Scan barcode
nathansito's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
El inicio mola mucho cuando es muy autobiografico, parece una memoir pero luego cuando intenta hacer una historia más formal se queda corto y no me pareció tan interesante, parecía demasiado panfleto. Molaba cuando hablaba desde la experiencia propia, desdel amor por el cruising y el sentimiento y convencimiento de que los hombres que ll hacian eran hombres que buscaban afecto de la única manera que podian y que gente que quizás no era del canon de belleza se sentía deseada y sexy por un momento.
bmarchman's review
informative
medium-paced
3.5
I had a hard time connecting with this book despite it being a worthy addition to discourse on this topic. The tidbits I did gain from this were great, and I think more needs to be done to catalog and explore this underground aspect of the LGBTQIA community. However, I felt it was a bit surface level at times and I found the structure odd. Where I think this book really shines is in the author’s description of their own experiences growing up in LA and experiencing this side of gay life. I couldn’t help but being drawn to those parts of the book and feel this is also a surprisingly refreshing portrait of LA cruising culture that is rarely discussed. Definitely recommend reading as an introduction to a topic that should be explored further.
cafi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia
davidbythebay's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The problem with queer history is that it has largely been ignored and buried. So, don't expect a treatise on cruising ripe with hundreds of sources. However, it is the research that does support this history, peppered with the stories of real people, including the author, that makes this work so well. While it begins as a history of cruising, it finishes with a few case studies - as it were - of modern cruising in several countries and cultures. It is Chapter 11 that really got me, with the psychological impact of cruising on Latin men and a look at race and religion on their culture.
This was a fantastic and easy read. I took my time with this as I wanted to know more and sought out articles and read some of the source material along the way. Really, a great look at the gay cruising culture in history.
This was a fantastic and easy read. I took my time with this as I wanted to know more and sought out articles and read some of the source material along the way. Really, a great look at the gay cruising culture in history.
mikelchartier's review
4.0
Writing a book about anonymous gay sex in a way that's accessible to a broader audience than the choir to whom he preaches, and keeping it to a tight 200 narrative pages, Espinoza takes two distinct tacks in form. The first half has a nearly precocious didacticism not unlike an after school special inasmuch as the subject matter can be conveyed in that manner. Which is to say academically.
You almost want to ask the author to stop giving away our secrets.
The second half makes a much better case for it being a book for gay people, specifically men, probably cis, about our favorite pastime. Herein our secrets are still repulsive to the straights, and there is a very specific iconoclastic pleasure in that. Pride, even.
Do not abandon all hope, ye horny gays who enter here, be patient.
You almost want to ask the author to stop giving away our secrets.
The second half makes a much better case for it being a book for gay people, specifically men, probably cis, about our favorite pastime. Herein our secrets are still repulsive to the straights, and there is a very specific iconoclastic pleasure in that. Pride, even.
Do not abandon all hope, ye horny gays who enter here, be patient.
smallredboy's review
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Interesting, provocative and emotional. I really enjoyed it.