Gay Shame

by David M. Halperin (Editor), Valerie Traub (Editor)

Ever since the 1969 Stonewall Riots, “gay pride” has been the rallying cry of the gay rights movement and the political force behind the emergence of the field of lesbian and gay studies. But has something been lost, forgotten, or buried beneath the drive to transform homosexuality from a perversion to a proud social identity? Have the political requirements of gay pride repressed discussion of the more uncomfortable or undignified aspects of homosexuality?


Gay Shame seeks to lift this unofficial ban on the investigation of homosexuality and shame by presenting critical work from the most vibrant frontier in contemporary queer studies. An esteemed list of contributors tackles a range of issues—questions of emotion, disreputable sexual histories, dissident gender identities, and embarrassing figures and moments in gay history—as they explore the possibility of reclaiming shame as a new, even productive, way to examine lesbian and gay culture.

 

Accompanied by a DVD collection of films, performances, and archival imagery, Gay Shame constitutes nothing less than a major redefinition and revitalization of the field.

Genres: Queer, LGBT, Nonfiction, History, Queer Studies, Theory, Cultural Studies

408 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2008

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

especially notable are gayle rubin's remarks, 'a little humility' - and the introduction, which narrates the conception and uneven execution of an experimental academic/arts/activist conference.

[Gustave Blåbær · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring academic writing.
The intro is good, then it gets quickly too much/not enough; except for a few articles.
I wanted to like it. I do not recommend unfortunately.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays read at, prompted by, and/or related to the "Gay Shame" conference at the University of Michigan in 2003 which was organized to consider "gay shame" as an alternative to "gay pride." By all accounts, the conference got pretty heated, and the selections recreate the often aggressively conflicting perspectives on the notion of gay shame.

Ellis Hanson's essay on shame and pedagogy has lingered in my mind longer than most, and though I can't say I agree with him on everything, I do think his ability to make the reader uncomfortable, aware of her own shame, makes his essay stand out as one that does, I think, productively bridge the concepts of shame and queerness in an academic setting (the classroom).

Gayle Rubin's essay highlighting the often overlooked intersections between queerness, race, and ability was my favorite. She was able to pull back from the tense environment to consider these issues from a more "big picture" perspective.

Overall, though many individual essays were great, I frequently got frustrated with this collection and with many of its contributors, mainly because it's disheartening to see so-called professionals get so petty and ungenerous toward others' perspectives.

[6655321 · Rating 2 out of 5]

6 years after this rather (in)famous conference, almost everyone involved in criticizing the conference (Jack Halberstram, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, etc.) refuses to participate in the publication of a book loosely organized around the conference and a bunch of folks write extremely self referential and defensive papers that feel like the editors should have done something to minimize the sameness of various pieces, also Leo Bersani's piece in all fairness should've been cut (and i am a fan of his work) as it was the only criticism presented but was 2 pages long and felt tacked on. Gayle Rubin's piece and a few others are all that make me hesitantly give this more than 1/0 stars

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book since the beginning! I would highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to have a good time, specially on this specific genre, there was a few things that iwould have changed in this book but that happens most of the times i read books so it's not such a big deal. Loved it, thats all i've gotta say. Well deserved five stars.

[Joey Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

ooh it's good so far. i like the description of the conference organising process and the reflective elements. i like the stuff on the intersections between disability and queer shame a lot. more to come...

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is predominantly conference minutes, and as such worked better (I assume) in its original format. Some of the essays are quite good, and some not-so-much. Particularly for me, since I am reading specifically for my thesis, many of these essays weren't useful.