Reviews - Bad Gays: A Homosexual History

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1.09k reviews for:

Bad Gays: A Homosexual History

Ben Miller, Huw Lemmey

3.62 AVERAGE

ecox180's review against another edition

3.5

informative medium-paced

j_squaredd's review against another edition

4.0

informative medium-paced

Content Warnings

thisamtheplace's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

This is pretty solid. Attempting to tell a homosexual history via the framework of the lives and historical contexts of a number of gay ‘antiheroes’, Lemmy and Miller have put together a really interesting study of the development of what it meant to be homosexual (or just to participate in homosexual activity before it became an identity in itself) and how this fitted into the societal structures of the time. Naturally with a book of this nature, certain chapters and their historical figures were more interesting to me than others. I do think that the unevenness across the chapters in terms of length and the amount of additional historical context provided pulled my rating down a bit, as some of the chapters really ended up being a slog, whereas some left a bit to be desired. In spite of this, I really enjoyed observing the development of modern concepts of homosexuality over time and the exploration of how tolerance was inextricably linked to the power relations and status of the individuals engaging in gay sex or relationships. This wasn’t a perfect piece of nonfiction but I will definitely be referring back to it in the future for inspo for further LGBTQIA+ research and reading. On one final note, I think this could have been improved with the exploration of a more diverse range of historical figures.

kunma's review

DID NOT FINISH: 26%

This book is too dense, packed with unnecessary information, and at the same time, sometimes lacks necessary explanations to understand the stories.

janemarple's review against another edition

4.25

challenging informative medium-paced

A fascinating book that examines a group of “bad” queer people throughout history who, despite being minoritized through their sexual orientation, engaged in the suppression of others in minoritized groups. The subjects include those who I might describe as “suboptimal” to truly evil. The narrative running through the book is even queer people often hurt and subjugate others, despite society doing the same to them for millennia.