During the 20th century through today, gay and lesbian artists, writers, political activists, and sports figures contributed their talents to all areas of popular culture. Authors such as E. Lynn Harris and Patricia Highsmith write bestselling novels. Rupert Everett follows in the footsteps of Rock Hudson and others who starred in multimillion dollar films. George Michael and k.d.lang have been the creative forces behind dozens of hit songs, and the TV programs of Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, and the cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy are enjoyed in gay and straight households alike. The Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Popular Culture identifies the people, films, TV shows, literature, and sports figures that have made significant contributions to both gay and lesbian popular culture, and American popular culture.
This small volume contains less than 100 articles on topics in gay and lesbian popular culture. Although there is no precise definition used to establish the term popular culture in the introduction, following John Storey’s definitions in his book Cultural Theory and Popular Culture (Univ. of Georgia, 1998), the articles fall into the area of mass-consumption culture. The entries consist predominately of biographies, with a few articles discussing television shows, movies, and some other forms of entertainment. There are a few British biographical entries, but Americans comprise the largest part of the book. Although author Prono explains his selection criteria in the preface, it is not clear what makes David Leavitt, William Condon, or Agnes Moorehead, who are all the subjects of entries, inherently more important in gay and lesbian popular culture than Jim Grimsley, Ang Lee, or Bette Davis, who are not. Articles are followed by a list of secondary sources. Cross-references will take a browser to another related article. A brief index is also helpful in directing the reader. Most academic libraries will not find the need to purchase the title, as biographical articles can be found in standard titles like Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia (Holt, 1998), Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Histories and Culture (Routledge, 1999), or even The Queer Encyclopedia of Film and Television (Cleis Press, 2006). However, it is a useful and easy-to-use resource for public and high-school libraries.