Screening the Closet: The Discourse of Visibility, Sexuality, and Queer Representation in American ilm and Tele!

ision, "#$#%&resent

'y (elanie )* S* +ohnen (*A*, ,einrich%,eine%-ni!ersitaet, Duesseldorf, .ermany, /00" A*(*, 'ro1n -ni!ersity, /00/

A Dissertation Submitted in &artial ulfillment of the Re2uirements for the Degree of Doctor of &hilosophy in the Department of American Ci!ili3ation at 'ro1n -ni!ersity

&ro!idence, Rhode 4sland (ay /0"0

5 (elanie )*S* +ohnen /0"0

This dissertation by (elanie )* S* +ohnen is accepted in its present form by the Department of American Ci!ili3ation as satisfying the dissertation re2uirement for the degree of Doctor of &hilosophy*

Date 6666666666

66666666666666666666666666666666666 7ynne 8oyrich, Ad!isor

Recommended to the .raduate Council

Date 6666666666

66666666666666666666666666666666666 9endy ,ui +yong Chun, Reader

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66666666666666666666666666666666666 Robert 7ee, Reader

Appro!ed by the .raduate Council

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66666666666666666666666666666666666 Sheila 'onde, Dean

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Curriculum Vitae (elanie )* S* +ohnen 1as born on 8uly /:, "#;< in Duisburg, .ermany* She completed her Magister Artium degree in )nglish 7anguages and 7iteratures 1ith a minor in (edia Studies at ,einrich%,eine%-ni!ersit=t in D>sseldorf, .ermany* During her studies there, she recei!ed a one%year DAAD ?.erman Academic )xchange Ser!ice@ scholarship to attend 9esleyan -ni!ersity in (iddleto1n, CT* At 9esleyan, (elanie focused on American go!ernment, history, material culture and cultural studies* -pon her return, she began research for her thesis, e!entually titled Crossing Borders, Re-Locating Our Selves: Chinese American Womens Identities A ter !"#$* 9hile 1orAing on her thesis, (elanie recei!ed t1o additional scholarships* The first scholarship 1as a DAAD research grant that allo1ed (elanie to attend ifu, the 4nternational 9omenBs -ni!ersity, a pilot proCect sponsored by the )uropean -nion* D!er the course of three months, she participated in lectures and 1orAshops on the topics of migration, transnational communities, and globali3ation* As final proCect, she 1orAed on a multimedia performance that combined photography, digital images, oral history, music and spoAen 1ord to trace transforming moments in the li!es of t1el!e ifu participants* The second scholarship 1as a 8ohn * +ennedy 4nstitute 7ibrary Research .rant at reie -ni!ersit=t in 'erlin, .ermany* The grant pro!ided access to the 8ohn * +ennedy 4nstituteBs resources* After completing her Magister Artium degree, (elanie Coined the &h* D program in American Ci!ili3ation at 'ro1n -ni!ersity* During her first t1o semesters at 'ro1n,

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she completed the re2uirements for an A*(* in American Ci!ili3ation* She recei!ed a 'ro1n -ni!ersity ello1ship during her first year as a &h*D* student and the (iss AbbottBs School Alumnae Dissertation ello1ship during one of her final years at 'ro1n* 4n the summer of /00E, she recei!ed the ,istorical Society of Southern California ,aynes Research .rant to support her dissertation research* 9hile 1orAing to1ards the completion of her &h* D, (elanie taught a first%year and sophomore seminar entitled FBThe .ay B#0sGB: Sexuality, 4dentity, and the (edia in the "##0s*H She also de!eloped a class called F rom 4 7o!e 7ucy to 7ost: Tele!ision and American CultureH for Summer I 'ro1n* Due to the popularity of the class, she has taught the course e!ery summer since /00;* (elanie also 1orAed as a Teaching Assistant for the Department of American Ci!ili3ation and the Department of (odern Culture and (edia* She led discussion sections, ga!e lectures and graded papers in courses on film, tele!ision, ne1 media, ad!ertising, and AmericaBs urban de!elopment* 4n addition to teaching, (elanie 1orAed as a Teaching Consultant for 'ro1nBs Sheridan Center for Teaching and 7earning in ,igher )ducation for fi!e years* She obser!ed and e!aluated teaching in the humanities, sciences, and arts at both 'ro1n -ni!ersity and the Rhode 4sland School of Design* During her last three years at 'ro1n, (elanie also held the position of (anaging )ditor of %igital &umanities 'uarterl(, a peer%re!ie1ed digital Cournal run through 'ro1nBs 9omenBs 9riters &roCect* As a graduate student, (elanie published t1o articles* The first article, JSignal to Koise: The &aradoxes of ,istory and Technology in Battlestar )alactica,J appeared in

