The Un-Natural State: Arkansas and the Queer South
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.16 (547 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1557289433 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 260 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-10-22 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"A must-read for anyone interested in the history of southern culture and sexuality." --Southern Historian, May 2012
These small town entertainments put on in churches and schools emerged decades later in gay bars across the state as a lucrative business practice and a larger means of community expression, while in the same period the state's sodomy law was rewritten to condemn sexual acts between those of the same sex in language similar to what was once used to denounce interracial sex. The Un-Natural State is a one-of-a-kind study of gay and lesbian life in Arkansas in the twentieth century, a deft weaving together of Arkansas history, dozens of oral histories, and Brock Thompson's own story.Thompson analyzes the meaning of rural drag shows, including a compelling description of a 1930s seasonal beauty pageant in Wilson, Arkansas, where white men in drag shared the stage with other white men in blackface, a suggestive mingling that went to the core of both racial transgression and sexual disobedience. Thompson goes on to describe sever
Oral histories brought to life in this history of gay Arkansas Garrett Peck "It should not have come as a shock to anyone that not all gay people lived in cities," writes Brock Thompson in his eye-opening history of his home state, "The Un-Natural State: Arkansas and the Queer South." While many gay people have flocked to cities, rural Arkansas has developed its own distinct gay identity. "There are certain things about southern culture - the closeness to the land, church on Sunday - that so many do not want to give up to be another face in the city. It is their version of modernity that they cling t. A fascinating alternative take on gay history kaijmus Part history, part sociology and a dash of memoir -- Thompson's work offers up a whole new way of looking at gay history. Using Arkansas history as his platform, Thompson demonstrates rural gay culture as something much more than a pale imitation of its urban counterpart. From lesbian communes to church-sponsored drag, Thompson offers a glimpse of gay that many of us never knew existed. Extremely readable, the author's sense of irony and wit occasionally flash through, and make the book all the more compelling. Highly recomme. Wesley Dickson said Must Read!!!. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Southern gay culture. Thompson writes a winner.