Reviews

Art and Homosexuality: A History of Ideas by Christopher Reed

anoukbeurs's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

Feels like the book took gay man as the standard for homosexuality, while when talking about lesbians that would only apply to women and in a specific time. But overall explained the change of the concept of sexuality very well

spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition

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2.0

Well, this is certainly... a book, with a thesis.

2jjomalley's review against another edition

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4.0

YES, I jokingly say that every important historical figure was a little fruity and YES, this is the book I'm going to use that proves me right (kind of)

A unique account, if not an obvious choice for one in hindsight, of two inseparable histories and their compounded impacts that has already become one of the most important things I’ve read. A history of psychological theory and politics and social outrage and how it’s all come to be expressed visually, that was just as enlightening on the concept of identity as it was on art history.

and you’ll never guess what capitalism ruined this time !

The part that will stick with me though (apart from https://images.app.goo.gl/YDk8ABp9mpUAzhaZA) is the lesson of just how artificial and unstable identity and individualism as concepts are. Especially in the vague context of attributing behavior of sexuality to a definition of self. There we (Society™️) go again with our addiction to those binaries. That subtitle should really be just bolded underlined italicized

As for the book itself, it made a deliberate point to start with a broad perspective to prove how slippery the definition of both art and sexuality are to nail down. By its end though, it fizzled into an almost entirely American-centrism, much less western-centrism, though it may be fair to the extent the analysis dealt with the development of sexuality informed identity. The last chapter itself lost a lot of the concise focus that made the rest such a good read.

All else aside I will be very annoying about my performance of identity from now on, and you all have Mr Reed to thank for that

diwasraja's review against another edition

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4.0

This book would be tremendous if Reed had been able to produce a truly non-Eurocentric account towards which he makes an overture in the opening chapters. Nevertheless, Reed's chronological account of the homosexual and the avant-garde artist emerging in history as entangled figures is wholly captivating.

ailishh's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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