*lo+,-: A Critical *orum on ,elevision and Media Culture, in December /00;* 4n /00E, she contributed an essay entitled JThe Ad!entures of a Repressed armboy and the 'illionaire 9ho 7o!es ,im: Queer Spectatorship in Smallville andomJ to ,een ,elevision: .ssa(s on /rogramming and *andom, an anthology edited by Sharon Ross and 7ouisa Stein* The collection 1as published by (c arland in /00E* (elanie has accepted a position as (arion 7* 'rittain &ostdoctoral ello1 in the School of 7iterature, Communication and Culture at the .eorgia 4nstitute of Technology*

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&reface and AcAno1ledgments There are many people 1ho ha!e contributed to the re1arding, challenging, and exciting grad school experience 4 had at 'ro1n* irst and foremost, 4 1ant to thanA the members of my dissertation committee, 7ynne 8oyrich, 9endy Chun, and 'ob 7ee* 7ynne is the !ery best ad!isor one can asA for, going abo!e and beyond in supporting me 1hile 4 finished my dissertation* ,er incredibly detailed and al1ays thought%pro!oAing commentaries on chapter drafts pushed me to consider yet another perspecti!e e!en 1hen 4 thought 4 had exhausted a particular a!enue of thought* 7ynne is also an ama3ing teacher* ,er seminar on 2ueer cinema and !ideo 1as the most re1arding and exciting class 4 tooA at 'ro1n* She also introduced me to Tele!ision StudiesLan introduction that allo1ed me to turn my lifelong passion for TV into the core of my academic research* 4 can say 1ithout a doubt that 4 1ould not be the scholar 4 am today 1ithout 7ynneBs guidance* 9endy also deser!es many thanAs for her incisi!e commentary on my dissertation as 1orA%in%progress* 'ut 4 mostly 1ant to thanA 9endy for encouraging me to sticA 1ith Ke1 (edia Studies 1hen 4 thought 4 1ouldnBt be able to 1rap my head around it* 9endy reassured me that 1ith time, and much, much more reading in the field, it 1ould all maAe sense e!entually* 4t did* 9endy also taught me the 1onderful phrase, Fif it doesnBt hurt, you arenBt learning,H 1hich 4 ha!e gone on to share 1ith my students on a regular basis ?usually to their dismay@* 9endyBs insight sho1ed me that frustration 1ith oneBs research is not a sign of trying to do the impossible, but of being on the brinA of an important

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insight or disco!ery* 'ob has been a calming presence during the often stressful time of 1riting my dissertation* (ost importantly, 'obBs comments on my dissertation proposal encouraged me to consider race and ethnicity as central categories of analysis in my proCect* This encouragement had a profound impact on my researchM indeed, the intricate connections bet1een 1hiteness and 2ueer representations constitute the central analytical axis around 1hich my dissertation re!ol!es* 'eyond my dissertation committee, many other people at 'ro1n pro!ided me 1ith guidance and assistance* The Department of American Ci!ili3ation and the Department of (odern Culture and (edia 1ere my home bases during my grad student years* At AmCi!, Susan Smulyan al1ays had an open door for me and taught me much about American ad!ertising 1hen 4 1as a Teaching Assistant for her* 7iAe1ise, 1orAing as a grader for Ralph Rodrigue3 pro!ided both much%needed financial assistance during my final years at 'ro1n and a deep insight into the field of )thnic Studies* At (C(, 4 ha!e al1ays felt !ery much at home e!en though 4 1as not officially a grad student there* 4 1as fortunate to 1orA as a Teaching Assistant for a number of (C( courses in critical theory, film, and ne1 media* Teaching alongside (ary%Ann Doane, 9endy Chun, and 7ynne 8oyrich has shaped my desire to connect research and pedagogy ?and to teach poststructuralism to unsuspecting undergrads@* 4n addition to my home departments, 4 also need to mention %igital &umanities 'uarterl( and the Sheridan Center for Teaching and 7earning as t1o 'ro1n institutions

