All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America

Publishers Weekly

The love that once dared not speak its name now dances at Disneyland's annual gay day and sells Bud Lite. Heck, even Bart Simpson questions his sexuality, while nobody questions South Park's Big Gay Al's, and there is no ambiguity about Saturday Night Live's Ambiguously Gay Duo. This comprehensive survey of gay and lesbian visibility in popular culture offers a whirlwind of facts, figures and documentation of gay representations. Acknowledging television's past e.g., Mike Wallace's 1967 CBS report reconfirming many homophobic stereotypes Walters concentrates on post-AIDS entertainment in which gay characters and themes appear everywhere from HBO's Oz to The Drew Carey Show to that bastion of backlash, Ally McBeal. A double edge runs through Walters's countless examples: does this visibility indicate acceptance, or does "gay chic" just characterize a profitable niche market? Moreover, are these trends destructive? An associate professor of sociology and director of women's studies at Georgetown, Walters (Material) quotes activist and writer Sarah Schulman as criticizing "the creation of a false public homosexuality that is palatable and containable and... not authentic." Walters's analyses are often astute the Roseanne gay marriage show was more about Dan and Roseanne confronting their own homophobia than about homosexuality but occasionally reductive, like her assertion that the film Boys in the Band is "filled with... self hatred" mightn't it be commenting on self-hatred? Citing academics Kath Weston, Josh Gamson and responding to mainstream critics, Walters's initial distrust of this visibility gives way to grudging appreciation in a clear, up-to-date map of the basic debate overhomosexuality in the media. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Should gays and lesbians exult in the recent spate of media depictions of their lives or shudder at the homogenized sterilization of their diversity? Against the backdrop of the 1980s and '90s, Walters (Sociology & Women's Studies/Georgetown Univ.; Lives Together/Worlds Apart, 1992) analyzes the promise and the threat of queer portrayals in contemporary media: although the number of these programs and personalities has skyrocketed, the resulting depictions of gay and lesbian life often emerge as disturbingly skewed. In a nutshell, her thesis contends that increased gay representations in the media may entail that America sees the gay and lesbian community more frequently than ever; however, due to the stereotypical visions of queer life-such as psycho dykes, ditzy fashion homos, and lesbian chic-this visibility does not correspond with an increased knowledge about homosexuality. With a sweeping range, Walters probes the cultural repercussions of such characters as Dynasty's tortured bisexual Steven Carrington and the all-too-chaste Matt of Melrose Place, as well as examining specific episodes of programs including Roseanne (when Mariel Hemingway kissed the eponymous heroine) and the coming-out episode of Ellen. Films also come under scrutiny, as Walters considers the differences between queer portrayals in mainstream Hollywood and those in independent films. And there are chapters on gay marriages, coming-out stories, and queer parenting-and an analysis of advertising images of gay and lesbian life, in which Walters dissects the commercialization of the queer community (pointing to a predictable display of gleaming teeth and toned bodies). A frenetic packing of materials that leavesin-depth analysis mostly sacrificed for a panoramic view-but the resulting picture nevertheless emerges as detailed and refined.

San Jose Mercury News

Walters has written a provocative book about the implications of the new gay visibility. . . . A smart, sharply argued book.—San Jose Mercury News

— Charles Matthews

Baltimore Sun

Walters' argument rarely falters and her assessment of how we utilize popular culture as a sop to escape granting full citizenship is succinctly stated. . . . Sharp and savvy, Walters has a keen sense of pop culture and the mores it represents.—Baltimore Sun

— Victoria A. Brownworth

The Nation

Walters is attentive to confusing contradictions and to the possibilities for progressive change they present. . . . It's hard to argue with her insistence that a critical consciousness of both the pitfalls and possibilities presented by today's increased visibility is essential to advancing the gay agenda in the new millennium.—Nation

— George de Stefano

Voice Literary Supplement

So now we have our visibility. Time to take our self-esteem and shut up? In All the Rage, Suzanna Walters sets out to weigh this question in a balanced and systematic way.—Voice Literary Supplement

— Michael Warner

Guardian

"After introducing readers to the main threats to birds and regions at high risk, Bird Watch presents a visually stunning and scientifically accurate flight over the major bird habitats."—Guardian

San Jose Mercury News

"Walters has written a provocative book about the implications of the new gay visibility. . . . A smart, sharply argued book."—San Jose Mercury News

Baltimore Sun

"Walters' argument rarely falters and her assessment of how we utilize popular culture as a sop to escape granting full citizenship is succinctly stated. . . . Sharp and savvy, Walters has a keen sense of pop culture and the mores it represents."—Baltimore Sun

The Nation

"Walters is attentive to confusing contradictions and to the possibilities for progressive change they present. . . . It's hard to argue with her insistence that a critical consciousness of both the pitfalls and possibilities presented by today's increased visibility is essential to advancing the gay agenda in the new millennium."—Nation

Voice Literary Supplement

"So now we have our visibility. Time to take our self-esteem and shut up? In All the Rage, Suzanna Walters sets out to weigh this question in a balanced and systematic way."—Voice Literary Supplement