexuality or gender, Bisexuality is a book you will have to have.
Formerly published as Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 0 684 82412 4
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Work!.......2005-02-22
This is an amazing book for anyone who is bisexual or just plain interested in gender studies. It is well written, informative and all encompassing when it comes to the many realms of sexuality outside the terms "gay" or "straight". Through reading this book I was able to realize that although I am a bisexual women, I often identify myself as a male gender phsycologically. That you Marjorie for this wonderful piece of literature!
Pardon me?.......2004-08-19
I thought this was an enjoyable book for the most part, but I am bewildered by the blurb on the back comparing the author's scholarly contribution to the work of Copernicus. Wouldn't that suggest that she would at least have an original and clear thesis in there? Instead, we get a mish-mash of gossip, innuendo, and lame puns for over 500 pages. The closest I came to finding a thesis was the idea that bisexuality is extremely common yet has been denied for centuries... which wasn't even original when Freud said it. The book reads like the sort of thing Entertainment Weekly would have published; the thinking is fuzzy and superficial, and the writing is glib and confused. Entertaining for what it is, but, as scholarship, it shows mostly how far the Ivy Leagues have fallen.
Like ... THIS is the real thing.......2002-09-17
This is a complete and wonderful work of scholarship. I have delighted in and enjoyed every page. It is a thorough exploration of bisexuality, the bisexual experience, and bisexual eroticism. There are some profound observations in the book that have given me now insights into myself. As a bisexual who has read most - if not all - of the books on the subject; I can say that - in my opinion - this is the ONLY book on bisexuality that is actually worth reading. Ms. Garber is the only author I have read who has grasped the essence and the meaning of the "Bisexual Experience". It is clear that - unlike most writers on the subject - she is not guessing. She knows. She has also miraculously managed to make what she knows accessible to any reader. I made my psychologist buy a copy and read it. Now he knows what I'm talking about. Ms Garber demonstrates quite clearly that we bisexuals are not straight, we are not gay, we are not lesbian. We are a whole other breed of cat. This book should help anyone to understand what sort of cat we are.
Bisexuality made visible.......2002-04-14
Garber's book is an eminently readable study of the invisibility of bisexuality in our culture. She reveals the bisexuality in everything from Shakespeare's sonnets to the real-life relationships of Vita Sackville-West and others. The book is chock-full of specific details and quotations--much of it reads like a narrative (sometimes almost gossipy in a fun way!), while continuing to make Garber's point. She breaks down binary and essentialist ideas of sexual orientation with examples drawn from a huge range of literature, culture, film, and biography.
The Bi Equivalent to Faludi's Backlash.......2001-03-07
This book is now a cornerstone of my library. Garber breaksdown Bisexuality just as Susan Faludi previously made feminism accessible through Backlash. This work is definately in the top 10. It is fun yet profound. Though an avid reader, I found at times the content was so heavy that I would put space between me and the book for awhile. But do not dismay. This distance was only needed because, being an acknowledged bisexual myself, the words slammed right home. I found one of the most helpful aspects of the book was the diverse lenses that Garber approached the subject through. Now, when I find myself reading other related books or coming in contact with related controversies, I have a wide range of information and perspective to draw on that Garber provides. Her dynamic & astonishing research is coupled with a great attitude & laid back voice. Buy/read this book, you won't see things the same ever again...........
Average customer rating:
- A Riveting Must Read Novel
- Not high brow, but still good
- A Fun Summer Read
- Really interesting !
- Oh those Naughty "Odd Girls"
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Odd Girl Out
Ann Bannon
Manufacturer: Cleis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
-
I Am a Woman
-
Beebo Brinker
-
Women in the Shadows (Lesbian Pulp Fiction)
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Journey to a Woman (Lesbian Pulp Fiction)
-
Spring Fire (Lesbian Pulp Fiction)
ASIN: 1573441287 |
Book Description
In the 1950s, Ann Bannon broke through the shame and isolation typically portrayed in lesbian pulps, offering instead women characters who embraced their sexuality. With Odd Girl Out, Bannon introduces Laura Landon, whose love affair with her college roommate Beth launched the lesbian pulp fiction genre.