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that 1ere of crucial importance to my life as a grad student* %igital &umanities 'uarterl( offered me the possibility of gathering professional experience beyond academic research and teaching by hiring me as (anaging )ditor, a position 4 happily held for three years* During this time, 4 1orAed closely 1ith 8ulia landers, the editor%in% chief of D,Q, 1ho introduced me to the field of Digital ,umanities and 1ho 1as most patient in teaching me N(7* 4 am most grateful to 8ulia and to D,Q for sponsoring me during my final year at 'ro1nL1ithout D,QBs assistance 4 1ould not ha!e been able to finish my dissertation* The people and programs at the Sheridan Center ha!e been central to the de!elopment of my pedagogical outlooA and sAills* 4 1ant to thanA 7aura ,ess and +athy TaAayama for their 1onderful professionali3ation seminar and for their assistance in de!eloping my teaching portfolio* 4 also cherished my 1orA as a teaching consultant for the Sheridan Center* As a teaching consultant, 4 obser!ed many hours of graduate student teaching at 'ro1n and the Rhode 4sland School of Design* Sitting in on astronomy lessons on top of 'arus%,olley or 1atching a pottery demonstration at R4SD allo1ed me to looA beyond my disciplinary focus and encouraged me to thinA about pedagogy in multiple settings and for di!erse groups of students* 4 also 1ant to thanA e!eryone 1ho pro!ided me 1ith a life apart from 1riting, researching, and teaching* At 'ro1n, those people included the loyal Battlestar )alactica !ie1ing group, 1hich, at its core, consisted of 8ulie 7e!in%Russo, Da!id 'ering%&orter, 7ynne 8oyrich, and myself* 9e spent many a riday night huddled around

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a TV set trying to figure out if the Cylons indeed had a plan all along ?the 2uestion remains unresol!ed no matter 1hat Ronald D* (oore says@* Dne of the most exciting e!ents in 1hich 4 participated at 'ro1n 1as a result of these geeAy TV pleasures, namely the ?Re@&roducing Battlestar )alactica panel in /00;* (any thanAs also go to Sarah 9ald and 8essica 8ohnson for hours spent together in a proCection booth during our shared Teaching Assistantship and for much support beyond that semester* 4 also need to thanA .ill ranA and Angela (a3aris for many spirited discussions on the intersections of history and theory* Df course there 1ere also people beyond 'ro1n 1ho 1ere in!aluable during grad school and dissertation 1riting* 4t 1as certainly fate that 7ouisa Stein and 4 met at the (edia in Transition conference at (4T in /00:* 7ouisa is an ama3ing friend and academic partner%in%crime* ,er dedication to her 1orA and her passion for life is al1ays inspiring* She has spent countless hours pro!iding constructi!e criticism on drafts of my articles and conference papers o!er the years* 9e ha!e attended many conferences together, including the incredible trip to SC(S in 7ondon in /00<* 4Bm looAing for1ard to many more conference trips 1ith her* Another good friend 4 made at the /00; (edia in Transition conference is Anne +ustrit3* 4 particularly 1ant to thanA Anne for introducing me to !idding and for sharing my enthusiasm of a good dessert* This list of thanA%yous 1ouldnBt be complete 1ithout mentioning .rete 're1er% 'aAAen, 1ho taught me so much about 1riting, and 1ithout a huge shout%out to Tara &ratt and Stephanie +enney, 1ho 1rite the best TV sho1 that is not currently on TV*

.rete, Tara, and Stephanie constantly remind me that academia is not the end%all and be% all of existence, 1hich is a !ery important reminder indeed* inally, 4 1ant to say thanA you for my familyBs steadfast support* (y mother has al1ays had complete faith in me and has al1ays supported me in 1hate!er 4 1ished to do, e!en if that meant that 4 1ould mo!e thousands of miles a1ay from home to pursue my &h*D* on a different continent* 9ords cannot ade2uately describe ho1 grateful 4 am to ha!e my familyBs support, no matter 1hat*

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Table of Contents 4ntroduction Chapter ": All That Visibility Allo1s, or (apping the Discourse of Queer Visibility Chapter /: To1ards the B.ay #0s:B Redefining Queer Visibility Through the 7ens of A4DS Chapter :: Dutside Space and Time: Screening Queerness in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( Chapter O: +e!in and Scotty .et (arried ?And ,ardly Anyone is 9atching@: "O/ Queer Visibility, &ri!acy, and the 'oundaries of )!eryday 7ife on Tele!ision Concluding RemarAs 'ibliography "E< "#/ "0; $: ": /0

