Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians

by Lillian Faderman (Author), Lillian Faderman (Author), Stuart Timmons (Author)

New
Illustrated
2009
$47.63

The exhortation to 'Go West!' has always sparked the American imagination. But for gays, lesbians, and transgendered people, the City of Angels provided a special home and gave rise to one of the most influential gay cultures in the world. Drawing on rare archives and photographs as well as more than three hundred interviews, Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons chart L.A.'s unique gay history, from the first missionary encounters with Native American cross-gendered 'two spirits' to cross-dressing frontier women in search of their fortunes; from the bohemian freedom of early Hollywood to the explosion of gay life during World War II to the underground radicalism set off by the 1950s blacklist; and, from the 1960s gay liberation movement to the creation of gay marketing in the 1990s.

Synopsis

The exhortation to 'Go West!' has always sparked the American imagination. But for gays, lesbians, and transgendered people, the City of Angels provided a special home and gave rise to one of the most influential gay cultures in the world. Drawing on rare archives and photographs as well as more than three hundred interviews, Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons chart L.A.'s unique gay history, from the first missionary encounters with Native American cross-gendered 'two spirits' to cross-dressing frontier women in search of their fortunes; from the bohemian freedom of early Hollywood to the explosion of gay life during World War II to the underground radicalism set off by the 1950s blacklist; and, from the 1960s gay liberation movement to the creation of gay marketing in the 1990s.

$47.63

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 448
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 03 Aug 2009
ISBN 10: 0520260619
ISBN 13: 9780520260610

Media Reviews

Well-documented, fascinating, and controversial.
A remarkable social history. -- Susan Brownmiller
One of the most significant contributions yet made to feminist literature.
Instructive and humane...a powerful summons to conscience. -- Carolyn Heilbrun
Reverberates with the powerful voices of people speaking for themselves...a moving narrative.
Remarkable for its rediscovering of text and also for its study of feelings that we no longer find in our societies. -- Michel Foucault
Compelling.... Poignant and moving, full of facts and wonderful details that readers may not have encountered, things that are a pleasure to learn and seem important to know. -- Francine Prose

Author Bio

Lillian Faderman is the award-winning author of numerous books on lesbian/gay history, including Surpassing the Love of Men and Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, which were both named New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Her most recent book, Naked in the Promised Land, received a Judy Grahn Award for nonfiction and a Lambda Literary Award for memoir. Stuart Timmons is the author of The Trouble with Harry Hay, which was a Book of the Month Club selection.