Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV (revised edition)

by Steven Capsuto

Overview

Alternate Channels explores the fight for lesbian and gay visibility on 20th-century American television, as gay activists faced off with powerful, often vicious "traditional values" crusaders, with TV executives caught in the crossfire.

It documents countless programs, characters, and political skirmishes, examining lesbian and gay portrayals and the few pioneering depictions of bisexual and trans people.

The first edition was a semifinalist for what is now the Stonewall Book Award and has been widely used in universities. This revised edition, fact-checked from scratch, reinstates material that the original publisher cut and adds about 100 photos of TV shows from the early days to the year 2000.

The author built this account of events from archival materials, a thousand broadcast recordings, and his interviews with showrunners, network and studio executives, and early activists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997825497
Publisher:	Steven Capsuto
Publication date:	01/27/2020
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	626
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.26(d)

About the Author

Steven Capsuto began researching sexual-minority images on television in 1987 while volunteering with a lesbian and gay crisis hotline. Since 1990, he has given video-illustrated lectures in dozens of cities about televised LGBTQ portrayals. The first edition of his book Alternate Channels was a semifinalist for what is now the Stonewall Book Award. From the 1980s to 2000s, Steven oversaw the GLBT Library/Archives of Philadelphia (first the library and later the archives). He has served as a historical consultant or researcher on documentaries such as After Stonewall, TV Revolution, and The Question of Equality, and for the 2020 documentary series Visible: Out on Television.

Table of Contents

Preface — i

Abbreviations Key — 7

Introduction — vii

1. Before Television: Early Radio — 1

2. Apple Pie, Buxom Blondes, and Wimpy Wrestlers: 1947–58 — 12

3. The Queering of American TV: 1953–59 — 19

4. Image Under Construction: 1960–63 — 31

5. The Invisible Lesbian: 1960–66 — 38

6. Getting Gayer: 1963–69 — 43

7. Desire Under the Potted Palms: 1967 — 48

8. Breakthrough—For Men Only: 1967–69 — 52

9. Networks Meet the Gay Militants: 1970 — 59

10. Six Scripting Experiments: 1971–73 — 70

11. To Zap or Not to Zap?: 1973–74 — 96

12. The Negotiators: 1973–74 — 105

13. Physician, Heal Thyself!: 1974 — 115

14. Killer-Dyke Syndrome: 1974 — 119

15. The Rights of the Majority: 1972–75 — 125

16. The Family Hour: 1975–76 — 129

17. Battle Lines: 1975–77 — 136

18. Breaking Murderous Stereotypes: 1973–77 — 146

19. Selling Soap: 1977–80 — 153

20. The Years of the Queers: 1977–80 — 161

21. Sermons and Sidney: 1979–81 — 174

22. The Insiders: 1980–83 — 185

23. The Hollywood Touch: 1981–83 — 196

24. Backlash: 1982–85 — 208

25. The Cops: 1981–84 — 214

26. “Prime Time Comes to Terms with Gay Roles”: 1984–85 — 219

27. The Frost Report: 1983–85 — 234

28. AIDS as an “Issue of the Week”: 1985–89 — 244

29. Edging Toward Diversity: 1986–90 — 256

30. Regular Visitors: 1986–90 — 271

31. Welcome to the Queer ’90s: 1989–91 — 285

32. Ratings and Regulars, Candidates and Stars: 1991–93 — 310

33. Branching Out: 1990–98 — 329

34. Where No Queers Have Gone Before: 1990–95 — 353

35. Telling Tales: 1992–95 — 366

36. A Kiss is Still a Kiss: 1980–95 — 379

37. Lesbian Invisibility Meets Lesbian Chic: 1993–95 — 396

38. Marry Me!: 1991–96 — 411

39. A Prelude to Ellen: 1993–97 — 426

40. The Ellen Morgan Story: 1994–98 — 441

Conclusion: To 2000 and Beyond — 472

Notes — 489

Acknowledgments — 562

Index — 566

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION

"A groundbreaking, long-overdue exploration of pop culture's most popular medium and how it has reflected us . . . Alternate Channels has a breezy, engaging quality which makes the pages fly by."
--Boston Bay Windows

"What makes the book terrific [is] his detailed accounts of little-known campaigns against queer defamation . . . Capsuto has done his homework."
-- San Francisco Frontiers

"Capsuto is a dead-on analyst of trends and political patterns, championing the many people who have fought to bring gay lives and stories into our living rooms."
-- Brill's Content

From the Publisher