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4KTRDD-CT4DK Queerness irre!erantly challenges a linear mode of conduction and transmission: there is no exact recipe for a 2ueer endea!or, no a priori system that taxonomi3es the linAages, discruptions, and contradictions into a tidy !essel* ?&uar, x!@

This dissertation examines the discourse of 2ueer !isibility as it has unfolded through a proliferation of gay, lesbian, and 2ueer representations in American film and tele!ision from "#$# to the present* -sing the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s as a focal point, 4 analy3e ho1 and 1hy a specific definition of 2ueer !isibility, namely one that adheres closely to a normati!e gay and lesbian identity, has become central to imagining 2ueer subCecti!ities and practices in American culture* (y analysis re!eals ho1 e2uating 2ueer !isibility 1ith gay and lesbian identities is a limited and limiting conceptuali3ation of a spectrum that includes a broader group of people, places, and 1ays of life* 4 strongly belie!e that analyses of 2ueer representations, practices, and subCecti!ities cannot, and should not, be contained in a series of linearly unfolding

":

"O examples* 9hile my chapters follo1 a loose chronological order, each chapter tra!erses a range of time periods, media forms, and theoretical frame1orAs to pro!ide an o!er!ie1 of the complex and often contradictory discourses that come together to shape 2ueer media !isibility* 4 examine 2ueer practices and representations that cross sexual, gender, and racial identificationsM 4 pursue connections across film, tele!ision, and print mediaM and 4 Cuxtapose academic and popular sources in order to articulate a broader 1ay of understanding 2ueer !isibility* (y chapters examine crucial turning points in the recent history of 2ueer !isibility, such as the initial response to the A4DS crisis during the "#E0s, )llen De.eneresB coming out in the "##0s, the reliance on spatiality and temporality to screen race and 2ueerness in recent films such as Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, and the defense of 1hite domesticity !ia an incorporation of gay male identity into tele!ision programs of the early /000s, including Brothers 3 Sisters* Some of these turning points Lthe A4DS crisis, )llenBs coming out, Bro0e1ac0 MountainLha!e recei!ed considerable scholarly attention* (y reexamination of these e!ents and media texts aims to maAe connections among aspects that ha!e pre!iously been considered to exist independently of one another* As such, 4 sho1, for example, ho1 Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( share a reliance on specific spatialities and temporalities to bring 2ueer romance to the screen, and 4 demonstrate ho1 struggles o!er the meaning of e!eryday life, family, sexuality, and race connects TV programs such as .llen and Brothers 3 Sisters* (oreo!er, existing accounts of these important moments in the discourse of 2ueer media !isibility obscure more than they re!eal* An aspect that is often deliberately

"< forgotten in academic and popular 1riting is the critical role that 1hiteness plays in facilitating 2ueer representations* Queer !isibility depends on 1hiteness as a screen, and 1hiteness%as%screen ser!es a dual purpose* irst, it functions as a proCection surface for complex representations of sexuality, and second, it obscures the central importance of race in enabling these representations* Via the analyses 4 carry out throughout the follo1ing four chapters, my research ad!ocates a broader perspecti!e on the !arious screening processes that shape 2ueer media !isibility* 4n Chapter ", FAll That Visibility Allo1s, or (apping the Discourse of Queer Visibility,H 4 introduce the broad historical and theoretical frame1orAs that shape 2ueer !isibility in American culture* The chapter begins 1ith an interrogation of the central concepts of this dissertation: !isibility, 2ueerness, race, and the closet* 4 outline ho1 the closet functions as a screen upon 1hich 2ueerness is rendered !isible* )mphasi3ing the crucial importance of 1hiteness to these screening processes, 4 maAe an initial inter!ention in the existing scholarly discourses of 2ueer media !isibility, especially regarding the scope and implications of the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s* Rather than representing a progressi!e or liberatory de!elopment, 4 argue that the proliferation of specifically denotati!e gay and lesbian representations during the "##0s has tried to cement one form of 2ueer !isibility as the only form of 2ueer !isibility, thus obscuring other possibilities of rendering 2ueerness !isible ?for example !ia connotati!e and other formal representational strategies@* The second half of the chapter challenges the usual history of 2ueer media !isibility* 4nstead of di!iding this history into a Fbefore and afterH story that proclaims an absence of 2ueer media representations

