A half century ago gay men and lesbians were all but invisible in the media and, in turn, popular culture. With the lesbian and gay liberation movement came a profoundly new sense of homosexual community and empowerment and the emergence of gay people onto the media´s stage. And yet even as the mass media have been shifting the terms of our public conversation toward a greater acknowledgment of diversity, does the emerging “visibility” of gay men and women do justi… More >>
Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America
Gross, Larry. “Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America,” Columbia University Press, 2002.
The GLBT Presence
Amos Lassen
With so much exposure in the media nowadays, it is hard to remember just fifty years ago when gays and lesbians only appeared on the screen when they were murdered or punished because they were different. In “Up from Invisibility”, we get a look at the relationship between the lifestyle and the media. What seems to have started the media’s focus on our lives was the Stonewall riots and from there the media moved to the AIDS epidemic. It seems to Larry Gross, the author, that it is the people involved that affect the media coverage. The progress has been amazing and Gross shows us how all this was possible.
It has been a slow road to get the news to handle us subjectively and over the last fifty years we have been looked at by the media in a variety of ways. There has been a great deal of progress but we must ask the question–”when is enough, enough?”. The emergence has been gradual but what is important is that it has happened. The mass media and our rights are close partners.
We must also ask ourselves if this exposure does justice to the way we live–is it sincere and is it honest? Does the media use and manipulate our identity? We undoubtedly been affected by the media and we, in turn, have affected it.
Gross makes readable that which could have boring and even though the book is not comprehensive and never will be (the media, like us, is constantly changing; At least we have this book for the time being.
Rating: 4 / 5
This book is a fascinating, well-written survey on how the LGTB community has been treated (or not)in the media in recent decades. While by no means comprehensive, the wealth of material covered will certainly satisfy (if not aptly enrage)the average reader. The main problem with the book is that the material presented enrages the author himself too much. While the material covered is ostensibly presented as dispassionate reporting, the author’s footnotes and editorial asides intrude too much in leading the reader into what he/she is supposed to think. Lest we miss yet another insult to basic human rights or cowardice on the part of the powers that be, these points are repeatedly underlined. So what appeared as a sociologic survey transforms into a book of personal essays. This is unfortunate because it is easy to be convinced of the authorial point of view if the facts are allowed to speak for themselves. Nonetheless worthwhile reading if not the book it hopes to be.
Rating: 3 / 5
There is no doubt that Larry Gross is a top scholar in the field of Gay Media Studies. Having just completed my own thesis and graduate work in the area, I found this work by Gross priceless because he makes the material readable, enjoyable and understandable for anyone. Looking at Gay representation in Mass Media from a variety of different perspectives, Television, Print Media, Film and briefly touching on gay visibility on the Internet. It is amazing that although I have been studying this material for 6+ years, Gross brought new insightful information to me on the material that I haven’t heard or read before. This is must read and worthy personal library addition to anyone interested in Gay Studies. When we realize how far we have come, Gross is quick to remind us how far we have to go.
Rating: 5 / 5
If you’re wanting to examine exactly how LGBT issues have been affected by the media, this book is by no means an encyclopedia filled with in-depth information. If you do, however, want to start understanding — or if you’re new to media studies or [gay] studies — then this is the book for you. It lays the information out concisely (and, from what I can tell, accurately), and it never weighs itself down by stilting its language to impress the reader. A quick, simple, yet informative read.
Rating: 4 / 5