{"product_id":"bad-gays-isbn-9781839763281","title":"Bad Gays","description":"\u003cb\u003eThese “very funny-deep dives into the lives of the most dastardly queer people in history” offer a passionate argument for rethinking gay politics beyond identity (\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eWhat can we learn from the homosexual villains, failures, and baddies of our past?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e We all remember Oscar Wilde, but who speaks for Bosie? What about those ‘bad gays’ whose unexemplary lives reveal more than we might expect? Many popular histories seek to establish homosexual heroes, pioneers, and martyrs but, as Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller argue, the past is filled with queer people whose sexualities and dastardly deeds have been overlooked despite their being informative and instructive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Based on the hugely popular podcast series of the same name, \u003ci\u003eBad Gays\u003c\/i\u003e asks what we can learn about LGBTQ+ history, sexuality and identity through its villains, failures, and baddies. With characters such as the Emperor Hadrian, anthropologist Margaret Mead and notorious gangster Ronnie Kray, the authors tell the story of how the figure of the white gay man was born, and how he failed. They examine a cast of kings, fascist thugs, artists and debauched bon viveurs. Imperial-era figures Lawrence of Arabia and Roger Casement get a look-in, as do FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover, lawyer Roy Cohn, and architect Philip Johnson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Together these amazing life stories expand and challenge mainstream assumptions about sexual identity: showing that homosexuality itself was an idea that emerged in the 19th century, one central to major historical events.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eBad Gays\u003c\/i\u003e is a passionate argument for rethinking gay politics beyond questions of identity, compelling readers to search for solidarity across boundaries.\"Why must liberatory history be populated by heroes? And what if it isn't? Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller confront the shadowy side of queer history, a seamy underworld populated by evil twinks and psychopathic villains. Delectable gossip aside, this revelatory book is really an account of toxic power relations, always with an eye to a better, stranger, wilder future.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Olivia Laing, author of \u003ci\u003eEverybody\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A wry, rigorous account of centuries of gay villainy. Lemmey and Miller's historiography sparkles with salacious details and delights in showing us that there is nothing new under the sun.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Shon Faye, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Transgender Issue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A smart, funny (and, just occasionally, catty) tour through the darker side of LGBTQ+ history. Far from being an excoriation, this book is a sign of confidence in a community that no longer has to present its antecedents as saints and martyrs but as real people: some of these gays were well-meaning but flawed; some of them were complicated; and some of them were just bloody awful.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Juliet Jacques, author of \u003ci\u003eVariations\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An antidote to assumptions that anyone oppressed must be the good guy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Catherine Fletcher, \u003ci\u003eHistory Today, Books of the Year\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What a great way to do history\/think about identity\/consider the history of homosexuality. By turns uncomfortable, outrageous and hilarious, this book, taken from the podcast of the same name, was one of my unputdownables of 2022. Looking forward to the next edition already\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Julia Bell, \u003ci\u003eWhite Review, Best Books 2022\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In examining the lives of these notorious 'bad gays,' the authors examine the ways queerness has been perceived throughout history, and gives modern-day LGBTQ+ people an opportunity to see what the possibilities are going forward. (Also, everyone loves a villain origin story, so who can resist?!)\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—David Vogel, \u003ci\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The historical perspective is fascinating, and the bits of salty gay humor sprinkled throughout liven the proceedings considerably.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eBad Gays\u003c\/i\u003e succeeds in its goals in every way, offering an infuriating, thoughtful, deliciously judgmental history of the very worst we had to offer.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fascinating-and very funny-deep dives into the lives of the most dastardly queer people in history...\u003ci\u003eBad Gays\u003c\/i\u003e offers a riveting look back at historical figures whom the present-day LGBTQ+ community might be less eager to reclaim.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Liam Hess, \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The authors cruise the wilder and darker side of queer history....Well-researched, humorous, they illustrate how the interpretation of homosexuality itself influenced history.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—E. B. Boatner, \u003ci\u003eLavender Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A provocative argument, one they put forth in a way that's both thorough and entertaining....a who's who of queer nasties through history.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Michael Hays, \u003ci\u003eThe Gay \u0026amp; Lesbian Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Succeeds in radically rethinking queer history...\u003ci\u003eBad Gays\u003c\/i\u003e is ultimately an act of love-most criticism is, after all-and this is made clear in how compellingly Lemmey and Miller write about their vision for the future.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Eleni Vlahiotis, \u003ci\u003ePopMatters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Dizzyingly eclectic ... offers a wealth of interesting facts and wide-ranging references\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, \u003ci\u003eSocialism Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eHuw Lemmey\u003c\/b\u003e is a novelist, artist and critic living in Barcelona. He is the author of three novels: \u003ci\u003eUnknown Language\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRed Tory\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eChubz\u003c\/i\u003e. He has written for the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFrieze\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTribune\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eArchitectural Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew Humanist\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eWhite Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eL’Uomo Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBen Miller\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and researcher living in Berlin, where he is currently a Doctoral Fellow at the Graduate School of Global Intellectual History at the Freie Universität. He has written for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTin House\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eRadical History Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe New Queer Photography\u003c\/i\u003e. Since 2018 he has been a member of the board of directors of the Schwules Museum, one of the world’s largest independent queer museums and archives.","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44886536814821,"sku":"NP9781839763281","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781839763281_3549623a-0e4c-474c-8c28-f1c682cd5c7f.jpg?v=1767722106","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/bad-gays-isbn-9781839763281","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}