Rise and Fall of Gay Culture

Though many in the gay community strive to be accepted into mainstream society, assimilation is watering down a once vibrant culture, rendering it as bland as a production of Streetcar without Blanche Dubois. As corporate America opens its arms and the gay population comes running, the commercia [...]
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Though many in the gay community strive to be accepted into mainstream society, assimilation is watering down a once vibrant culture, rendering it as bland as a production of Streetcar without Blanche Dubois. As corporate America opens its arms and the gay population comes running, the commercialization of gay culture makes it conventional--imagine Valley of the Dolls with M&M's.

In this provocative, brilliantly reasoned book, charged throughout with a penetrating eye and stinging wit, Daniel Harris examines the many shadings of the gay experience as they have evolved over time, including the demise of camp and kink, the evolution of personal ads, the origins of the underwear revolution, the changing face of porn and glossy magazines, the morph of drag queens and leathermen, and the marketing of AIDS as commodity.


"A spirited journey through gay life that delights and enlightens."
--San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

ONE OF "OUR 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR"
--Village Voice Literary Supplement

"DAZZLING . . . BRILLIANT . . . One of the best, and certainly one of the most provocative, cultural studies to be published in recent years."
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"SCATHING . . . THERE'S A SIDE-SPLITTING TIDBIT ON ALMOST EVERY PAGE."
--The Bay Area Reporter

"CAMPY, WITTY, STYLISH, ESTHETIC, CREATIVE."
--New York Observer