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mistyfoot19's review
4.0
A fantastic read, a journey through the history of LGBT culture. From some of the most ancient artwork we've found, dating several thousand years BC, to the more modern 1990s, this book touches on it all. The book also does a good job of recognizing and explaining its shortcomings- gay representations of women are less frequent, and often could have been made for the pleasures of men, not from a woman's perspective. This book is a great starting point to see how LGBT culture has evolved through the centuries and what role it has taken. I would highly recommend to a fellow LGBTQ+ person, or to a non-LGBTQ+ person who wants to learn more.
binches's review
5.0
This book offers a great insight into what we would today consider "being queer" and its history. More importantly, it sets it into a nuanced historical and cultural context and visualizes how, yet very slowly, far we have come in terms of sexuality and gender and how our approach to it is just one of many varying ideas.
tranzkafka's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
this was a really good overview of some elements of LGBT+ history and I enjoyed the pretty global scope (especially talking about how colonialism has impacted the treatment of homosexuality), but it focused heavily on gay men above all and did not go into much detail about each object. i would instead recommend the podcast "queer as fact" which goes into a lot more detail about many people/objects featured in the book. however, still enjoyable and always nice to remember that people like us have always existed, and i LOVED the personal focus it took :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia
believedcrazy's review
4.0
I'm an amateur when it comes to LGBT+ history, as in before reading this my knowledge was next to none. I didn't buy this to be given a full course on LGBT+ history, but instead for a little bit of knowledge to have before fully delving in and learning more, which is exactly what this book offers.
It's quite short, which is great if you're just getting interested in LGBT+ history because large history books can often be quite daunting. I don't think I'd recommend this if you know a lot on LGBT+ history because it probably won't teach you anything new, though I reckon it'd make a great coffee table book. Above all else it shows you how LGBT individuals were treated from history to now, and gives you a bunch of interesting facts which make great conversation topics.
It's quite short, which is great if you're just getting interested in LGBT+ history because large history books can often be quite daunting. I don't think I'd recommend this if you know a lot on LGBT+ history because it probably won't teach you anything new, though I reckon it'd make a great coffee table book. Above all else it shows you how LGBT individuals were treated from history to now, and gives you a bunch of interesting facts which make great conversation topics.
that_bookworm_guy's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This is exactly what the title suggests, a little gay history.
The book covers some of LGBT history and explores some of the artefacts that give us a glance into that history and what we understand about their relations towards gender and sexual desire.
Informative and insightful, this book is a good little book if you’re wanted to learn a little more about history or you’re interested in art.
The book covers some of LGBT history and explores some of the artefacts that give us a glance into that history and what we understand about their relations towards gender and sexual desire.
Informative and insightful, this book is a good little book if you’re wanted to learn a little more about history or you’re interested in art.
seance's review
4.0
this book functions like a miniature museum exhibit, showing various texts, objects and works of art from 9000 bc to the present day, and in its 128 pages it manages to give a brief rundown on lgbtq history – which i was expecting – mostly focusing on individual lives and perspectives, which i was not. (i was also pleasantly surprised by its diversity: it made an effort to cover cultures and ways of life all over the world, frequently drawing attention to the way colonialism has imposed homophobic attitudes on more tolerant societies.) what i found particularly lovely about this book is that it is intensely aware of the fact that history happens on a smaller scale, in the personal histories of people we will never meet and, for the most part, will never know anything about. it becomes both a testament to the fact that same-sex love has always existed and always will and an acknowledgement that this is the part of history we see – that there is so much more to it, particularly when it concerns lgbtq people.
vintagehexe's review
5.0
"History does not belong only to 'mainstream' victors, and 'minorities' should not feel that they are marginal. On a long view, no one occupies the centre. It belongs to all of us."
This is a book I would recommend to everyone, regardless of their interest in history. It is respectful and considers the possible different aspects of gender and sexuality and shines a light on different gay, lesbian, bisexual, non-binary and transgender lives. It leaves the historic discourse open and reminds us how hard it is to fully understand forgotten cultures, but it also stands fiem in its fundamental message: Queer people have and will always be there.
Through a diverse collection of art and literature from all around the world this book gives a brief but captivating history of queer desires and identities throughout human history.
This is a book I would recommend to everyone, regardless of their interest in history. It is respectful and considers the possible different aspects of gender and sexuality and shines a light on different gay, lesbian, bisexual, non-binary and transgender lives. It leaves the historic discourse open and reminds us how hard it is to fully understand forgotten cultures, but it also stands fiem in its fundamental message: Queer people have and will always be there.
Through a diverse collection of art and literature from all around the world this book gives a brief but captivating history of queer desires and identities throughout human history.