"$ before the abolition of the ,olly1ood &roduction Code ?1hich banned any denotati!ere presentation of same%sex intimacy in film@ in the late "#$0s and a proliferation of 2ueer !isibility in film and TV after1ards, 4 ad!ocate an approach that considers denotati!e and connotati!e elements as textually inseparable and as al1ays co%existing in media texts* This approach centers around an analysis that asAs 1hich forms of 2ueer !isibility ha!e existed 1hen, 1here, for 1hom, and under 1hat circumstances* 9hile other scholars ha!e put forth similar approaches, my theori3ation of the closet%as%screen and its raciali3ed underpinnings adds a ne1 dimension to existing 1ays of analy3ing the history and current state of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* Chapter /, FTo1ards the B.ay #0s:B Redefining Queer Visibility Through the 7ens of A4DSH re%examines the significance of A4DS to the proliferation of gay, lesbian, and 2ueer media representations* The A4DS crisis had a momentous impact on AmericaBs .7'T community: it led to a radical reimagination of 2ueer li!es and practices* This chapter examines 2ueer !isibility during the "#E0s from three distinct but o!erlapping angles 1ith the aim of pro!iding a thorough, but non%linear, insight into 2ueer !isibility during the A4DS crisis* The discourse of 2ueer !isibility and A4DS is fraught and complex, and 4 approach this complexity by bringing together significant aspects 1ithout trying to streamline them into a narrati!e of progressi!e de!elopment* The first part of the chapter analy3es ho1 ,4V and A4DS 1as rendered !isible in the mainstream media during the "#E0s* Ke1spaper and TV ne1s reports channeled confusing information about ,4VPA4DS into recogni3able types and metaphors that dre1 on pre%existing ideas about connections among de!iancy, 2ueer sexuality, and diseaseM these types and

"; metaphors still shape ho1 1e thinA about A4DS and &eople 1ith A4DS ?&9A@* The second part of the chapter focuses on the acti!ist group ACT -& ?A4DS Coalition to -nleash &o1er@, specifically the 1ays in 1hich their posters, !ideos, and direct action dismantled and reorgani3ed the discourse of 2ueer !isibility 1ithin the frame1orA of A4DS* The final part outlines the normali3ation of A4DSLthat is, the 1ays in 1hich its impact on the American nation stopped being percei!ed as emergency and became part of the bacAground noise of ongoing social crises* This normali3ation is of crucial significance to the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s* 4 argue that this explosion only became possible after the disarticulation of 2ueer sexuality and 2ueer identity that accompanied the normali3ation of A4DS: !ia the discourse of safe sex and !ia select media representations, including the film /hiladel4hia, a discourse of 2ueer identity emerged that pri!ileges monogamy, 1hiteness, and middle%class status o!er 2ueer practices that defy easy categori3ation* 9hereas A4DS inflected nearly all 2ueer media representations during the "#E0s, the disarticulation of sexuality and identity allo1ed for an emergence of gay and lesbian characters and storylines that e!entually blend seamlessly in to the media landscape* The follo1ing t1o chapters examine select media texts and discursi!e shifts of the "##0s in more detail* Chapter :, FDutside Space and Time: Screening Queerness in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(,H examines t1o films that ha!e been hailed as breaAthroughs for 2ueer !isibility* 9hile media critics praised both Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( for their critical representation of gay and transgender li!es and identities, 4 concentrate on the 1ays in 1hich both films rely on distant spaces and times

"E to mobili3e 2ueer representations that are ultimately nonthreatening to both the norms of ,olly1ood cinema and e!eryday life* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( offer a contradictory engagement 1ith the ideologically charged spaces of the 9est and the (id1est: on the one hand, they seem to challenge common perceptions of these regions by situating narrati!es of 2ueer li!es and romances in themM on the other hand, the films encapsulate and contain 2ueerness in remote spaces and times that seem distant from Fus,H the !ie1ers* (oreo!er, both films dra1 on raciali3ed histories to mobili3e their storylines, but an engagement 1ith the significance of race is almost completely screened out of the diegeses* .enre, mise%en%scene, and other formal aspects intersect to facilitate this screening of race and 2ueerness and its containment in remote spaces and times* 4nstead of considering Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( as films that broAe 1ith traditions of ,olly1ood film%maAing, 4 demonstrate ho1 both films rely on mainstream cinematic traditions to create !isions of 2ueerness that appear re!olutionary, but are ultimately !ery normati!e in their message about 2ueer subCecti!ities and romances* The final chapter, F+e!in and Scotty .et (arried ?And ,ardly Anyone is 9atching@: Queer Visibility, &ri!acy, and the 'oundaries of )!eryday 7ife on Tele!isionH continues my exploration of the mediaBs une!en engagement 1ith 2ueerness and race* Specifically, this chapter discusses ho1 2ueerness became a normal and normali3ed aspect of serial net1orA tele!ision bet1een the late "##0s and the early /000s* 9hile the coming out of )llen Degeneres and of her character on the sitcom .llen in "##; pro!oAed a media fren3y that capti!ated AmericansB attention for months, the 1edding of t1o male characters on the drama Brothers 3 Sisters in /00E 1ent nearly unnoticed* -sing the

