Homos
At least since the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which marked the beginning of the Gay Rights movement, the process of coming out of the closet has been a personal milestone of individual liberation. Dealing openly with friends and family has usually been seen as a positive move toward greater acceptance of the homosexual by society at large. Now, however, University of California professor Bersani has turned this idea on its head. The author takes the contrary view that greater visibility will, at the very least, annihilate gay culture and make gays and lesbians an easier target for any future antigay backlash. Intellectually, Bersani wants to have it both ways. For example, he accuses the gay fringe, drag most especially, of validating the dominant heterosexual power paradigm while at the same time decrying the "degaying" of gay life as assimilationist. At its most radical, the whole argument may be specious, since, as the author himself points out, the very term homosexual is a fairly recent construct that unrealistically limits the broad range of human sexual behavior. Nevertheless, Bersani's comments make for interesting if rather academic reading. Suitable for large gay/lesbian collections and academic libraries.Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.