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d_roseeee's review against another edition
5.0
i really enjoyed this book, probably my favorite one that i’ve read for my queer history class so far. as someone who rarely reaches for non-fiction, this book kept me reaching for it over and over, i found myself waiting for this book to be assigned in our readings so i could have an excuse to read more of it. it covers a broad expanse of queer history in a way that’s exciting to read that brought my attention and eyes to different aspects to queer culture that i hadn’t known or thought about before. highly recommend :]
cduu's review against another edition
3.0
Great information, and a thorough picture of queer history. It was, however, quite academic, and bit difficult to get through on my own. I think this would be a great book to discuss in a class setting, but on an individual basis, I often found myself lost in the overly academic, quite wordy writing.
catbrigand's review against another edition
1.0
It’s pretty rare that I one-star a book. I was so excited for this book and the series of which it’s a part. Queer history is American history and this is a story that needs to be told. But this book is so woefully inadequate that I just feel angry. This would be a decent book if it were titled A White Gay History of the United States. I say decent because the author seemed to really struggle to decide whether he wanted to talk about queer people or black people (but not, I should mention, queer black peoples); this results in large sections that are seemingly random digressions into racial relations.
A short list of terms that do not appear in this book:
asexual, intersex, transgender, bisexual
Trans people are, instead (horrifyingly, anachronistically) called transvestites. The examples on which the author focuses are those of women cross dressing as men for purposes of war. Even when discussing bisexual peoples’ same gender relationships, bisexuality isn’t even implied; instead, and far worse, the implication is made that they were straight people who incidentally had sex with the same gender. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disgusted in my life to read this piping hot take from someone who is a noted scholar of LGBT studies at an Ivy League school. The B and T parts aren’t just there for sandwich ingredients.
A short list of terms that do not appear in this book:
asexual, intersex, transgender, bisexual
Trans people are, instead (horrifyingly, anachronistically) called transvestites. The examples on which the author focuses are those of women cross dressing as men for purposes of war. Even when discussing bisexual peoples’ same gender relationships, bisexuality isn’t even implied; instead, and far worse, the implication is made that they were straight people who incidentally had sex with the same gender. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disgusted in my life to read this piping hot take from someone who is a noted scholar of LGBT studies at an Ivy League school. The B and T parts aren’t just there for sandwich ingredients.
wintermote's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I still think making so many claims about the sexual orientation of people hundreds of years ago is a shaky proposition.
mesy_mark's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This is a book not highlighting queer events in the US history but the queer populations along side the side only talked about, cisgender heterosexuals, from way back in the day, like civil war solders that were women to ACT UP in the AIDS epidemic. It is an easy read and fuller rendition of history that includes all rather than a select few.
pacedubs's review against another edition
5.0
solid but a revised version would go far
This is an important and groundbreaking work. I would love for there to be a revised edition that includes more about gender identity and a more modern understanding of queer and diverse gender identities that have garnered public attention in the last thirteen years since this book was published.
This is an important and groundbreaking work. I would love for there to be a revised edition that includes more about gender identity and a more modern understanding of queer and diverse gender identities that have garnered public attention in the last thirteen years since this book was published.