"# comparison of these t1o tele!ision e!ents as a springboard, 4 examine ho1 2ueerness mo!es from something that is at odds 1ith the rhythms of 1hite, middle%class, American e!eryday life to being an important component of maintaining 1hite ideals of pri!acy and domesticity* (y analysis sho1s ho1 the type of 2ueer media !isibility that has emerged since the normali3ation of A4DS in the early "##0s linAs into cultural discourses about the American nation that emerged after the e!ents of #P""* AmericaBs redefined self%image has allo1ed for ?and perhaps necessitated@ a temporary and symbolic inclusion of those 2ueer Americans 1ho can adhere to specific class, race, and lifestyle norms* 9hile one might understand the lacA of a reaction to +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding as indication of greater inclusion of minority subCects on net1orA TV, my analysis situates this media e!ent in a larger cultural context of pri!acy and 1hite domesticity and in!ites a cautious attitude to1ards o!erly optimistic assessments of tele!isual notions of Fprogress*H All four chapters form cohesi!e units that pursue and examine one aspect of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility as it has emerged o!er the past forty years* .oing beyond the practice of single case studies, each chapter includes a Cuxtaposition of multiple media texts to underline the numerous screening mechanisms that filter the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* Across all chapters, o!erarching clusters of meaning emerge that demonstrate ho1 2ueer !isibility shapes and reflects not only media representations, but the real and imagined geographies, histories, and peoples of the American nation*

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C,A&T)R " All That Visibility Allo1s, or, (apping the Discourse of Queer Visibility 4n April "##;, )llen De.eneres appeared on the co!er of ,ime Maga5ine under the headline FQep, 4Bm .ay*H This 1ell%orchestrated coming out tooA no one by surpriseM after all, De.eneres and her character )llen (organ, the main character of the sitcom .llen, had had one foot out of the closet for months* This contradictory play of hide%and% seeA characteri3es much of the so%called Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH during the "##0s in the -nited States* Dften referred to as the Fgay #0s,H this decade sa1 a proliferation of 2ueer representations and heated debates in both the popular and academic press o!er the implications of this allegedly ne1 !isibility* 'ut 1as this apparently ne1%found !isibility really all that ne1G 9ho 1as being included ?and excluded@ from this particular form of 2ueer !isibilityG (ore precisely, in 1hat 1ays does the Aind of 2ueer !isibility that emerged out of the closet alongside )llen obscure other possibilities and traditions of imagining 2ueernessG These 2uestions are central to in!estigating the discourse of 2ueer !isibility during the "##0s and beyond* Qet these 2uestions are also too narro1 to allo1 a

/" comprehensi!e mapping of this discourse, as the phenomena and con!ersations that comprise it cannot be neatly di!ided into FbeforeH and FafterH the "##0s, or into F!isibleH and Fin!isibleH sexualities* Rather, this mapping re2uires a careful analysis of the many facets of 2ueer !isibility, particularly one that considers its focal point, namely the closet* The cultural logic that underpins the image and metaphor of the closet plays out in screening processes of !arious types: the closet acts liAe a screen upon 1hich images of 2ueerness are proCected e!en as it simultaneously screens out other facets of 2ueerness*" 4ntersecting discourses of race, sexuality, and gender shape and facilitate this screening of 2ueerness* 9hiteness plays a particularly crucial role in screening the closet: fre2uently, it acts as the screen upon 1hich the most prominent images of 2ueerness, such as )llen (organBs and )llen DegeneresB coming out, are proCected* Qet 1hile the closet%as%screen may appear solid at times, it is al1ays porous and can ne!er completely screen the more unruly facets of 2ueerness from !ie1* This chapter offers an o!er!ie1 of the !arious facets and of the multiple and contradictory screening processes that comprise the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* 4 begin 1ith laying out the multiple meanings and intersections of !isibility and 2ueerness* Thus, in the first section of this chapter, FTo See is (ore Than to +no1,H 4 interrogate 1hat !isibility signifies, particularly in relationship to Ano1ledge, po1er, and sexuality, and then 4 mo!e on to FThe (any Shades of QueerH through an in!estigation of 2ueer theory and its sometimes uneasy relationship to gay and lesbian identity politics* FThe Closet as a ScreenH 2uestions Fthe closetH and Fcoming outH as central metaphors of 2ueer
"

