<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Gay Southern History by Those Who Lived It
Review: As one of the 1970's activists featured in Jim Sears's book, I am naturally biased. But as a student of lesbian and gay history, I enjoyed and appreciated his take on lesbian and gay life in the South in the decade between Stonewall and AIDS. Like Barbara Tuchman's "Stilwell" and "A Distant Mirror", Sears combines biography and history, which directs the narrative and makes it more interesting to the average reader. People like Jack Nichols, Lige Clarke and Merrill Mushroom, who appeared in Sears's previous book "Lonely Hunters", join newcomers like Logan Carter, Pokey Anderson, Leonard Matlovich and "Miss P" to create a diverse tapestry that was (and is) the LesBiGay South.
Rating:
Summary: Gay Southern History by Those Who Lived It
Review: As one of the 1970's activists featured in Jim Sears's book, I am naturally biased. But as a student of lesbian and gay history, I enjoyed and appreciated his take on lesbian and gay life in the South in the decade between Stonewall and AIDS. Like Barbara Tuchman's "Stilwell" and "A Distant Mirror", Sears combines biography and history, which directs the narrative and makes it more interesting to the average reader. People like Jack Nichols, Lige Clarke and Merrill Mushroom, who appeared in Sears's previous book "Lonely Hunters", join newcomers like Logan Carter, Pokey Anderson, Leonard Matlovich and "Miss P" to create a diverse tapestry that was (and is) the LesBiGay South.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring history, confusing descriptions, good footnotes
Review: This is basically a textbook, written by an academician, and the poor fella has amassed plenty of data, but how about a logical narrative format? He jumps around too much, from this person to that person. It's too hard to keep up with who's who. Sure, if you were a person IN the book, like Jesse (below), you maybe understand who these people are. I didn't, didn't know a one of them, well, take that back. I know who Jim Garrison was (is?...is he still alive?), and who Clay Shaw was...Rita Mae Brown I've heard of...and a few others, but this mountain of people? I guess you can tell, I'm not into the same sex movement...but shouldn't the book educate people like me? Well, it did, but very little. I wanted to know, for example, why do people prefer the same sex? Is it genetic, psychological, sociological, learned, what? What is the difference between bisexual people and same sex people? These are the things I hoped to learn from Sears's book, but instead, just a total mismash of people, places and circumstances...that's what I found. It was more educational reading the footnotes than the so-called narrative. Diximus.
Rating:
Summary: Needed stories
Review: With this landmark study, James T. Sears provides not only an important document of hidden American history but also an entertaining and sometimes disturbing narrative of struggles for freedom and equality. Sadly, though, he sees the same racism and sexism inside gay communities that he saw working against those very communities. While women in general kept fighting to dress as they like, work where they like, and express themselves openly, gay women faced a male-dominated gay movement. While encountering bigotry against their race and closets within their race, gays of color found gay bars and gay organizations just as unfriendly towards them. Despite those tragedies, and despite the other cases of sickening bigotry that this book recounts, Sears offers hope in the fact that he shows progress, and in the fact that he refuses to let voices like Julia Penelope, Mel Boozer, and so many others go unnoticed or undocumented. Anyone interested in history or activism should own this book, regardless of the reader's sexual orientation or political views. I also suggest seeing one of Sears's live presentations, in which he discusses his research. This author's combined enthusiasm for justice, equality, and scholarship come together impressively in both his writing and his appearances.
<< 1 >>
|
