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Title: Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. : A Documentary History by Jonathan Ned Katz ISBN: 0-452-01092-6 Publisher: Penguin USA Pub. Date: 01 April, 1992 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Our History
Comment: There's a marvelous moment in an old Jack Wrangler flick from the late 1970's, A NIGHT AT THE ADONIS, when one of
Jack's co-stars, Malo, a handsome bodybuilder, is reading GAY AMERICAN HISTORY wearing nothing but a jockstrap. At
some point Malo closes the book, puts it down, and reflects to himself out loud: "Gay history. Gay ancestors. Now there's a
paradox!"
Indeed it is, but Jonathan Ned Katz proves the existence of such in this massive and important piece of pioneering research.
Going back to America's colonial days, Katz traces the presence of gay men and lesbians (Katz would say "lesbians and gay
men")in all phases of American history. He divides the book into several sections. The first, "Trouble", shows us the various
ways gay men and women were punished for their "abnormality." There's even an appearance here by none other than Thomas
Jefferson, who, enlightened thinker that he was, thought "sodomites" should be castrated for their crime against nature rather
than executed. In "Treatment" we are shown the sad, pathetic, outrageous ways gays sought to "change" their orientation,
sometimes not voluntarily, through hypnosis, shock treatment, and lobotomy. If you have any conscience at all, this section will
make you shake your head in sadness and shame. "Passing Women" is a fascinating survey of women who dressed and acted
as men, some even serving as soldiers and doctors in the Civil War. We get to meet the indomintable Dr. Mary Walker here,
among other women individualists. In "Gay Americans/Native Americans" we see how American native peoples were often
vastly more tolerant of "alternative lifestyles" than whites. Finally "Love" shows us men and women caught in the thrall of same
sex passion. Among those highlighted here are Walt Whitman, John Addington Symonds, Emma Goldman and her fascinating
lover Almeda Sperry, Dorothy Thompson, and the psuedonymonous "Mary Casals."
There is much to absorb and learn from in this book, almost sometimes to the point of tedium. Do not try to take it all in at one
time but read it and enjoy it slowly and leisurely. Katz does an admirable job navigating us through these largely unknown
waters, although his stridently leftist point of view (he likes the word "oppression", folks)is sometimes distracting and
(endearingly) anachronistic. His inclusion of SO much lesbian material is also often off-putting and may have deserved its own
volume (sorry, Mr. Katz, it's a biological thing with me - men are just more interesting than women).
Read this and be prepared to be astonished.
Rating: 5
Summary: Stories Recognizable as Our Own
Comment: What's striking about the hundreds of stories documented here is how much we're like these people of centuries ago, and how much they're like us today. Often they faced oppression too horrible for us to imagine (imprisoned, put to death, kidnapped, hospitalized, drugged, lobotomized, castrated, and those were just for starters), but they responded much as we might have in their shoes: usually with courage, but sometimes with cowardice; usually with great faithfulness to their loved ones, but sometimes willing to betray them; often defiantly, but sometimes meekly; they generally lived with a great deal of personal integrity, though some turned to crime and others went crazy. These are people we recognize! And in them we see ourselves.
More than anything, this book shows the existence of a shared Gay and Lesbian culture across the centuries (despite the claims of today's ignorant cynics). If these shadowy figures from the past could time-travel to our own era, they would be shocked at our freedom -- then they'd shout for joy and fit right in.
Don't be the least concerned about the book's length or turn away because it's about "history." The vignettes Katz assembled are usually brief, often only a page or two, which makes the book easy to put down when you need a breather, and easy to pick up again, without having to go back and refresh your memory; you'll always know what he's talking about. These are people you will be proud of. Their stories' cumulative effect gives this volume its power, and makes it, in my view, the most important Gay book of the 20th century.
Rating: 5
Summary: The father of gay history
Comment: I read "Gay American History" when I was coming out and it was a revelation. Though some of the concepts are outdated, and the facts have been superseded by later research, it remains the basic text book for gay (and lesbian) American history. Katz paved the way for John Boswell, John D'Emilio, Allan Berube, George Chauncey and many, many other historians. Katz has his biases, and he does go overboard to provide "gender balance", but all in all his book is very educational and extremely entertaining. You can't go wrong with this one.
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Title: Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 by George Chauncey ISBN: 0465026214 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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