ABSTRACT
Like women and African Americans, gays and lesbians have a fascinating record as objects of oppression and subjects of self-discovery, perseverance, community, and creativity. They are also a compelling example of the changeability of human identity constructs over time. Jonathan Katz assembles newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, and other material to document the urban American gay subculture at the turn of the century. The homophobic bias of many of these collected observations by ostensible heterosexuals gives them a freak show tone. The psychic distance between upper-class, often educated, romantic friends and working-class, bar-culture lesbians endured for many years. It is ironic that its wellspring was an elite male medical discourse, motivated to a great degree by antifeminism. The epidemic itself and the organizing spurred by AIDS have given rise to extraordinary public discussion of homosexuality.
