This chapter documents the incredible transformations that took place in the gay and lesbian press, from its anonymous origins to its emergence into the mainstream.
In Western society, the terms 'gay' and 'lesbian' denote not just sexual orientation, but a unique identity that is confessional in nature (i.e. require one to 'come out'). The repression of this identity by society provided much of the impetus for the growth of the g/l press/movement over the years.
Notable journals:
In the post-WW II years, homosexuality was linked with communism. It was in this climate of fear that the first g/l journals began.
1) ONE (1953-) An outgrowth of the Mattachine Society. Included practical information for coping with McCarthy-era ideology (legal rights, etc.)
2) The Ladder (1954-1972) A journal for lesbians; more social than political.
3) Homophile Studies (1956-) From ONE; more scholarly journal.
These journals took a cautious stance about appropriate public behavior and the nature of being g/l. FBI began investigating the journals; journals were conveyed as 'cheap pornography' in court; Supreme Court in '58 disagreed and ruled that homosexuality is not, in and of itself, obscene. Would change the nature of 'coming out' in later generations.
As the movement expanded, self-definition and identity became a problem. What were the goals of the movement? Were they defining their uniqueness or fighting for inclusion?
4) The Gazette (1961-) started by Frank Kameny, who was expelled from the Army in 1957 for being gay. Put forth the idea that homosexuality was a preference and orientation rather than a pathology or sickness.
By the end of the 60's, the readership had vastly expanded, to about 55,000, evidence that the journals were appealing to a wider and wider portion of the population. That portion also became to be seen as a potential 'market', and the journals would soon begin to undergo changes that would reflect that perspective. By 1972, 150 gay journals had emerged. Gay liberation exploded after the 1969 Stonewall riots, setting the stage for the next generation of activists of the 70's.
5) The Advocate (1967-) What began in L.A. soon jumped to major U.S. cities. Advertising began to be incorporated. Shifted to a lifestyle magazine in 1974, when it was bought for $1 million by Wall Street banker David B. Goodstein. Political content largely dropped. Focus instead on fashion, cuisine, travel, etc. Began to enter the mainstream. Began turning a profit by end of 70's.
70's lesbian press:
6) The Furies (early 70's) Lesbian feminism formed its own identity, charging that lesbianism is a political choice, not a sexual preference or orientation per se. Thus, being a lesbian is different from being gay.
Lesbian papers soon grew quickly, to 50 by 1975. Increasingly radical views also grew.
Effect: Emergence of the idea that women's bodies belong to themselves; in their control. Learned to be independent from men.
7) Blacklight (end of 70's) First black g/l journal. Others followed. Often ignored in g/l histories.
80's: A mainstream institutional backlash against g/l began to emerge; helped solidfy g/l movement. The AIDS crisis also began. g/l press was pivotal in covering this and bringing the crisis into the mainstream (Larry Kramer's '1,112 and Counting' was pivotal in this...)
8) Bay Area Guardian (80's) Employed journalists to cover and produce news/events.
As the AIDS crisis grew, g/l journals focused on different aspects of the problem.
By the end of the 80's, circulation broke the one-million mark, with more than 800 journals in print.
90's: The era of the 'glossies'. As profits grew, corporations began to get in on the act. Consolidation of the g/l press soon followed (LPI and Window Media being the largest). Internet presence quickly expanded. Gays seen as ultimate DINKs (disposable income, no kids) by corporations/advertisers, a huge market ready to be tapped. Effect? A total shift from its origins to one where, as in so many areas of the market today, advertising essentially equals content. Result? g/l movements have achieved a high level of visibility in the mainstream media, but with the usual trade-offs that come with the shift. Some would claim it's a 'sell-out.'
Enter the dragon, the relationship between the market and identity that defines so much of what is political today. As the movement entered the mainstream more and more, this necessitated the forces of the market to make it possible. But what started out as a radical, alternative, risky, even illegal endeavor, became something entirely different as it entered the fray of the mainstream, as market forces began to change the nature of its content to fit the image of what things that exist in the mainstream must be.
So what happened to the 'alternative'? This is the pattern one sees over and over again in the s.m. press. It is there, on the sidelines of the mainstream, where it has, and where it will always, be. Desktop publishing now makes the creation of 'zines' easy, and provides a modern mode for alt journals to be created.
This also brings up the question of influence. What kind of press has more influence, the small alt types with radical points of view that push hard agendas, or the glossies that exist in the mainstream?
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
the environmental movement
This chapter looks at the history of the journals of the environmental movement, which of all social movements discussed in the book, was/is by far the largest. By the 1970s, the e.m. had become a mainstream movement. Note, however, that typically the only time the mainstream media focuses its attention on the environment is when a major environmental crisis occurs.
Nature of today's e.m. journals: Glossy pages (eco-porn); exists as a kind of donor-service for those who donate money to the cause.
