LGBT Inclusion in American Life
Pop Culture, Political Imagination, and Civil Rights
Published on 21. February 2023
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-4798-1972-0 (ISBN)
Description
A compelling explanation of the American public's acceptance of LGBT freedoms through the lens of pop culture
How did gay people go from being characterized as dangerous perverts to military heroes and respectable parents? How did the interests of the LGBT movement and the state converge to transform mainstream political and legal norms in these areas?
Using civil rights narratives, pop culture, and critical theory, LGBT Inclusion in American Life tells the story of how exclusion was transformed into inclusion in US politics and society, as pop culture changed mainstream Americans thinking about "non-gay" issues, namely privacy, sex and gender norms, and family. Susan Burgess explores films such as Casablanca, various James Bond movies, and Julie and Julia, and television shows such as thirtysomething and The Americans, as well as the Broadway sensation Hamilton, as sources of growing popular support for LGBT rights. By drawing on popular culture as a rich source of public understanding, Burgess explains how the greater public came to accept and even support the three central pillars of LGBT freedoms in the post-World War II era: to have consensual adult sex without fear of criminal penalty, to serve openly in the military, and to marry legally. LGBT Inclusion in American Life argues that pop culture can help us to imagine unknown futures that lead beyond what we currently desire from contemporary politics, and in return asks now that the mainstream public has come to accept LGBT freedoms, where might the popular imagination be headed in the future?
How did gay people go from being characterized as dangerous perverts to military heroes and respectable parents? How did the interests of the LGBT movement and the state converge to transform mainstream political and legal norms in these areas?
Using civil rights narratives, pop culture, and critical theory, LGBT Inclusion in American Life tells the story of how exclusion was transformed into inclusion in US politics and society, as pop culture changed mainstream Americans thinking about "non-gay" issues, namely privacy, sex and gender norms, and family. Susan Burgess explores films such as Casablanca, various James Bond movies, and Julie and Julia, and television shows such as thirtysomething and The Americans, as well as the Broadway sensation Hamilton, as sources of growing popular support for LGBT rights. By drawing on popular culture as a rich source of public understanding, Burgess explains how the greater public came to accept and even support the three central pillars of LGBT freedoms in the post-World War II era: to have consensual adult sex without fear of criminal penalty, to serve openly in the military, and to marry legally. LGBT Inclusion in American Life argues that pop culture can help us to imagine unknown futures that lead beyond what we currently desire from contemporary politics, and in return asks now that the mainstream public has come to accept LGBT freedoms, where might the popular imagination be headed in the future?
Reviews / Votes
"A fascinating and path-breaking account of how pop culture reflected and produced the dramatic sea-change in American attitudes and policy towards LBGTQ+ persons. A rare combination of sophisticated theory and page-turning writing. A book you can assign in class and take to the beach." (Mark A. Graber, author of A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism) "This dazzling volume explains the recent trajectory of LGBT inclusion in American law, politics, and institutions through pop culture. By 'queering political time,' Susan Burgess builds a satisfying, nuanced explanation for the successes and failures of LGBT politics. Her work helps us to acknowledge fully the current dangerous resistance to LGBT rights and inclusion, but ultimately issues a compelling-and kind-invitation to imagine and build a just, inclusive, and democratic future. The hopeful book we need now!" (Julie Novkov, author of Racial Union: Law, Intimacy, and the White State in Alabama, 1865-1954) "Burgess brilliantly integrates analysis of popular cultural narratives with traditional theories of progressive social change to explain how LGBT rights and liberties came to be accepted in mainstream politics. The book offers creative, often surprising, and always edifying interpretations of movies, television series, musicals, and other manifestations of pop culture to develop her argument. All in all, Burgess once again demonstrates that she is one of the most astute and provocative contemporary analysts of American political culture. Highly recommended!" (Michael McCann, co-author of Union by Law: Filipino American Labor Activists, Rights Radicalism, and Racial Capitalism) "The exchange of influence between pop culture and American politics flows in both directions, and sometimes becomes knotted in complex ways.... The book is a kind of gauntlet thrown down before the author's colleagues, challenging them to think outside the ballot box." - Scott McLemee (Inside Higher Ed) "Although Burgess uses 'pop culture to better understand political transformation' (p.21), she accomplishes much more. She brings insights from queer theory and critical race studies-notions of nonlinear time and of pop culture as both sources of challenge and tools of status quo reinforcement-to bear on key concepts of American political development, including political time and cyclical patterns of political change." (Perspectives on Politics) "Vast changes in mainstream attitudes, mores, and public opinion, not just concerning LGBTQ rights, were necessary to win sweeping legislative and legal victories... In her thoughtful and insightful book, LGBT Inclusion in American Life, [Susan Burgess] shows how these complex and dynamic changes happened over time through the active 'mutually constitutive' intersection of ideas, politics, and popular culture." (People's World) "Burgess is a leader in pushing the discipline of political science to recognize the significance of sexuality in the study of politics." (CHOICE)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 157 mm
Width: 237 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
498 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4798-1972-0 (9781479819720)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Susan Burgess is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Political Science at Ohio University. She is the author and co-editor of many books including LGBT Inclusion in American Life: Pop Culture, Political Imagination, and Civil Rights.