Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America

by Rodger Streitmatter

Unspeakable documents the major phases in the evolution of the gay and lesbian press while providing a window into the history of the movement, from the era of McCarthyism to the militancy of the '60s and the Stonewall Riots, from the liberality of the '70s to the issue of AIDS in the '80s and the outing of the '90s. 20 illustrations.

Genres: History, Queer, Nonfiction, LGBT, Gay, Lesbian

424 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Rodger Streitmatter is a journalist and cultural historian whose work explores how the media have helped to shape American culture. He is currently a professor in the School of Communication at American University.

Reviews

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of what will be many books I’m reading for background and context on my summer research on Gay Community News. For an academic book this was incredibly readable and accessible, and provided a great overview of trends in the queer press during the time I’m looking at. By nature of highlighting what these papers were writing about, it also gave insight as to what was important to the community during this time period. This was a great read and I’m thankful to have Streitmatter’s work to consult for this project.

[Flungoutofspace (Chris) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and readable media history of gay/lesbian news media with some obvious gaps. Also a decidedly anti-radical bias when talking about 70s media. Some good points made around the failures of many gay papers to adequately report about the AIDs crisis, and how profit and desire for normativity undermined the effectiveness of some of the bigger gay/lesbian media.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant le chap sur les mag lesbiens : à relire plus tard

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive survey of the lesbian and gay press up to the mid-1990s.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interest, well-written book on the history of gay newsmedia (magazines and newspapers) in America until 1995. Really enjoyed it.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this from Columbia U's library to catch up on my gay media history. Some great details, great research. Especially like the chapter on 70s Wild West newspaper (and controversial rise of Advocate under David Goodstein).