How the homosexuals saved civilization : the true and heroic story of how gay men shaped the modern world / Cathy Crimmins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crimmins, C. E., author.

Contributor:

Penn Sexuality Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Gift of the William Way LGBT Community Center (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gay men--Social life and customs.

Gay people in popular culture.

Homosexuality and the arts.

Male homosexuality--Philosophy.

Gay culture.

Camp (Style).

Physical Description:

xxi, 216 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First trade paperback edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2005.

Summary:

"How the Homosexuals Saved Civilization presents a broad yet incisive look at how an unusual 'immigrant' group, homosexual men, has influenced mainstream American society, and has, in many ways, become mainstream itself. From the way camp, irony, and the gay aesthetic have become part and parcel of our national sensibility to the undeniable effect gay cognoscenti have had on film, literature, music, and television, Cathy Crimmins examines how gay men have irrevocably changed the concepts of community, family, sex, fashion, entertainment, and beauty." --Back cover

Contents:

Putting My Finger on It

The Three Civilized Books: Heart, Body, and Soul

Heart

I Know It When I See It: Camp, Irony, and the Gay Aesthetic

Language: Gayspeak and Straight Shooters

Community, Rituals, and Home

Body

Eat Me: Gay Dishes, Straight Appetites, Common Thirsts

Fashion Style, and Body Image: Gay Guys Do It Better!

Butts and Cocks: Gay Men and the Future of Sex

Soul

Movies: My Favorite Things

Game-Show Sissies and Gay Dads - and Was Gomer Pyle a Fairy?

Music: Play That Funky Music, Gay Boy!

Theater: Life Is a Drag

Living in a Gay Time: Homos "R" Us

Local Notes:

Gift of the William Way LGBT Community Center.

ISBN:

1585424250

9781585424252

OCLC:

60585033