Nature of the e.m. movement and its press: A more long-term movement than others, e.m. movement victories are rarely permanent; the e.m. movement addresses issues which are of a much broader scope than other s.m.'s, and the sheer magnitude of the overall environmental crisis we face on the planet means that e.m. movement faces huge problems; as such, large, permanent institutions (like the Sierra Club) are thus necessary for the movement to work towards its goals...
Political hurdles: Since the Reagan era, when "enviromentalism" ceased to be a bipartisan issue, the e.m. (along with other groups) came to be seen as a "special interest group", which, if you think about it, seems somehow contradictory and ultimately self-defeating considering what is at stake. But this is the political reality in which the e.m. must work in Washington (especially whenever Republicans hold more sway...)
Notable journals:
1) The Sierra Club Bulletin (began 1893)-Probably one of the most well-known journals of the e.m. which has led the way for the protection and conservation of America's natural resources. Before WWII, the e.m. had largely worked with the government to see these goals met. But after WWII, the government's role changed to one that the e.m. had to fight against to see its goals met. The journal helped prevent the damming of the Grand Canyon in 1966, among other things. David Bower became the journal's first editor and after leaving in 1970, went on to work at other influential e.m. journals such as Not Man Apart and the Earth Island Journal.
2) Whole Earth Catalog (began 1966)-The one-of-a-kind journal of the back-to-the-land movement which provided its readers with untold practical "how-to" advice for getting back in touch with Mother Earth. Focused not on changing environmental policy, but on how people lived their lives, and its purpose was to connect people and information.
3) RAIN (1975-mid 80's)-Similar in scope to the Whole Earth Catalog, but with less of its eccentricities. Like w.e.c., provided an outlet of information for those who desired to connect more closely with the land; originated in the Northwest.
4) Orion (1982)- More of a literary journal than other e.m. journals, with a focus on good writing.
5) Earth First! Journal (1980)-The monkeywrenchers guide to eco-sabotage, with a focus on how-to action against the infrastructure deemed harmful to the environment.
6) Regional publications, focusing on the sense of place that makes each region unique, including Cascadia West, the Northern Forest Forum, the Adirondack Explorer and High Country News.
Nature of today's e.m. journals: Glossy pages (eco-porn); exists as a kind of donor-service for those who donate money to the cause.
Nature of the e.m. movement and its press: A more long-term movement than others, e.m. movement victories are rarely permanent; the e.m. movement addresses issues which are of a much broader scope than other s.m.'s, and the sheer magnitude of the overall environmental crisis we face on the planet means that e.m. movement faces huge problems; as such, large, permanent institutions (like the Sierra Club) are thus necessary for the movement to work towards its goals...
Political hurdles: Since the Reagan era, when "enviromentalism" ceased to be a bipartisan issue, the e.m. (along with other groups) came to be seen as a "special interest group", which, if you think about it, seems somehow contradictory and ultimately self-defeating considering what is at stake. But this is the political reality in which the e.m. must work in Washington (especially whenever Republicans hold more sway...)
Notable journals:
1) The Sierra Club Bulletin (began 1893)-Probably one of the most well-known journals of the e.m. which has led the way for the protection and conservation of America's natural resources. Before WWII, the e.m. had largely worked with the government to see these goals met. But after WWII, the government's role changed to one that the e.m. had to fight against to see its goals met. The journal helped prevent the damming of the Grand Canyon in 1966, among other things. David Bower became the journal's first editor and after leaving in 1970, went on to work at other influential e.m. journals such as Not Man Apart and the Earth Island Journal.
2) Whole Earth Catalog (began 1966)-The one-of-a-kind journal of the back-to-the-land movement which provided its readers with untold practical "how-to" advice for getting back in touch with Mother Earth. Focused not on changing environmental policy, but on how people lived their lives, and its purpose was to connect people and information.
3) RAIN (1975-mid 80's)-Similar in scope to the Whole Earth Catalog, but with less of its eccentricities. Like w.e.c., provided an outlet of information for those who desired to connect more closely with the land; originated in the Northwest.
4) Orion (1982)- More of a literary journal than other e.m. journals, with a focus on good writing.
5) Earth First! Journal (1980)-The monkeywrenchers guide to eco-sabotage, with a focus on how-to action against the infrastructure deemed harmful to the environment.
6) Regional publications, focusing on the sense of place that makes each region unique, including Cascadia West, the Northern Forest Forum, the Adirondack Explorer and High Country News.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
the underground GI press and Vietnam
This chapter deals with the role of the underground GI press in opposing the Vietnam War. Awareness of the underground GI press and the extent of its anti-war opposition was largely non-existent in the public mind (due to reasons that are obvious, i.e. no representation in the mainstream media), and as such was seperate from the civilian anti-war movement that holds a much more prominent place in our collective memory, again largely due to the influence of mainstream media. As such, the GI anti-war movement was essentially disconnected from the civilian anti-war movement. As sad as this reality is, it would be much worse if it were not for the existence of the GI press, for it allowed those who participated in real history (not the fabricated version we get on TV and in print) to tell their own stories...
