Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Ben Miller, Huw Lemmey

4 reviews

vagaybond's review against another edition

informative reflective

4.25

I love when books exist about queer culture, people, theory, sociology etc that use the word f

aggot

and refer to people as racist with the knowledge and fair assumption that I would not first need to be convinced racism exists. It's like a friend and comrade is infodumping to me in the alley outside a drag show while they're having a cigarette. It's writing that talks to me like a peer and a queer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

This book profiles several different historical figures who have done a variety of different things which are by and large, horrifying. Some of these figures have died by suicide or assassination. There is a fair bit in the book which talks about older gay men being into young boys, but it doesn't outright state what exactly that means or what the age gap is, or how young these boys are. It's unclear if they merely mean adult twinks or actual minors. (I may be misremembering details, but this is my best recollection after listening to the audiobook.)

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War

j_squaredd's review

informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content and Slavery

Minor: Torture

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

informative

4.0

A fascinating look at some famous figures from history prone to a bit of a villainy alongside their queerness. It was eye-opening to get a much closer look at figures and events from history that I knew of.

I also very much appreciated the emphasis and exploration of how our understanding and the concept of homosexuality and queerness has adapted and changed over the years, but how it can still be linked back to the understandings of the Greeks and Romans, the Weimar Republic, the colonial anthropologists et al. It was so interesting to see our current understanding of queerness directly linked back to these individuals and periods.

Most importantly, I thought it excellent the way the authors chose to directly address the historic suffering caused by white (usually male) queers against more marginalised queer people in society. I won’t lie, I find it a bit odd so many reviews have complained about the lack of diversity in the 14 chosen individuals to discuss when the entire thesis of the book is basically to examine and critique the white male model of homosexuality. And I think they do this very well - from the AIDS crisis to racist anthropology to the Congo to far right politics, the authors raise again and again the awful harm white queerness has caused, and it’s legacy continues to cause, across the world.

I thought this was a fascinating read, it showed such a different side to queer culture and a side that I think it is vitally important we remember now as we draw ever closer to fascism.

Content warnings: pedastry, racism, homophobia and homophobic violence, conversion therapy, colonisation, slavery, fascism, anti-semitism, Nazism, Islamophobia, sex

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation