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Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
Word Is Stories of Some of Our Lives
1 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 14, 2018
I read this book because, in my favorite book of all time, Fun Home: A Family Tragi-comic, Alison Bechdel reveals to her reader that she was reading this very book when she realized that she was a lesbian. As I tend to worship Bechdel as the great gay lesbian goddess she is I sprang to my Library's ILL page to request the book.
This collection is, in many ways, not terribly different than the score of oral history collections which exist in droves for the current queer populace to read at their liberty, but I suppose what makes this particular collection so important is it's audacity. Today it is not unheard to speak with people and ask them about their sexuality and ask them about the narrative arc of their sexualities, but at the time Word is Out coming out, such questions and honesty were still, not unheard, but at least scandalous. This collection is one of the earliest efforts to document the queer population and get the stories of real queer people rather than draft another scandalous narrative checked by the "love that dare not speak its name" trope. These were real gay people speaking about their real gay selves, at a time when gay identity was forming as something real and vital.
As a queer man, this book was a chance to hear the stories of people who grew up during a time when homosexuality was only just removed from the DSM as a disease, and so the bravery of the narrators in this collection was not only inspiring, it was at times heartbreaking. Whether it was listening to a man describe electro-shock therapy in a mental institution, or listening to a woman describes the exile she received from her parents after coming out, it was tragic to hear stories that were not only real and relevant, they echoed our current state.
Word is Out is a foundational document for the study of Oral LGBTQ histories, and any reader interested in the history of this community must and should take the time to read the stories found in this collection.
This collection is, in many ways, not terribly different than the score of oral history collections which exist in droves for the current queer populace to read at their liberty, but I suppose what makes this particular collection so important is it's audacity. Today it is not unheard to speak with people and ask them about their sexuality and ask them about the narrative arc of their sexualities, but at the time Word is Out coming out, such questions and honesty were still, not unheard, but at least scandalous. This collection is one of the earliest efforts to document the queer population and get the stories of real queer people rather than draft another scandalous narrative checked by the "love that dare not speak its name" trope. These were real gay people speaking about their real gay selves, at a time when gay identity was forming as something real and vital.
As a queer man, this book was a chance to hear the stories of people who grew up during a time when homosexuality was only just removed from the DSM as a disease, and so the bravery of the narrators in this collection was not only inspiring, it was at times heartbreaking. Whether it was listening to a man describe electro-shock therapy in a mental institution, or listening to a woman describes the exile she received from her parents after coming out, it was tragic to hear stories that were not only real and relevant, they echoed our current state.
Word is Out is a foundational document for the study of Oral LGBTQ histories, and any reader interested in the history of this community must and should take the time to read the stories found in this collection.
February 6, 2025
February 2025 is a great time to read an oral history from the queer community in 1975.
Forced psych ward commitments, electroshock therapy, losing jobs, dumped by your families. Queer people do not need society’s approval to survive.
“They are like dessert cactuses. Despite last of nurturance from society, they are hearty survivors and they have very thick skins. Many are alone. They are lonely. They are sensitive in direct proportion to the strong defenses which they have had to develop to protect themselves. “
Forced psych ward commitments, electroshock therapy, losing jobs, dumped by your families. Queer people do not need society’s approval to survive.
“They are like dessert cactuses. Despite last of nurturance from society, they are hearty survivors and they have very thick skins. Many are alone. They are lonely. They are sensitive in direct proportion to the strong defenses which they have had to develop to protect themselves. “
January 29, 2023
I know that the cover of this book says "Based on the award winning documentary film about 26 gay men and women" but I didn't think it would literally just be the exact same interviews from the film. This was basically like reading the transcript of the movie. That by no means takes away the importance of this collection, as it's nice to have those interviews also in print, but if you've seen the documentary, you've already read the book. I would recommend this though for people who haven't seen the movie yet and want to read the interviews first.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews