A comprehensive study of homosexuality on television from the 1950s to 2002. Through an analysis of over 300 television episodes, made-for-TV movies, and mini-series, this fascinating account of the evolution of the portrayal of gay men and lesbians offers an in-depth look at how four major television genres--medical series, police/ detective shows, drama, and situation comedies--approached the subject of homosexuality. From 1950s talk shows that tackled the "problem" of homosexuality to Ellen DeGeneres's historic coming-out in 1997, it reveals how television's treatment of homosexuality has reflected and reinforced society's ignorance and fear of gay men, lesbians, and transgender people, and celebrates the programs that broke new ground in their sensitive, enlightened approach to homosexuality and gay-related themes and issues, such as homophobia, gay-bashing, and AIDS.--From publisher description.

Television history was made on April 30, 1997, when comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her sitcom alter-ego Ellen Morgan, “came out” to her close friends and 36 million viewers. This groundbreaking episode represented a significant milestone in Amerian television. For the first time, a TV series centered around a lesbian character who was portrayed by an openly gay actor. The millions of viewers who tuned in that historic night were witnesses to a new era in television. The Prime Time Closet offers an entertaining and in-depth glimpse into homosexuality on television from the 1950s through today. Divided into four sections, each devoted to a major television genre, this unique book explores how gay men and lesbians have been depicted in over three hundred television episodes and made-for-TV films. These include medical series, police/detective shows, situation comedies and TV dramas. The Prime Time Closet also reveals how television's treatement of homosexuality has reflected and reinforced society's ignorance about and fear of gay men and lesbians. At the same time, it celebrates programs like Ellen and Will & Grace that have broken new ground in their sensitive and enlightened approach to homosexuality and gay-related themes. This book is witty and insightful, accessible and illuminating, a look into what has become an integral part of American media culture.

Even as substantial legal and social victories are being celebrated within the gay rights movement, much of working-class America still exists outside the current narratives of gay liberation. In Steel Closets, Anne Balay draws on oral history interviews with forty gay, lesbian, and transgender steelworkers, mostly living in northwestern Indiana, to give voice to this previously silent and invisible population. She presents powerful stories of the intersections of work, class, gender, and sexual identity in the dangerous industrial setting of the steel mill. The voices and stories captured by Balay--by turns alarming, heroic, funny, and devastating--challenge contemporary understandings of what it means to be queer and shed light on the incredible homophobia and violence faced by many: nearly all of Balay's narrators remain closeted at work, and many have experienced harassment, violence, or rape. Through the powerful voices of queer steelworkers themselves, Steel Closets provides rich insight into an understudied part of the LGBT population, contributing to a growing body of scholarship that aims to reveal and analyze a broader range of gay life in America.

Praised by the Chicago Tribune as "an impressive study" and written with incisive wit and searing perception--the definitive, highly acclaimed landmark work on the portrayal of homosexuality in film.

The Advocate is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) monthly newsmagazine. Established in 1967, it is the oldest continuing LGBT publication in the United States.

Toys in the Closet, is a historical fiction set in the sensuous singing sands of the Indiana dunes on the southern shores of Lake Michigan. This is the journey of Nathan Franklin whose family participated in the most vicious confrontation between environmentalists and industrialist over the Hoosier coast. Nathan, a Jewish writer is out-of-season visiting his beach home, on Christmas Day ‘97 and exploring the story book rooms of Brighton House, a repository of so many works of art by artists who have painted the dunes and a treasury of family heirlooms each with vignettes of a landed past. Nathan though lonesome on Christmas in the aftermath of a winter blizzard realizes he isn’t alone at all surrounded by his treasures and a very protecting lost lover. A story full of Hoosier pride, social justice, as viewed through the eyes of an accomplished Jewish contemporary at the end of his family’s American Dream.

The latest creature to emerge from Rob's closet is a cross between Chewbacca from Star Wars and Harry Potter. Rob names him "Potterwookiee" ("Hairy" for short) and soon Rob finds himself treading water as he tries to figure out how to care for his mixed-up friend. Great laughs and great books help Rob along the way.