The Gay Insider

The Gay Insider

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John Francis Hunter
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$75.00
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The Gay Insider - A Hunter's Guide to New York and a Thesaurus of Phallic Lore

Something cool happens after this: queer people start being more confident and visible in their strength, and the Mafia is not immune from this. In 1971, John Francis Hunter (in a book with possibly the most perfect cover ever), wrote:

“Won’t the Mafia ever learn the number is up on this kind of game? That they are not dealing any longer with submissive, frightened, guilt-ridden pansies, but with proud men who now tolerate certain bars. Not because they are any longer intimidated by the dull brutish stares, the assembly-line handling as you file through the portals offering your bread, the unconcealed contempt displayed by all but the most refined ‘front.’

They think we’re still hiding out in their dens. Wrong — we are slumming in their dens, and we know it!”

We think of gay bars as safe spaces, but they weren’t always. And still, queer people took this hostile ground in hostile territory and made community and found love there. As the bars became safer, they became an important place for much of the organizing that has won us the rights we have today, and they still constitute an important place in queer culture.

Second Printing - Paperback

Used in Great condition

Donated by Larry Lingle - Lobo Books