Queer in America: Sex, the Media, and the Closets of Power

All i can say, it is a great book that everyone should read.thanks, chris.

This book was written a decade ago, and a final updated chapter was added last year. It is a fascinating look at the state of Queer America in the late 80's and early 1990's. More important, it is a powerful exploration of the devestating effects of the "closet" in the centers of power, especially Washington and Hollywood. A compelling study of the effect of the closet on people in power and how they are twisted by the closet into actions that are devestating to their own lives and destructive to the GLBT community (can anyone say New Jersey?) Signorile was instrumental in early Queer journalism, and was, once upon a time, excoriated for "outing" public figures. He explains the history and justification for this approach, and his arguments are more than convincing. Highly recommended, required reading.

Never before did I have such a strong understanding of how the media and America's major power structures work until I read this book. In his unapoletic confrontational (and even gutsy) style, Signorile has stared down the actors, directors, politicians, writers, etc who'd prefer to sit silent as queers are beaten, taunted,denied housing,equal protection; as queers are denied their right exist. One of the most fascinating sections is the one on the New York power structure (I especially like the chapter explaining how ACT UP was created, from the grassroots up). If theres anything I disliked about this book, it's that too often Signorile contradicts his own beleifs: there are way too many times when instead of exposing gay public figures as gay, he allows them to remain anonymous.

Before I read this book, I was vehemently opposed to the policy of "outing". Signorile wrote both so logically and so well that I was forced to think about this issue in some depth. Moreover, I came to be convinced by his arguments. I'm still not comfortable with this, but I think he's right. The closet destroys far too many people.

Signorile's ground-breaking text on the Closet and all its horror should be fundamental reading for everyone--gay or straight. Straight people may find the text particularly interesting in coming to understand why the closet exists, how it has manifest itself, and why it is very, very bad. Signorile has a lucid, provocative style--and each chapter is replete with intriguing perspectives on how the closet and homosexuals have functioned in Hollywood and the movies, New York and pop culture, and Washington and politics. Last is a Gay Manifesto--a kind of challenge for gays and straights alike to work together to destroy the closet for good. In the end, this will probably become a canonized work of 20th-century gay and lesbian writing. It does have a somewhat dated effect on readers today--the urgency for social change that underpins Signorile's text seems overly harsh for the '00s. Nonetheless, this is a must-read, absolutely.