Myth of the Modern Homosexual: Queer History and the Search for Cultural Unity

by Rictor Norton

Overview

With careful reasoning supported by wide-ranging scholarship, this study exposes the fallacies of 'social constructionist' theories within lesbian and gay studies and makes a forceful case for the autonomy of queer identity and culture. It presents evidence that queers are part of a centuries-old history, possessing a unified historical and cultural identity. The volume reviews the fundamental historiographical issues about the nature of queer history, arguing that a new generation of queer historians will need to abandon authoritarian dogma founded upon politically-correct ideology rather than historical experience. Norton offers a clear exposition of the evidence for ancient, indigenous and pre-modern queer cultural continuity, revealing how knowledge of that history has been suppressed and censored and sets out the 'queer cultural essentialist' position on the key topics of queer history – role, identity, bisexuality, orientation, linguistics, social control, homophobia, subcultures, and kinship patterns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474286930
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/06/2016
Series:	Gender Studies: Bloomsbury Academic Collections
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Rictor Norton is an American writer on literary and cultural history, particularly gay history.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Part One: Social Constructionism and Other Myths
1. The Search for Cultural Unity
2. Queer BC (Before Constructionism)
3. The Myth of the Modern Homosexual
4. It's Just a Phrase We're Going Through
Part Two: The Nature of Queer History
5. What Is Queer History?
6. The Evidence of Things Not Seen
7. Lesbian Historiography
Part Three: Queer Culture
8. The Great Queens of History
9. Queer (Sub)cultures
10. Queer Folk and Culture Queens
References
Index