The idea of the closet as a screen 1as first articulated by Shane &helan in Se6ual Strangers: )a(s, Les1ians, and the %ilemmas o Citi5enshi4* 4 1ill elaborate on &helanBs concept and on my expansion of it in a later section of this chapter, namely FThe Closet as a Screen*H

// !isibility by shedding light on the raciali3ed underpinnings of these concepts* (oreo!er, 4 offer a fe1 1ays of reconsidering ho1 2ueer !isibility has been discussed in terms of media representations* F,olly1ood is abulous, and Al1ays ,as 'een: Queerness and RepresentationH challenges the progressi!e narrati!e usually told about 2ueer media representations ?namely, as a linear ad!ance from a time in 1hich 2ueerness 1as supposedly Fin!isibleH in the media to the present era in 1hich 1e are 1itnessing the Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH@* Together, these facets allo1 a preliminary o!er!ie1 of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility and my challenges to pre!ious conceptuali3ations of it, both of 1hich are then mapped out in more detail in subse2uent chapters*

Visibility: To See is (ore Than to +no1

The O6 ord .nglish %ictionar( defines F!isibilityH in the follo1ing 1ay:

a* The condition, state, or fact of being !isibleM !isible character or 2ualityM capacity of being seen ?in general, or under special conditions@*

b* The possibility of ?a !essel, etc*@ being seen under the conditions of distance, light, atmosphere, etc*, existing at a particular timeM hence con!ersely, the possibility of seeing, or the range of !ision, under such conditions*

/: Visibility, then, signifies both the possibility of 1eing seen and the possibility of seeing under certain general and special conditions* Accordingly, !isibility al1ays encompasses t1o processes: being identifiable and recogni3able, on the one hand, and identifyingPrecogni3ing, on the other* 4n other 1ords, !isibility exists in tension bet1een presence and perception, neither of 1hich are stable categories* &resence, in particular, is a matter of coming%into%being 1here !isibility is concerned* urthermore, as the O.% highlights, !isibility is subCect to certain general or special conditions that shape the moment of coming%into%being and the con!erse moment of being recogni3ed* 4n fact, it is these general and special conditions that determine ho1 and to 1hat extent something ?or someone@ can be percei!ed and ho1 1e see it ?or himPher@* Among the general conditions of !isibility, 1e can identify the relationship bet1een !ision and Ano1ledge* This relationship far exceeds the familiar phrase Fto see is to Ano1H and its suggested causality ?i*e* that Ano1ledge is the product and outcome of seeing somethingPsomeone@* Rather, as (ichel oucault and others ha!e obser!ed, !ision and Ano1ledge are in!ested by relations of po1er, and they are often part of a larger undertaAing that aims to control, to regulate, and to discipline ?%isci4line and /unish, /"$%/";@* oucault uses the example of the &anopticon, a se!enteenth century prison model in 1hich prisoners are continuously exposed to the un!erifiable ga3e of a guard, to formulate a theory of a disciplinary society* 4n disciplinary societies, obser!ation of oneBs self and of others ?in the form of constant assessment, regulation, and classification in institutions liAe schools, hospitals, factories, and prisons@ is Aey to the accumulation of Ano1ledge and the exercise of po1er* 4n such a system, it is presumed that the more you

