1st Edition

From Perverts to Fab Five The Media's Changing Depiction of Gay Men and Lesbians

By Rodger Streitmatter Copyright 2009
    230 Pages
    by Routledge

    230 Pages
    by Routledge

     From "Perverts" to "Fab Five" tracks the dramatic change in how the American media have depicted gay people over the last half-century. Each chapter illuminates a particular media product that served as a milestone on the media's journey from demonizing homosexuals some fifty years ago to celebrating gay people--or at least some categories of gay people--today.

    The media, Streitmatter argues, have not merely reflected the American public's shift to a more enlightened view of gay people, but they have been instrumental in propelling that change. The book spans the breadth of communication venues. Individual chapters focus on major news stories, entertainment television programs, and mainstream motion pictures that captured the public imagination while, at the same time, sending powerful messages about gay men and lesbians. Ideal for any reader interested in the changing depiction of gay men and lesbians in the media over time, or as required reading in media courses.

    Introduction  1. "Perverts" on the Potomac: Homosexuals Enter the News Arena   2. Stonewall Rebellion: Reporting on an Epic Event  3. The Boys in the Band: Homosexuality Comes to the Big Screen  4. Soap: A Gay Man Comes to TV Land  5. AIDS Enters the News: Reporting on the "Gay Plague"  6. AIDS Becomes Major News: "Now No One Is Safe"  7. Gays in the Military: The Debate over Lifting the Ban  8. Fleeting Images of Lesbians: Killing, Kissing, Being Chic  9. Philadelphia: "A Quantum Leap for Gays on Film"  10. A New Gay Man in Town: Hollywood Shifts to Positive Stereotypes  11. Ellen: Coming Out, On Screen and Off  12. Will & Grace: The Biggest Gay Hit in TV History  13. Queer as Folk: "An Unvarnished Treatment of Gay Life"  14. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The "Fab Five" as Gay Reality  Special section: Gay Visibility Vs. Lesbian Visibility  15. The L Word: Lesbians Move into the Spotlight  16. Same-Sex Marriage: A Journalistic Love Fest  17. Brokeback Mountain: "A Breakthrough Gay Romance"  Conclusion: From "Perverts" to "Fab Five": Progress in Three Stages . . .and Waiting for a Fourth

    Biography

    Rodger Streitmatter is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C.  He is author of six previous books, including Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History, Voices of Revolution: The Dissident Press in America, and Sex Sells! The Media's Journey from Repression to Obsession.  He holds a Ph.D. in American History. 

    As a journalism historian, [Streitmatter] has been one of only a few scholars writing about the coverage of gay people in the American press. He was uniquely qualified to write this book, and his informed perspective is obvious and useful. --Johanna Cleary, University of Florida