The Pleasure Principle; Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom

by Michael Bronski

• ISBN13: 9780312252878
• ISBN10: 0312252870
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-02-23
• Publisher: Stonewall Inn Editions

Summary

Drawing on a half-century of gay history, Michael Bronski brilliantly maps out the fascinating and often ironic interplay between culture and politics. In doing so, he illustrates how and why most heterosexuals need and love certain aspects of gay culture, even though this culture also causes them enormous anxiety and fear.The Pleasure Principleoffers a profound and disturbing analysis of the rootsand the damaging resultsof Western culture's inability to deal with both pleasure and sexuality, especially as they are embodied for many by contemporary gay culture. Michael Bronskiis also the author ofCulture Clashand the editor ofPulp Friction. His essays have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, and he has lectured widely on art and politics. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Drawing on a half-century of gay history, Michael Bronski brilliantly maps out the fascinating and often ironic interplay between culture and politics. In doing so, he illustrates how and why most heterosexuals need and love certain aspects of gay culture, even though this culture also causes them enormous anxiety and fear.The Pleasure Principleoffers a profound and disturbing analysis of the rootsand the damaging resultsof Western culture's inability to deal with both pleasure and sexuality, especially as they are embodied for many by contemporary gay culture. "An extraordinary piece of writing: colorful, far-ranging, and deeply insightful in exploring the connection between gay culture and the larger American scene . . . A pleasure to read."Howard Zinn, author ofA People's History of the United States "Bronski ranges widely, often with great insight . . . A nice feature of his approach is that he seeks to understand gay culture and politics not in isolation but in relation to comparable phenomena both past and present."LA Weekly "Just when I feared that homosexuality was becoming respectable, Michael Bronski makes it seem transgressive and exciting again. By taking seriously the utopian promise of the original Gay Liberation movement, he offers a blueprint for future bliss."Wayne Koestenbaum, author ofThe Queen's ThroatandJackie Under My Skin "The Pleasure Principleis lucid, compelling, and original. Arguing that freedom without pleasure is no freedom at all, [Bronski] explores the startling, often ironic, and always erotic links between gay culture and gay politics: from Anita Bryant to the Marlboro Man, from Marky Mark in his Calvins toBowers v. Hardwick. His sharp insights into current debates on sexuality are provocative and refreshing. Essential and fascinating reading."Urvashi Vaid, author ofVirtual Equality "The Pleasure Principalhas something important to say to anyone interested in the topic, regardless of one's sexual orientation . . . In his ambitious and entertaining book [Bronski] is helping to remove gay history and culture from the marginalized realm of exotica and place them squarely in the ebb and flow of American history."The Nation

Author Biography

Michael Bronski is the author of Culture Clash (South End Press, 1984). His essays have appeared in numerous magazines, and journals, and he has lectured widely on art and politics. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Making of Americans	p. 5
The Pleasure Principle	p. 15
Popular Culture	p. 26
Subculture and Dominant Culture: The Limits of Assimilation	p. 37
Gay Culture	p. 54
Gay Freedom, Gay Movement, Backlash	p. 64
The Eroticized Male Body	p. 81
Suffer the Little Children	p. 109
The Construction of a Pleasure Class and the Marketing of Homosexuality	p. 138
Pleasure and the Failure of Privacy	p. 158
The Gay Ghetto and the Creation of Culture	p. 183
Conclusion: The World Turned Upside Down	p. 226
Notes	p. 250
Bibliography	p. 271
Index	p. 283
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.