Customer Reviews:
A Riveting Must Read Novel.......2007-03-17
I was wonderfully surprised how much I enjoyed this novel published originally in the 1950's and set on a college campus of the time. I should not have been, Odd Girl Out was the number two best seller the year it was published. It lead to four sequels and possibly more if the author had continued publishing. The book was published again in 1975 by a division of the New York Times. In 1983 and 1986 the entire series, which had become known as the Beebo Brinker Chronicles for it's most iconic character, was published by the legendary Naiad Press. Most recently Cleis Press has re-issued the authors five titles in deluxe editions with bonus introductions from the author. I especially enjoyed finding the author has a website that is delightfully rich in information on the series and related information.
As for the story, I ate it up! I did not want to put it sown. Of special interest to me was the excellent writing. Almost a raw quality to it that made the story real for me even though the setting was a decade before I born. Of equal interest was the two captivating main character. Beth and Laura were on a journey to themselves. Beth is a senior in college when the book opens in the Fall of the first semester. Beth is the female equivalent of 'the big man on campus', most folks know her, like her or admire her'. She appears to everyone to be self-sufficient and self-confident. Freshman Laura has a big-time case of hero worship for her roommate and sorority sister Beth.
I had never read a 'pulp' novel before but by reputation I was expecting a torrid bodice ripper where one person was preyed on by the other. Instead we have both women discovering a deep and over whelming attraction for each other. Neither fight it nor are repulsed by it - it is what it is. The physical attraction shared by Beth & Laura is passionately & beautifully depicted, and surprisingly erotic considering the constraints on publishers and writers at the time.
I don't want to give the plot away except to say that the ending is engaging, dramatic, well written and points toward a positive future for both. With each woman pursuing what she believes is right for her.
As a side note, the glance back at a time of oppression toward women that has thankfully receded was revolting and most fascinating was that it wasn't always men who were the oppressors.
This is a Keeper!
I am looking forward to reading the complete series -
Beebo Brinker
I Am a Woman
Women in the Shadows
Journey to a Woman
Not high brow, but still good.......2004-12-09
This was a quick and easy read. The plot was simple to follow, but it did leave me wondering a couple times what was going to happen in the end. Some might say the storyline and characters were on a slightly unbelievable side, but one must also consider when it was written and for what type of audience it was written. Once those two items are taken into consideration I believe this book can be seen as an important step in lesbian literature. I recommend if you are interested in the history of lesbian literature and/or you like trashy romance kind of stuff.
A Fun Summer Read.......2004-06-06
I was looking for some kitsch to escape from my dreary law school textbooks and this was just the thing. Some of the cultural references are a little vague to the modern reader, but then again, I found it somewhat insightful into the "gay panic" of the fifties. I suggest buying two from the series, though. This was a quick read and left me bookless all too early.
Really interesting !.......2003-09-08
This story revolves around the two main charater Laura and Beth . Laura a very prudent girl having a crush on another woman(Beth) seemed to handle it. But since she's painfully obvious Beth took advantage of it and use Laura for her own pent up desires. But at the very end Beth think that she's straight let Laura goes.....
Oh those Naughty "Odd Girls".......2002-04-13
Make way for Lesbian Pulp fiction! Ann Bannon is the queen of the genre and she serves up a very tasty dish here. While "shocking" 40 years ago it pales in comparison to todays anything goes literary environment, still it is insightful into the history of lesbian fiction, because there were hardly any voices to be heard back then and yet a vast audience was looking for stories about themselves. At times I found the whole social order (men are always right, women just need to follow them) so funny that I was luaghing out lound. I look forward to reading the other books in the Beebo Brinker series and thankful that I didn't live in the era that Bannon writes so well about.
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