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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Racial slurs
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Police brutality, Grief
4.5 stars.
Despite having long been interested in gender and sexuality, I know embarrassingly little about the beginnings of the movements for LGBTQ+ rights. So I am incredibly grateful for this collection of first-person accounts from the periods leading up to, during, and right after the Stonewall uprising. These voices are what we need more of in our traditional history books.
Despite having long been interested in gender and sexuality, I know embarrassingly little about the beginnings of the movements for LGBTQ+ rights. So I am incredibly grateful for this collection of first-person accounts from the periods leading up to, during, and right after the Stonewall uprising. These voices are what we need more of in our traditional history books.
No star rating because it's an anthology!
LGBTQ history is not something I was taught in school, and it’s only through reading THE STONEWALL READER that I’ve discovered my hunger for learning more about the movements that fought for the rights & freedoms I enjoy today.
Chronicling LGBTQ history faces many challenges - the HIV/AIDS crisis that decimated our community, copyright questions of gay & lesbian zines (the primary source of spreading knowledge & discussing queer identity before the internet), and the fact that history is always written by the victor. White, cis gay men have always been the primary face of the LGBTQ movements, obscuring the countless contributions of queer people of color, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender folks. THE STONEWALL READER attempts to rectify that - though whether they are successful in their attempt is open for debate.
This anthology is split up into 3 sections - Before Stonewall, During Stonewall, and After Stonewall. I read through the first section very slowly, but reading during & after was thrilling, empowering & informative. History is confusing - there can be multiple, contradictory truths from witnesses who were at the same event, and by creating this collection - rather than writing a history book - the @nypl & @penguinclassics are holding space for all those truths of queer experience, queer history & queer radical agendas. I’m so grateful I read this book & excited to continue educating myself about LGBTQ history - this Pride month & beyond
LGBTQ history is not something I was taught in school, and it’s only through reading THE STONEWALL READER that I’ve discovered my hunger for learning more about the movements that fought for the rights & freedoms I enjoy today.
Chronicling LGBTQ history faces many challenges - the HIV/AIDS crisis that decimated our community, copyright questions of gay & lesbian zines (the primary source of spreading knowledge & discussing queer identity before the internet), and the fact that history is always written by the victor. White, cis gay men have always been the primary face of the LGBTQ movements, obscuring the countless contributions of queer people of color, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender folks. THE STONEWALL READER attempts to rectify that - though whether they are successful in their attempt is open for debate.
This anthology is split up into 3 sections - Before Stonewall, During Stonewall, and After Stonewall. I read through the first section very slowly, but reading during & after was thrilling, empowering & informative. History is confusing - there can be multiple, contradictory truths from witnesses who were at the same event, and by creating this collection - rather than writing a history book - the @nypl & @penguinclassics are holding space for all those truths of queer experience, queer history & queer radical agendas. I’m so grateful I read this book & excited to continue educating myself about LGBTQ history - this Pride month & beyond
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
I learned so much from this book, which I thought was expertly curated with writing that represents clearly a diverse collection of experiences and viewpoints. I was not expecting to have so little editorial commentary provided between the first person primary sources, but I didn't end up finding that to be lacking.
I did the audiobook and it was honestly the best thing to have graced me this summer.
The stories in this are hard hitting, no hold back first hand accounts from a wide range of individuals that make up the lgbtqia+ spectrum. Including saved audio interviews from some of the activists themselves.
For the first time, I felt excited reading and learning about history. As the chapters progressed closer to the events of Stonewall the more anxious I became because i could feel its build up. And even the repercussions and momentum it had on the movements following were laid out so well that it makes me thirsty for more.
Me? An avid fiction only reader now clawing through the library stacks for more non-fiction first hand accounts? Yes, please. I’m going deep.
What gets me is that you just can’t make this stuff up. It happened and that’s even wilder. The further I got, the more appreciative I became to these groups in the past and the angrier I became at the injustices that still exist.
Additionally, another thing going for this anthology is the juxtaposition of seeing the different generations next to each other. You have the older, more conservative gays on one side and the younger fed up gays on the other saying Judy Garland’s death had nothing to do with them and Stonewall in contrast to what others say. Plus the trans and gender fluid few spilling tea and showing the dirty underbellies of the mainstream gay and lesbian groups that play favorites and ignore the rest.
Just read this. Listen to it. Find yourself wanting to know more.
The stories in this are hard hitting, no hold back first hand accounts from a wide range of individuals that make up the lgbtqia+ spectrum. Including saved audio interviews from some of the activists themselves.
For the first time, I felt excited reading and learning about history. As the chapters progressed closer to the events of Stonewall the more anxious I became because i could feel its build up. And even the repercussions and momentum it had on the movements following were laid out so well that it makes me thirsty for more.
Me? An avid fiction only reader now clawing through the library stacks for more non-fiction first hand accounts? Yes, please. I’m going deep.
What gets me is that you just can’t make this stuff up. It happened and that’s even wilder. The further I got, the more appreciative I became to these groups in the past and the angrier I became at the injustices that still exist.
Additionally, another thing going for this anthology is the juxtaposition of seeing the different generations next to each other. You have the older, more conservative gays on one side and the younger fed up gays on the other saying Judy Garland’s death had nothing to do with them and Stonewall in contrast to what others say. Plus the trans and gender fluid few spilling tea and showing the dirty underbellies of the mainstream gay and lesbian groups that play favorites and ignore the rest.
Just read this. Listen to it. Find yourself wanting to know more.
Genuinely sad to have finished this one. I love the concept here—there are so many different stories people tell about what really happened at the Stonewall Riots, so the NYPL has collected a bunch of excerpts from different writers and interviews to formulate a good picture of what the era was like for gay people, the gay experience, the actual events of Stonewall, and of course, the aftermath. This is the best kind of collection, that lets you decide for yourself what could really have happened in light of so many inconsistencies, and there’s a strong emphasis on hearing voices from people of color and other groups who had extra hurdles of discrimination. I’ll definitely be going back to the excerpt sources to read more.