Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning - Softcover

Thompson, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312017650 ISBN 13: 9780312017651

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 1988

Synopsis

Gay Spirit, the psychic and creative energies generated by people we now call gay, has always existed on the outer shores of our culture's collective consciousness. In the past, gay people were labeled heretics, perversions of nature, or categorized pseudo-scientifically. Gay people lived on the edge of the global village or worked within its mainstream in denial and disguise. But today that spirit has re-emerged and lives among us.

This book of essays explores the possibilities of that spirit--suggesting ways in which gay people might find a place and purpose in human culture unique to themselves, departing with the questions asked nearly forty years ago by the Mattachine Society: Who are we? Where have we come from? Why are we here?

About this title

About the Author:

Matt Thompson is the Cultural Editor of The Advocate.

From Publishers Weekly:

Cultural editor of the Advocate, Thompson here collects previously published articles and book excerpts from the magazine, each an attempt to define the status of gay men. In an introduction he distinguishes between homosexual (a form of sexuality) and gay: "A social identity and consciousness actively chosen." The text discusses the gay's role in politics, religion, culture, identity. Among the contributors are Judy Grahn, author of lesbian/feminist works; Malcolm Boyd, activist Episcopal priest; Harry Hay, a founder of the Mattachine Society; and writer William S. Burroughs. Although the anthology will prove enlightening to nongays, they will be put off by Geoff Mains's "Urban Aboriginals and the Celebration of Leather Magic," an approving, detailed description of sadomasochism. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0312017650
• ISBN 13: 9780312017651
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352