The untold story of how a small band of Los Angeles activists transformed the way LGBTQ people were portrayed in the media, chronicled by those who lived it.
The late 1980s were defined by the AIDS epidemic and the anti-gay politics of the Reagan-Bush era. Lesbian and gay lives were largely absent from history books, news coverage, film, and television. When they did appear, representations were steeped in bigotry and stereotype, casting gay men and lesbians as deviants, predators, or punchlines, and people were dying because of it. To effect change, some activists realized that LGBT people needed to shape their own image rather than let others define it.
That epiphany was the beginning of GLAAD/LA. In Queering the Media, the organization's founding, evolution, and growing influence unfold in intimate detail from meeting in living rooms to becoming a strategic force confronting studios over films like The Silence of the Lambs and Basic Instinct. They demanded accountability from news media and broadcasters, and launched and built the GLAAD Media Awards into a coveted industry honor that drew A-list celebrities and powered the movement's growth.
By the early 2000s, gay storylines appeared on mainstream television, celebrities were coming out, and LGBT lives were increasingly woven into the fabric of American culture. In less than two decades, public opinion had shifted dramatically--and GLAAD was at the heart of it.
Part essential LGBTQ history, part blueprint for grassroots and strategic advocacy, Queering the Media is not just a chronicle. It's an urgent call to action at a moment when public hostility against gay people is rising once again.
