#steven capsuto

[onebluebookworm]

Ranking Books I Read in 2023 - 30-26

30. The Westerby Inheritance - Marion Chesney

I didn't manage to plow through an entire Marion Chesney regency series like I have in pervious years, but I did read a lot of standalones. And honestly, this one isn't even Regency, it takes place in the 1750s. Either way, it was...fine. Not my favorite thing Marion Chesney ever wrote, but still fun and silly and melodramatic. It does sure exist.

29. Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV by Steven Capsuto

I read this on recommendation from Matt Baum (he namedrops it in one of his videos, I believe the Barney Miller one?), and it is indeed a great source for context when it comes to the way queer people are portrayed on TV. Unfortunately, the books goes into very minute detail about almost every appearance over the course of sixty-ish years (the edition I read was published in the very early 2000s), and that's a lot to slog through. Some interesting stuff if you can soldier through it.

28. Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts - Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose

My heavens, this would have benefited from being a series. Or at the very least a longer book. There's some great material in here, and it's a shame that it's absolutely blasted through in the interest of getting through as many of the stories as possible. This could have been really cool, but it just felt like a simple flash in the pan, and that makes me feel really bad for Anthony Bourdain (more than I already did).

27. Black Paradox - Junji Ito

Along with Junji Ito's infamous ending problems, this one made me notice another disheartening trend for him - he can't pick a premise and stick to it. What starts as potentially a terrifying look into what can drive people to suicide with a potential supernatural twist quickly becomes a Lovecraftian horror story that is pretty heckin bizarre. Neither of them are bad story ideas, but they don't exactly mesh and it's a really clunky transition. There's still a lot of Ito's amazingly gruesome artwork on display, but it still feels kind of lame.

26. I'm Afraid Of Men - Vivek Shraya

Another one that I felt was simply too short. Shraya has such an interesting perspective and such a poetic way of talking about it that I would have loved to hear more. Like, don't go girl, we were just getting to know each other. A good appetizer, though, and I'll definitely be checking out her other works.

[renthony]

A significant amount of my opinions about modern queer television are influenced by researching older queer media.

I see a lot of the same vitriol in modern queer fandom discourse that has been playing out in queer spaces since film and television were invented. Shows in the 70s started making steps toward sensitivity consulting in queer media, even as the networks fought them on it. Imperfect but earnest queer representation was met with aggressive protests by homophobes and queer people who thought it wasn't good enough. The argument over good representation vs no representation has been happening for decades and decades.

You spend enough time immersed in old queer media and you really start to vibe with Harvey Fierstein's words in The Celluloid Closet documentary. Or at least, I do.

Harvey Fierstein: "I liked the sissy. Is it used in negative ways? Yeah, but, my view has always been visibility at any cost."

The way I see it, the way to genuine, loving queer representation that showcases a vast array of experiences is to stop demanding perfection. The fewer queer stories that are allowed to exist, the more of the heavy lifting those stories have to do in the representation department.

When we have numerous queer stories, it's suddenly much less important to argue over whether the queer characters in question are "good" or "positive." They can just be queer characters who exist in the same infinite variety as straight characters. They can be messy, they can be flawed, they can be honest portrayals of the complexity of human existence.

Queer representation will never be perfect, and striving for perfection is how we shoot ourselves in the foot.

Some starter reading for those interested:

Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV (revised edition) - Steven Capsuto

Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture - Matt Baume

The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies - Vito Russo

[commiepinkofag]

'Jesus Freaks'

NETWORK NEWS - July 11, 1976 Various networks Network coverage [possibly NBC's?] of the Gay Rights demonstration outside the Democratic National Convention in NYC. The activists were calling for nondiscrimination laws and the decriminalization of same-sex sex. Notice the "GAYS FOR CARTER" banner in the last shot, and an early reclamation of the pink triangle on a protest sign, set in a black circle like the future ACT UP logo. [Steven Capsuto]

[elcomfortador]

Before Balki, Bronson Pinchot Played Gay on Sara

“You Can’t Win ’Em All” (February 27, 1985)

Sara is a one-season sitcom that first came to our attention via a gag on The Simpsons, the context being that it wasn’t a show worth remembering. The Simpsons was wrong, however, and this Geena Davis vehicle does a lot of what we think ’80s sitcoms don’t do. Namely, it has an out gay character who is allowed to have a sex drive. He’s also more than a set of stereotypical mannerisms but he still reads as gay. And Bronson Pinchot, who one year later would become a sitcom star as Balki on Perfect Strangers, does a great job bringing dimension to this character who should have been on TV for a lot longer.

Many thanks to Steven Capsuto for collecting historical context around Sara in his amazing book, Alternate Channels: Queer Images on Twentieth-Century TV, which is a great resource for anyone studying LGBTQ representation in media. Also listen to the episode Steve did with us about Love, Sidney.

Thanks to Zach Wilson for giving us access to the video of this ep! You can watch the entire episode on the GEE Vimeo here.

Watch the credits to the also short-lived sitcom DREAMS.

Read the LA Times piece about the production of Sara.

And also have a look at the Pop Trash Museum article about Sara.

Go shop at our TeePublic store!

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This is a TableCakes podcast.

Listen now!

[makingqueerhistory]

Dedications from Queer Books

Some of my favourite dedications from the queer books I have come across.

*

“TO MY PARENTS,

for teaching their children about love and tolerance at an early age... and for letting us stay up to watch the ‘good’ TV shows.

TO MY BELOVED PARTNER, ED FERRY,

without whom my life-and this book-would be less complete”

-Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 2000.

“For my family, blood and chosen. And for fierce femmes, fighters, haunted girls, and liars everywhere.”

-Kai Cheng Thom, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir, 2016.

“This book is dedicated to the memory of the men who suffered at the hands of the Nazis simply because they were gay, and to those in countries around the world who still suffer because they are gay.”

-Ken Setterington, Branded by the Pink Triangle, 2013.

“The editors jointly dedicate the work of putting this collection together to Sue Cartledge, lesbian feminist sister, who died aged 34 in February 1983 after many years of spirited writing, working and campaigning for women’s and lesbians’ rights; and also to Mark Ashton, gay brother and comrade, who died in February 1987 aged 25, after many years of keeping gay issues alive on the left and in the unions, campaigning alongside lesbians and gay men in supporting the Miners’ Strike of 1984-5.”

-Bob Cant & Susan Hemmings, Radical Records: Thirty Years of Lesbian and Gay History, 1988.

“To all those seeking the courage to assert “I am”-and especially to my lesbian sisters.”

-Barbara Deming, We Cannot Live Without Our Lives, 1974.

“To Connie

Who is the reason for it all”

-Susan E. Johnson, Staying Power: Long Term Lesbian Couples, 1990.

“This book is dedicated to all the men and women who have courageously struggled against determined, sometimes brutal, efforts to keep them from being who they are.”

-William Wright, Harvard’s Secret Court: The Savage 1920 Purge of Campuse Homosexuals, 2005.

“We would like to dedicate this book to

Abel Arias

Bill Blossom

Bill Struzenberg

Bo Huston

Chris Jordan

Christian Beaver

Christopher Morrisey

Crystal May

Diet Popstitute

James Kennedy

Jeff Heins

Jerome Caja

Miss Kitty

Patrick Leach

Rick Jacobson

Rob Chop

Scott O’Hara

Tede Matthews

Thomas O’Malley

Thor Butkus

And all our other friends whose absence makes San Francisco a much less interesting place.”

-Betty and Pansy, Severe Queer Review of San Francisco 6th Edition, 1999.

[historyisgaypodcast]

Episode 0.8: Alternate Channels: Talking Queer TV with Steven Capsuto

We’re bringing you a bonus episode here on the History is Gay feed today, so get ready for a ride through the history of queers on TV! Leigh got a chance to sit down and talk with Steven Capsuto, author of Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV, a deep dive into the history of queer representation on radio and the small screen from the 1930s to 2000! We chat about our favorite moments of representation from the era, the impact and role of gay activists in moving the needle forward for narrative depictions of queerness, and more!

Check out Steven and his work at www.alternatechannels.net and follow him on twitter @StevenCapsuto for daily “Today in Queer TV History" tidbits and more!

Want to help us continue to make the show? Support us on Patreon and get awesome goodies, behind-the-scenes access, special minisodes, and more! You can get super cool merch in our store! Shirts, hoodies, totes, and other neat things.

If you’d like to help us transcribe the show for our d/Deaf and hard of hearing fans, please head on over to www.historyisgaypodcast.com/transcribe to join the team of volunteers!

Find our full list of sources and bonus content at www.historyisgaypodcast.com. Get at us on twitter @historyisgaypod, tumblr at historyisgaypodcast, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Don't forget to rate and review so more folks can see the show!

Newest episode of History is Gay for your queer ears to enjoy!

[onebluebookworm]

30 Days of Literary Pride - June 22

Alternate Channels: The Uncensored History of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television - Steven Capsuto