Tony Peregrin

Prowling through the dense, exotic terrain of American pop culture, John D'Emilio, professor of history and gender studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, returns with a detailed map that charts the migration of gays to the center of our national consciousness during the last decade. The scapegoating of gays by the Christian Right, the controversy simmering around the gay-gene theory, and the influence of the great AIDS activist Larry Kramer, are just a few of the topics surveyed in this collection of essays, all of which read like savvy coffeehouse banter rather than jargon-cluttered academics.

Many of the observations featured in "The World Turned" orbit around the author's bold assertion that the effects of Stonewall Rebellion are little more than symbolic, while the changes that evolved over the nineties appear to have "durability and a reach that go[es] far beyond... Stonewall." While many historians and students bow their head in humble homage to the Stonewall Rebellion as the starting point of gay liberation, D'Emilio systematically strips the event of its mythical power. He argues that despite popular opinion, Stonewall did not "come out of the blue and start everything"--gays and lesbians had been organizing their freedom efforts some twenty years prior. And, that the most oppressed individuals (like the infamous drag queens of Stonewall) will not "lead the way" to social change, but that "an authentic liberation movement must articulate the needs of everyone."

With his views on Stonewall firmly established, the author (who one reviewer fondly refers to as an academic "troublemaker") takes aim at what he considers to be the more relevant issues of the nineties, such as genetics. He cautions gays who follow the "we are born this way" claim, as it allows us to "feel good about ourselves because we bear no responsibility for our gayness."

Whether or not you agree with the author's assertions, at the very least, D'Emilio shows us that the world has indeed "turned," that instead of looking the other way, it faces us head-on, acknowledging our presence in ways it never has before.

John D'Emilio reads from "The World Turned" on November 20 at 7pm, at 57th Street Books, 1301 East 57th, (773)684-1300.

The World Turned: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and Culture

by John D'Emilio

Duke University Press, $18.95, 280 pages

(2002-11-13)

Also by Tony Peregrin

PRIDE 101: DISENCHANTED
There is a guilty little secret shared by an ever-increasing number of gays and lesbians, and it goes something like this: We hate Pride parades.
(2002-06-27)

SINGLED, OUT
But our date, our mini-date, has been interrupted by the tinkling of a bell, and in true Pavlovian fashion, the twenty men assembled for Chicago's first gay speed-dating group, immediately shift to the table on their left in the hopes of finding Mr. Right.
(2002-02-07)

NONFICTION REVIEW
The paradoxical premise behind Suzanna Danuta Walters latest survey of pop culture, "All the Rage," is smartly tethered to the book's three-word title.
(2001-11-29)

BUYING POWER
That bright orange door, which for months taunted passers-by eager for a glimpse inside the MTV-manufactured lives of "The Real World" Chicago cast, finally swings open Sunday, as 1,200 individuals, dressed in their Banana Republic, casual-best, sign contracts (no photos allowed) and wait patiently for their turn to pick over—and, if they are so moved—purchase the sheets, vases, sofas, lamps, rugs (basically anything that can be carried out) of the Wicker Park loft.
(2001-11-22)

FICTION REVIEW
(2001-10-11)

LESSONS LEARNED
(2001-06-21)

FACE OFF
(2001-05-31)

OH RIKKI
(2001-03-29)

LAVENDER HAZE
(2001-03-01)

GREAT SEXPECTATIONS
(2001-02-15)

COLD COMFORT
(2001-01-18)

BROTHER'S KEEPER
(2000-12-14)

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