Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South (signed first edition)

Sears, James T.

ISBN 10: 0813529646 / ISBN 13: 9780813529646

Published by Rutgers University Press, 2001

About this Item

First edition, first printing with full number line. Signed by author on title page and dated in year of publication. A near fine copy with bent corners in a near fine mylar protected DJ. See my photos of the book you will receive, not stock photos. More available upon request. This book is in my possession and will be packed in bubble wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. USPS tracking provided. #109.

Seller Inventory # 008444

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South (signed first edition)
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813529646
• ISBN 13: 9780813529646
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

While Scarlett O'Hara may resemble a drag queen, and Mardi Gras inspires more camp than a gay pride parade, the American South also boasts a rich, authentic and transgressive gay and lesbian history. In this chatty, free-ranging cultural survey, Sears (Growing Up Gay in the South) presents a vivid kaleidoscope of the mores and political activities of many gay Southerners following the 1969 Stonewall riots and leading up to the 1979 march on Washington. Sears unspools this history through portraits of activists and community organizers including Merril Mushroom, Jack Nichols, Lige Clark, Vicki Gabriner, Minnie Bruce Pratt and Sgt. Leonard Matlovitch who helped shape the social and political climate below the Mason Dixon line and often in the rest of the country. While giving a nod to historic events like Anita Bryant's Save Our Children campaign, Sears focuses more closely on obscure but important local political events, like the founding of the lesbian journal Sinister Wisdom, the emergence of the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance and community response to a deadly firebombing that killed 31 patrons in a New Orleans bar in the mid-1970s. Sears's multifaceted approach pays off when he sketches such relatively unknown players as comedian Ray Bourbon and radical fairy Faygele ben Miriam, and he conveys well the complexity and intensity of the political activity of the decade. While not as historically conclusive or theoretically astute as John Howard's masterful Men Like That (2000), Sears provides a panoply of emotionally riveting snapshots that aptly portray Southern gay experience in the 1970s. B&w photos.

About the Author

James T. Sears is the award-winning author or editor of twelve books, among them Growing Up Gay in the South and Lonely Hunters. He is currently a visiting professor at Harvard University. Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones is the second of a projected multivolume work on queer southern life.