Up from Invisibility

Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Gay & Lesbian, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Gay Studies
Cover of the book Up from Invisibility by Larry Gross, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Larry Gross ISBN: 9780231529327
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: December 26, 2001
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Larry Gross
ISBN: 9780231529327
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: December 26, 2001
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

A half century ago gay men and lesbians were all but invisible in the media and, in turn, popular culture. With the lesbian and gay liberation movement came a profoundly new sense of homosexual community and empowerment and the emergence of gay people onto the media's stage. And yet even as the mass media have been shifting the terms of our public conversation toward a greater acknowledgment of diversity, does the emerging "visibility" of gay men and women do justice to the complexity and variety of their experience? Or is gay identity manipulated and contrived by media that are unwilling—and perhaps unable—to fully comprehend and honor it?

While positive representations of gays and lesbians are a cautious step in the right direction, media expert Larry Gross argues that the entertainment and news media betray a lingering inability to break free from proscribed limitations in order to embrace the complex reality of gay identity. While noting major advances, like the opening of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore—the first gay bookstore in the country—or the rise of The Advocate from small newsletter to influential national paper, Gross takes the measure of somewhat more ambiguous milestones, like the first lesbian kiss on television or the first gay character in a newspaper comic strip.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A half century ago gay men and lesbians were all but invisible in the media and, in turn, popular culture. With the lesbian and gay liberation movement came a profoundly new sense of homosexual community and empowerment and the emergence of gay people onto the media's stage. And yet even as the mass media have been shifting the terms of our public conversation toward a greater acknowledgment of diversity, does the emerging "visibility" of gay men and women do justice to the complexity and variety of their experience? Or is gay identity manipulated and contrived by media that are unwilling—and perhaps unable—to fully comprehend and honor it?

While positive representations of gays and lesbians are a cautious step in the right direction, media expert Larry Gross argues that the entertainment and news media betray a lingering inability to break free from proscribed limitations in order to embrace the complex reality of gay identity. While noting major advances, like the opening of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore—the first gay bookstore in the country—or the rise of The Advocate from small newsletter to influential national paper, Gross takes the measure of somewhat more ambiguous milestones, like the first lesbian kiss on television or the first gay character in a newspaper comic strip.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book A Theory of Imperialism by Larry Gross
Cover of the book For Kin or Country by Larry Gross
Cover of the book The Sports Film by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Classic Writings on Poetry by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Sinophone Studies by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Hyping Health Risks by Larry Gross
Cover of the book The Essential Huainanzi by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Evolution by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Govern Like Us by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Escaping the Resource Curse by Larry Gross
Cover of the book The Undiscovered Country by Larry Gross
Cover of the book The Worst-Kept Secret by Larry Gross
Cover of the book Cinema by Design by Larry Gross
Cover of the book The China Boom by Larry Gross
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy