In the late 1980's there were almost no gay characters on US sitcoms or dramas; by the end of the twentieth century a number of non-cable progrmas had gay and lesbian recurring and main characters, and almost every sitcom or drama had at least one gay-themed episode How and why did this change take place, and what implications does it have for the GLBTQ and straight communities?
This ambitious book attempts to place the growing portrayal of gay and lesbian characters in the social context of the nineties. The author discusses popular culture representation before and after this decade, discusses how characters are portrayed, examines 'homosexual panic' and how the definition of this term has been subverted to support straight men killing gay boys and men, the impact of 9/11 and more.
Though the topic and content are interesting, the text is less accessible that I had hoped, and is written in a very academic style. This may in part be due to the breadth of material covered, but was disappointing nonetheless. - Alex
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