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Flaunting It!
Jackson, Ed; Perksy, Stan (eds.)
Publisher: Pink Triangle Press, Toronto, CanadaYear Published: 1982 Pages: 312pp Price: $9.95 ISBN: 0-919888-31-3 Library of Congress Number: HQ76.8.C2F43 Dewey: 306.7'66'0972 Resource Type: Book Cx Number: CX2700 An anthology of articles spanning the first decade of the Canadian gay liberation periodical, The Body Politic. Abstract: FLAUNTING IT! is an anthology of articles spanning the first decade of the Canadian gay liberation periodical, The Body Politic. The book draws its title from the accusation, regulary made whenever homosexuals are at all visible or vocal, that they are "ramming" their preferences "down people's throats". Flaunting it. The Body Politic has fought against the attitude, sometimes held even by gays themselves as well as by those hostile to them, that homosexuality is some how dirty or perverted, a guilty secret that properly belongs in the "closet". Instead, The Body Politic communicates the message that gay is good, and it also communicates the strong belief that only by organizing and acting can lesbians and gay men win and keep the rights to which they are entitled. Articles on gay history and culture, and reports on political and legal battles, all reflect this belief. The most powerful parts of this anthology are the articles which flow most directly out of the principles that "the personal is political" and that "sexual politics matter". It is here that it becomes most clear that the issues raised by gay liberation transcend questions of civil rights or political organizing. In "Forgotten Fathers", Michael Lynch talks about the pain a gay father feels in haveng to decide between being honest about his gayness, and getting to keep his children. Lilith Finkler describe the anguish, confusion, and exhilaration of coming out as a lesbian at seventeen. Another article describe the special problems and additional obstacles faced by people who are handicapped as well as gay. Other topics include dancing, self-defence, child-adult relationships, censorship, lesbian humour, and psychiatry. The Message of The Body Politic, and of this anthology, is that a serious examination of the questions raised by the gay movement means a basic re-evaluation of the way all of us lead our lives. The personal and the sexual have profound repercussions on structures of authority and power, on our fears and our willingness to seek and risk change. Confronting these issues is therefore of crucial importance. [abstract by Ulli Diemer] Table of Contents Preface Introduction Risks Throat-ramming: Gerald Hannon Under the clock: Michael Riordon Blessed are the deviates: a post-therapy check-up on my ex-psychiatrist: Michael Riordon Coming out.. at seventeen: Lilith Finkler The first dance: Irene Warner Heroes: Michael Riordon Getting off: Andrew Britton The mirror of violence: Michael Riordon Exorcising ghosts of friendship past: Lorna Weir Living Our Lives Getting royally fucked by a perfect sissy: Michael Riordon Home and mother: Jane Rule Fear of cruising: Jeff Richardson Faces of sisterhood: Mariana Valverde Forgotten fathers: Michael Lynch The words: Ian Young No sorrow, no pity: the gay disabled: Gerald Hannon Neighbourly sentiments: Ken Popert Confessions of a lunchroom subversive: Chris Bearchell Not the same old place: openly gay in the post office: Walter Bruno A vulnerable man: Michael Riordon The Making of the Image of the Modern Homosexual Homosexuals and the Third Reich: James Steakley Towards 1984: Andrew Hodges It pays to increase your wordpower: Michael Riordon Friends (not lovers): Ken Popert Taking over the house of language: Mariana Valverde Six of One: a review of Rita Mae Brown's novel: Lorna Weir Robin Tyler: comic in contradiction: Val Edwards La cage aux folles: a review of the film: Gerald Hannon Hosanna: a review of Michel Tremblay's play: David Mole Trading on secrets: the making of a tv documentary: Chris Bearchell Bad exposure: a review of The Gay Picture Book: Gordon Montador Letters: Jane Rule Dreams deferred: the early American homophile movement: John D'Emilio Dangers of the minority game: Ken Popert The day the homos disappeared: Robin Hardy Advice on consent and other unfinished business Advice on consent Men loving boys loving men : Gerald Hannon Paying the price: some letters to the editor Teaching sexuality: Jane Rule Another look: Rick Bebout, Chris Bearchell, Alexander Wilson Working together We need our own banner: Marie Robertson Divided we stand: Andrew Hodges Gay men and lesbians can work together: Chris Bearchell Confessions of a lesbian gay liberationist: Beatrice Baker Gay men's feminist mistake: Brian Mossop Everyfaggot's dyke, everydyke's faggot: Chris Bearchell Why I write for The Body Politic: Jane Rule Agree to differ: Eve Zaremba Cruising and censorship Sex, death and free speech: the fight to stop Friedkin's Cruising: Scott Tucker Middle-class alarm: Vito Russo Help them see Cruising: Ken Popert Dangerous notions: Scott Tucker Whose freedom and whose press? Leo Casey & Gary Kinsman In the courts, on the hustings, in the streets The Seventies We demand: August 28th Gay Day Committee A strategy for gay liberation: Brian Waite Victories and defeats: a gay and lesbian chronology 1969-1982 The end of the "human rights decade": Michael Lynch Into the Eighties Out in the Basque country: Tim McCaskell Close but not enough: the 1980 Toronto municipal election: Ed Jackson Raids, rage and bawdyhouses: Gerald Hannon Homos at war: Gary Ostrom Contributors Index Subject Headings
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