Synopses & Reviews
Drawing on a half-century of gay history, Michael Bronski brilliantly maps out the fascinating and often ironic interplay between culture and politics. In doing so, he illustrates how and why most heterosexuals need and love certain aspects of gay culture, even though this culture also causes them enormous anxiety and fear.
The Pleasure Principle offers a profound and disturbing analysis of the roots—and the damaging results—of Western culture's inability to deal with both pleasure and sexuality, especially as they are embodied for many by contemporary gay culture.
Review
"An extraordinary piece of writing: colorful, far-ranging, and deeply insightful in exploring the connection between gay culture and the larger American scene . . . A pleasure to read."—Howard Zinn, author of
A People's History of the United States"Bronski ranges widely, often with great insight . . . A nice feature of his approach is that he seeks to understand gay culture and politics not in isolation but in relation to comparable phenomena both past and present."—LA Weekly
"The Pleasure Principal has something important to say to anyone interested in the topic, regardless of one's sexual orientation . . . In his ambitious and entertaining book [Bronski] is helping to remove gay history and culture from the marginalized realm of exotica and place them squarely in the ebb and flow of American history."—The Nation
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-282) and index.
About the Author
Michael Bronski is the author of
Culture Clash (South End Press, 1984). His essays have appeared in numerous magazines, and journals, and he has lectured widely on art and politics. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.