Gay Pride: A Celebration of All Things Gay and Lesbian

by William J. Mann

The Ancient Greeks—What’s there to be proud of about the ancient Greeks? Well, only that they set the groundwork for all of Western Civilization, thought up the concept of democracy, encouraged more original thinking than anyone before or since, and actually celebrated same-sex love. The Castro—For any gay first-time visitor, alighting from the trolley at the famous intersection of Castro and Market in San Francisco is like stepping into Oz. Historian Susan Stryker has called it "the symbolic main street of the city’s queer community and an emblem of gay pride around the world." It has become synonymous with liberation, freedom, and celebration, and while today there are many vibrant gay neighborhoods, the Castro retains an enduring place in the hearts of gay men and lesbians everywhere. Alan Turing—The founder of computer science. A brilliant mathematician. Philosopher, wartime codebreaker, visionary—and an unapologetic gay man well ahead of his time. The NEA Four—Tim Miller, John Fleck, Holly Hughes, and Karen Finley—two gay men, a lesbian, and a queer-identified straight woman. No wonder these performance artists were singled out by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990 and denied artists’ grants, causing an international uproar that still has ramifications today. These are just a few of the fabulous reasons for Gay Pride. Read on to find out more about the queer pioneers, past and present, who have made the world a braver, bolder, and better place—for everyone! We’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it! As if Alexander the Great, the Harlem Renaissance, A Member of the Wedding, and piano bars weren’t enough, here are 101 fabulous reasons to celebrate the rich heritage and vast cultural contributions of gays and lesbians. This inspiring, joyous book triumphantly commemorates the many ways gays and lesbians have profoundly shaped the face of the world’s politics, art, literature, music, theatre, cinema, sports, civil rights, and much more. From the fighting spirit of the Radical Faeries to the groundbreaking TV comedy of Will and Grace, from Walt Whitman’s immortal "Song of Myself" to the incendiary power of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America and the searingly candid art of Frida Kahlo, gays and lesbians have made life sweeter, deeper, more humane, and, well, so much more fabulous. Need more reasons to be glad? How Gay places of The Castro, Bloomsbury, Metropolitan Community Church, Berlin. Literary Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, Dorothy Allison. Gay power The Sony Building in New York, Freed’s Fairies and the MGM musicals, Dykes on Bikes, PFLAG, ACT-UP. Gay Ian McKellan, Elton John, Rudy Galindo, Martina Navratilova, Ellen DeGeneres, Marlene Dietrich. Whether it’s the wicked fun of camp, the powerful impact of queer cinema, or the lazy, summertime pull of Provincetown, Gay Pride is filled with an array of reasons to live proud that is as diverse and beautiful as the gay and lesbian community it celebrates.

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

William J. Mann is a New York Times bestselling author of The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, for which he was granted access to Brando’s private estate archive, as well as Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn (named a Notable Book of the Year by the Times); Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (praised by USA Today for its “meticulous research and insightful analysis”); Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger, for which he worked closely with the Oscar-winning director; and The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America. His book Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Mann is a professor of film and popular culture at Central Connecticut State University.

source: Amazon

Also writes children's books under the pseudonym Geoffrey Huntington.

Reviews

[Reeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/gaypridec...

A quick, fun, albeit dated read of all the things the great things that came from, and were popular with the gay community. As you may have guessed from the title, this book mostly centers on the L and G of the LGBT community, with the B and T only getting casual mentions. A shame, but I think this is still worth a skim.

Hell, this book mentions SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) which provides assistance and programs to help LGBT seniors. Even in the year of our Lady 2019, I don't see much mention of helping elderly LGBT people. You know, the people who fought, got beaten up, disowned, lost their jobs, and were nearly wiped out by a devastating disease so that baby queers like me can be proud of who we are? Respect your queer elders, is all I'm saying.

[OutSideTheBoxox · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard for me to finish this book admittedly it is from the early 2000s so it wasn't totally relevant for me from that aspect, but it was also very white and American and England centric, also only focusing on Cis queer people, the LGB more comen back then but being a + it feels like so many amazing people are being mist. If it is rewritten I hope they will add the rest of the LGBTQI+ community.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although written almost 20 years ago, this book is a good primer for those who want to learn about gay history. Each of the 101 reasons to be proud is given two pages of concise writing.

[Isla · Rating 5 out of 5]

lack of straight pride?? x pretty cool book tho imo 😆