An exceptionally literate, overstuffed chronicle of gay
Tinseltown.In alternating sections on Los Angeles lesbians and gay
men, historian Faderman (Naked in the Promised Land, 2003, etc.)
and freelance journalist Timmons, respectively, deliver an
exhaustive account. Beginning in the 1880s, both groups migrated in
droves from less liberal locales to freewheeling, anonymous
Southern California, and a supportive, unified community emerged
even as laws against sodomy and "masquerading" (i.e.,
cross-dressing) kept guard over the city's bedrooms. These
enterprising pioneers were soon followed by vaudeville exiles who
flocked to Hollywood and built its entertainment foundation.
Post-Prohibition nightclubs catered to such "sexually flexible"
entertainers as Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney and Mae West. The
years after WWII saw a boom in gay meeting places-beaches, bars,
clubs, public parks for men, city streets and restaurant lounges
for women-even though all of them were subjected to aggressive,
relentless Vice Squad raids. Small neighborhood enclaves of gays
and lesbians began to materialize, creating refuges that sparked
the mid-'60s gay organization PRIDE (Personal Rights in Defense and
Education), whose "Pride Night" meetings were all-encompassing
gay-empowerment events. The interracial homophile group ONE, the
social-justice-oriented Mattachine and the lesbian political
equality organization Daughters of Bilitis proved worthy precursors
and paved the way toward the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. The openly
gay and lesbian population continued to skyrocket during the '70s,
and that lively era gives the book's prose a shot in the arm as the
authors describe the revitalized L.A. demographic, the pink neon
discos of West Hollywood and a community center disseminating vital
information about the AIDS epidemic. Among the timely issues
affecting gay youth today that get spirited discussion are the
questions of gender and identity. Both authors are Californians,
and their love of Hollywood history and lore shines bright.Vital
intellectual fare brimming with fascinating history. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The exhortation to "Go West!" has always had a strong hold on the
American imagination. But for the gays, lesbians, and transgendered
people who have moved to L.A. over the past two centuries, the City
of Angels has offered a special home--which, in turn, gave rise to
one of the most influential gay cultures in the world. Drawing upon
untouched archives of documents and photographs and over 200 new
interviews, Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons chart L.A.'s unique
gay history, from the first missionary encounters with Native
American cross-gendered "two spirits" to cross-dressing frontier
women in search of their fortunes; from the bohemian freedom of
early Hollywood to the explosion of gay life during World War II to
the underground radicalism sparked by the 1950s blacklist; from the
1960s gay liberation movement to the creation of gay marketing in
the 1990s. Faderman and Timmons show how geography, economic
opportunity, and a constant influx of new people created a city
that was more compatible to gay life than any other in America.
Combining broad historical scope with deftly wrought stories of
real people, from the Hollywood sound stage to the barrio, Gay L.A.
is American social history at its best.
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