Scan barcode
A review by hocuscrocus
Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Ben Miller, Huw Lemmey
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. The concept is great, but unfortunately the content was so disorganized that it became a chore to finish.
The introduction of the book lays out a strong, clear thesis, but it doesn't take long for it to be forgotten completely. (Quick side note: if the focus of the book is supposed to be societal impacts of and on "bad" gay men, what is Margaret Mead doing in there?! I enjoyed reading about her, but what?!)
In this book, people with shitty opinions are put on par with literal Nazis. Some misdeeds are presented neutrally while others are presented with clear condemnation from the author(s). Each and every chapter goes on tangents that drag so long that it's hard to remember who the subject was in the first place. It was rough.
On the positive, you can feel the love and care that went into compiling information for this book. The anecdotes and scene-setting were very thoroughly researched. I'm definitely going to look further into a lot of the people and events referenced throughout. This book also has a very handy reading list at the end!
In short, the poor execution of this book unfortunately overtakes what is a very compelling concept.
The introduction of the book lays out a strong, clear thesis, but it doesn't take long for it to be forgotten completely. (Quick side note: if the focus of the book is supposed to be societal impacts of and on "bad" gay men, what is Margaret Mead doing in there?! I enjoyed reading about her, but what?!)
In this book, people with shitty opinions are put on par with literal Nazis. Some misdeeds are presented neutrally while others are presented with clear condemnation from the author(s). Each and every chapter goes on tangents that drag so long that it's hard to remember who the subject was in the first place. It was rough.
On the positive, you can feel the love and care that went into compiling information for this book. The anecdotes and scene-setting were very thoroughly researched. I'm definitely going to look further into a lot of the people and events referenced throughout. This book also has a very handy reading list at the end!
In short, the poor execution of this book unfortunately overtakes what is a very compelling concept.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Violence