Saturday, January 9, 2010

Becoming Visible, edited by Kevin Jennings

Jennings, Kevin (ed.). (1994). Becoming Visible. Los Angeles: Alyson Publications. 297 pages.

A little old, but an excellent reader for a high school LGBTQ course. Three sections:
  • Pre-modern history: Ancient Greece and Rome, Ancient China, Berdache, women in early modern U.S.
  • Emergence of the Modern Gay Movement: Almost exclusively U.S.
  • Eighties and Nineties: Mostly about the U.S.
Very thoughtfully edited volume. Includes the historiographical issues as well as straight content. Each chapter includes a variety of short readings. Should definitely consider as a text for all students. It's out of print, but we could probably find enough used copies. Available at the SF Public Library.

The chapter "Gays around the Globe" is marginally useful. The Danish articles are way out of date; the Chinese articles from Washington Post are useless; the pieces by Indian lesbians and gay Muslim are better but very short.

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