All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America

Walters, Suzanna Danuta. "All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America", University of Chicago Press, 2003. Visibility and Acceptance Amos Lassen The most necessary steps in gay civil rights are visibility and acceptance. We have not reached this yet according to Suzanna Danuta Walters in "All the Rage". She shows that although we have come a long way, there is still a long way to go. She looks at gay friendly advertising (Budweiser and IKEA), gay marriage and Dr. Laura as well as Ellen DeGeneres and the murder of Matthew Shephard. These last two points show that the times today and often confusing and incomprehensible. When we tear down one wall, other seems to go up in its place. We win and we lose all along the way. This is a comprehensive survey of gay and lesbian visibility backed with facts and documentation. In recent times gay lives and images are seen but often not completely understood. Walters's thesis is just that point. Wisdom and equality go hand in hand and we are sometimes seen as accessories but not as full characters. Walters's emphasis is gay and lesbian visibility on television and she states that this does not necessarily reflect progress in the attainment of political rights. She goes on to give detailed testaments about particular TV shows and advertisements and we tend to fool ourselves into believing that we are accepted. The cycle of acceptance and assimilation is ongoing with no end in sight. "All the Rage" is refreshing and thought provoking as it shows the contradictions in gay visibility. The impact of this visibility is revolutionary but they are not permanent as we have seen. In some cases we are no longer lonely strangers but now friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. There have backlashes and there will probably be more. The right wing is still out there sending negative messages to the population and is more powerful than we know. We have come a long way since Stonewall but there are still some cultural norms that keep our visibility and our acceptance hidden. It is time to find a place where everyone is comfortable and the word "intolerance" will be retired from use.

This engaging and readable account of modern GLBT/queer history argues that gays and lesbians have become increasingly visible in the past thirty years. Whereas it was once scandalous for GLBT people to meet publicly, many 'mainstream' institutions such as Disney sponsor gay days, if nothing else to demonstrate their own 'inclusivity' and gain money from this community. Because coming out is such a common event today, myself and other generation xers (regardless of our own sexuality) may inadvertently dismiss the revolutionary impact these declarations of self had for the generations of Americans who were conditioned to believe that GLBT and 'well adjusted' were essentially contradictions in terms. Gays and lesbians were not the lonely mysterious stranger but friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Any depression which these individuals experienced because of sexuality was the result of society intoning negative self-esteem messages rather than the 'natural' state of being. Walters's book is also important because she traces how a rise in GLBT visibility (although not the same as equality) has prompted a backlash. The right wing vociferously campaigns against gay rights in today's environment because the greater cultural visibility has effectively undone their own world. Whatever they actually think of GLBT rights, now having to acknowledge that GLBT people exist is a very uncomfortable development. Prior to Stonewall, these people and their predecessors were effectively enabled to pretend that GLBT people actually did not exist because the prevailing cultural norms had prevented GLBT visibility. This book primarily deals with the cultural aspects of GLBT rights, but it is still an important and essential read. Both scholars and/or community activists will want to understand how cultural visibility is not the same as political equality but is necessary for facilitating the progress.

Author Suzanna Danuta Walters chronciles the history of gay visibility in America excellently in this book! Looking at it from a variety of perspectives: Cinema, Television, Advertising (Marketing)and her own personal accounts of being a lesbian parent. While the debate rages on over assimilation, equal rights and the unigueness of gay culture, I feel that the author has done an excellent job bringing to light valid arguements while chronciling the history of how far we have come as a culture and how much furhter we have to go. It never ends and we are fooling arourselves to think that it does.It sometime shocks and angers me how the gay community refuses to support such good work as this. Ignorance in anytything is not bliss!Anyone interested in any type of gay studies should read this book. The author puts together tons of research into a rich and well developed text.

This is one of the most thorough and thought-provoking books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down and have in fact read it more than once. It offers a current and readable analysis of the contradiction between gay visibility in America and the growing trend of such Anti-gay initiatives as the Defense of Marriage Act. It was very enjoyable to read and very insightful.

"All the Rage" presents a readable and engaging overview ofgay and lesbian cultural visibility in recent years, with emphasis on the growing representation in television. Thebook takes a middle-of-the-road view that cultural visibility,while good, does not necessarily imply progress in achievingpolitical rights (and, in fact, growing cultural visibilityfor gays and lesbians has coincided with increasing effortsto impede progress toward gay rights). The book offers a number of insights through detailed treatments of particularTV shows, advertisements, etc., with loving attention. Ithoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I learned a lot onthe ride.