This is the first collection of the words and speeches of the founder of the Mattachine Society and the modern gay movement.
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From Amazon
Harry Hay is the acknowledged father (or mother, as he might prefer) of the modern gay liberation movement. As a Communist Party organizer and historian who founded the Mattachine Society in 1949, Hay began turning out essays, position papers, critical studies, and manifestos concerning what it means to be gay in the world. Radically Gay is a collection of those writings, edited by historian Will Rosco, and its breadth and depth is amazing. Radically Gay is an important contribution to gay history and letters; it tells us not only where we have been, but, more importantly, where we might be going.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In 1950, Hay and fellow activists in Los Angeles founded the Mattachine Society, a pioneering homosexual rights group that helped lay the groundwork for contemporary lesbian/gay activism. This collection of Hay's essays, talks, pamphlets and manifestos reflects his insistence that gays are a cultural minority with shared values, psychological orientation, historical heritage and modes of communication. This perspective flowed from Hay's research into French Renaissance "fool" societies, which staged public plays spiked with political satire and gender reversal, and into the Native American berdache, a practice whereby men live as women (or vice versa) and combine the work and social roles of both sexes while being recognized as a distinct third gender. In 1979, Hay and others launched the "radical faerie" network, providing support groups and emphasizing gay spirituality to counter urban depersonalization. His pointed critique of homophobia and his exhortations to gays seeking self-acceptance make this collection especially timely. Roscoe, who has taught anthropology and Native American studies at the University of California, provides a useful introduction as well as commentaries on each selection. Translation rights: Jed Mattes.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover
Harry Hay is one of the fathers of American gay rights. But this is not essentialist idol-praising. Hay was a big part of the big pre-Stonewall organization, Mattachine Society. He was a strong Communist, back when it was risky to be one. In addition, Hay knows a lot about gender theory and gay history and such. He's a sage. Will Roscoe has written a number of important gay books, especially concerning gay Native Americans. Basically, this is an important historical subject written by a strong gay author. You should peep this book if you can.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great and original contribution to both gay rights and gender identity literature
May 16 2006
By J.S.M.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of Hay's strengths, to me, is the fact that he comes out of a different tradition than the post-structuralist philosophical one which is prevalent these days. Hay was able to talk about the experience of being queer and of what the possible social implications of that might be by taking the philosophical material he got as an instructor in Marxism for the Communist Party, particularly that deriving from Engel's work "On Private Property and the Family", and extending and extending it, modifying it here, dropping some of the dogmatic features of that type of Marxist thought along the way and instead integrating the lived experience of being queer and spirituality into a heady mix which gives insight both for queer people, focussing on queer men, themselves about themselves and of the role that gays and lesbians play and have played in society throughout history, how capitalism shapes the queer experience, looking at homophobia as being a reinforcer of patriarchy and ultimately patriarchal capitalism, and what non-western parallels for homosexuality are.
Quite a powerful and interesting mix. Highly recommended.
Quite a powerful and interesting mix. Highly recommended.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
2nd only to Oscar Wilde
Oct 18 2002
By Jeffery Mingo
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Harry Hay is one of the fathers of American gay rights. But this is not essentialist idol-praising. Hay was a big part of the big pre-Stonewall organization, Mattachine Society. He was a strong Communist, back when it was risky to be one. In addition, Hay knows a lot about gender theory and gay history and such. He's a sage. Will Roscoe has written a number of important gay books, especially concerning gay Native Americans. Basically, this is an important historical subject written by a strong gay author. You should peep this book if you can.
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