Important note: The opposition amongst those in the military to America's involvement in Vietnam sprouted with its involvement there (early 60's), pre-dating the civilian anti-war movement by several years. The activists of the underground GI press were predominantly white.
Role of technology: The introduction of offset printing made it much easier to produce a newspaper than before.
Examples of dissidence within the military during the Vietnam era:
Notable underground GI press:
1) Andy Stapp's The Bond (1967)
2) Resistance Inside the Military (RITA)'s journal ACT (1967), which encouraged active resistance from within the military.
3) Jeff Sharlet's Vietnam GI (1968), whose target audience was soldiers in Vietnam, not at home. Featured stories/interviews from those in the field, of the atrocities, the realities, the insanities of the war. Most of the content of the paper was letters from soldiers, and views from all sides were published. Sharlet died from mysterious causes at the age of 27 (agent orange?) and the paper died with him in the summer of 1970. Circulation at peak-10,000.
Note: The Tet Offensive occured on January 30th, 1968, and the GI anti-war movement soon exploded...(by 1972 an estimated 245 underground GI papers had been published)
4) Roger Priest's OM...An outrageous newsletter whose goal was to pick a free speech fight with the Pentagon. (Priest worked for the Pentagon and purposefully made his identity explicit...)
Priest's actions highlighted the fine line between the first amendment right to free speech and military prohibitions against insubordination...
5) Paul Cox's Rage was published during the peak of the GI anti-war movement. The journal, among other things, documented cases of dissent throughout the military.
6) Fatigue Press, published at a coffee house (Oleo Strut) at Fort Hood, Texas, where half the troops were returning from, and the other half getting ready to leave for, Vietnam. Documenting, among other things, opposition to riot-control duty among soldiers (e.g. 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.).
The other side: Black involvement in the underground GI movement
For a long time, the Black Panther Party largely ignored the black GI's who were involved in the anti-war movement. (For example, black GI's sent letters to the BPP press, but simply published them with no editorial response or comment....) The BPP did come around to acknowledging their voice, by late 1969. Point: there were a large number of black GI's who were looking to the BPP for leadership, but it was hard to come by.
Effects of the 60's: On changing the nature of our political institutions? Practically nothing. On changing the social consciousness of the country? A lot. But the voices that contributed to that change would be cast aside by the hard swing of the political pendulum back to the right in the 70's when the stage for increased American imperial power was set, the effects of which are still very much with us to this day.
Important note: The opposition amongst those in the military to America's involvement in Vietnam sprouted with its involvement there (early 60's), pre-dating the civilian anti-war movement by several years. The activists of the underground GI press were predominantly white.
Role of technology: The introduction of offset printing made it much easier to produce a newspaper than before.
Examples of dissidence within the military during the Vietnam era:
- refusing orders, going AWOL, drug use
- fragging
- combat refusal
- breakdowns in troop discipline, such that troops had to police their own soldiers
- mutiny
- sabotage
- riots
Notable underground GI press:
1) Andy Stapp's The Bond (1967)
2) Resistance Inside the Military (RITA)'s journal ACT (1967), which encouraged active resistance from within the military.
3) Jeff Sharlet's Vietnam GI (1968), whose target audience was soldiers in Vietnam, not at home. Featured stories/interviews from those in the field, of the atrocities, the realities, the insanities of the war. Most of the content of the paper was letters from soldiers, and views from all sides were published. Sharlet died from mysterious causes at the age of 27 (agent orange?) and the paper died with him in the summer of 1970. Circulation at peak-10,000.
Note: The Tet Offensive occured on January 30th, 1968, and the GI anti-war movement soon exploded...(by 1972 an estimated 245 underground GI papers had been published)
4) Roger Priest's OM...An outrageous newsletter whose goal was to pick a free speech fight with the Pentagon. (Priest worked for the Pentagon and purposefully made his identity explicit...)
Priest's actions highlighted the fine line between the first amendment right to free speech and military prohibitions against insubordination...
5) Paul Cox's Rage was published during the peak of the GI anti-war movement. The journal, among other things, documented cases of dissent throughout the military.
6) Fatigue Press, published at a coffee house (Oleo Strut) at Fort Hood, Texas, where half the troops were returning from, and the other half getting ready to leave for, Vietnam. Documenting, among other things, opposition to riot-control duty among soldiers (e.g. 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.).
The other side: Black involvement in the underground GI movement
For a long time, the Black Panther Party largely ignored the black GI's who were involved in the anti-war movement. (For example, black GI's sent letters to the BPP press, but simply published them with no editorial response or comment....) The BPP did come around to acknowledging their voice, by late 1969. Point: there were a large number of black GI's who were looking to the BPP for leadership, but it was hard to come by.
Effects of the 60's: On changing the nature of our political institutions? Practically nothing. On changing the social consciousness of the country? A lot. But the voices that contributed to that change would be cast aside by the hard swing of the political pendulum back to the right in the 70's when the stage for increased American imperial power was set, the effects of which are still very much with us to this day.
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