/O obser!e, the more you Ano1, and the more po1er you can exercise, 1hile at the same time structuring your obser!ations according to specific guidelines, capturing Ano1ledge in forms and tables, and allo1ing the rules of the institution to guide disciplinary actions* 4n the disciplinary apparatus of constant sur!eillance, both obser!ee and obser!ant are therefore part of, as oucault puts it, Fthe panoptic machine, in!ested by its effects of po1erH ?ibid, /";@* ,ence, at the !ery least, Ano1ledge and !ision interact and determine each otherLone might only see something because one already Ano1s of or about it, or seeing something might reaffirm pre!iously existing conceptions of 1hat one sees* (oreo!er, the desire to see, to Ano1, and to identifyLin short, this F1ill to Ano1H ?and to seePbe seen@Lis al1ays already bound up in sexuality to the point 1here, in contemporary 9estern societies, FAno1ledgeH is sexual Ano1ledge ? oucault, ,he &istor( o Se6ualit(, $#@* oucault uses the practice of Christian confession as a starting point to de!elop his theory of Ano1ledge, sexuality, and subCecti!ity* rom a specific practice, the confession has spread to any model of engagement aiming to unco!er FhiddenH information* 4n the gi!e%and%taAe bet1een the one 1ho asAs and the one 1ho ans1ers, the FtruthH about a subCectBs inner self is brought to light, i*e* rendered !isibleM yet, this truth, according to oucault, has no prior existence before its constitution in discourse* rom the late nineteenth century on1ard, the truth about oneself 1as figured as sexual, to the point 1here sexuality became a problem of truth and of Ano1ledge ? oucault, ,he &istor( o Se6ualit(, $<%$E@* Visibility, then, is not simply a process of coming%into%being accompanied by recognition and identification, but rather is informed by Ano1ledge, po1er, and sexuality

/< Ldynamics that are central to subCecti!ity and society* 4n other 1ords, the process of 1ho and 1hat becomes !isible, in 1hich 1ays, and to 1hom in!ol!es a multi%faceted negotiation 1ith and 1ithin established regimes of po1er%Ano1ledge* The same dynamics also regulate that 1hich supposedly stays in!isible* As 4 1ill elaborate later, in!isibility is often a refusal to see rather than an impossibility of seeingLenacted, for instance, through the raciali3ed screening processes of the closet* The interaction bet1een po1er, Ano1ledge, sexuality, and race, as 1ell as the dichotomy of !isibilityPin!isibility, are the central constituti!e forces of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* An analysis of this discourse sho1s 1hy, and in 1hat 1ays, !isibility has gained such crucial importance to the articulation of 2ueer desires, acts, and identifications* 'efore 4 elaborate on that, ho1e!er, 4 1ant to sAetch out 1hat F2ueernessH means in this context*

The (any Shades of Queer Dn a most basic and general le!el, F2ueerH designates acts and practices that defy the heteronormati!e* 'eyond 1hat the combination of the t1o 1ords, FheteroH and Fnormati!e,H implies ?i*e* the imposition of heterosexuality as a norm@, heteronormati!ity constitutes a specific form of social organi3ation* 7auren 'erlant defines heteronormati!e culture as follo1s, Fa public culture, Curidical, social, and aesthetic, organi3ed for the promotion of a 1orld%saturating heterosexualityH ?"$@* FQueer,H then, 1hile referring to specific sexual practices, also implies a stance that opposes ho1 heterosexuality is used to organi3e central social institutions, including the la1, the family, public and pri!ate space, and the media* This oppositional understanding of F2ueerH is most pre!alent in

/$ 2ueer theory ?and scholarly 1orA dra1ing on its frame1orA@ as 1ell as in certain forms of political acti!ism* The insights of 2ueer theory ha!e allo1ed a disarticulation of sexual acts and sexual identities, thus facilitating the ?perhaps by no1 painfully ob!ious@ idea that a 1ide range of people, not limited to gays and lesbians, engage in F2ueerH sexual practices* Queer theory also insists on 2ueerness as central to social processes* 9hat 2ueer theory thus allo1s, ideally, is both a focused, local analysis of 2ueer li!es and 2ueer representations, and a connection of those locali3ed analyses to broader discourses and social dynamics that goes beyond positioning an oppressed minority in opposition to or in conflict 1ith a maCority group* The term F2ueerH has also been adopted by scholars and acti!ists as an umbrella term for Fgay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other non% heteronormati!e acts, some of 1hich may be heterosexual in nature*H 4 use F2ueerH in both senses, i*e* as an oppositional stance that challenges heteronormati!ity and as a short%hand ?especially 1hen 4 speaA of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility, mostly because !isibility is considered central to all the categories of identification that 4 listed@* ,o1e!er, 4Bm also a1are that F2ueerH is the product of a specific historical momentLthat it is a pre!iously derogatory term that 1as reclaimed in a specific political context and that the term 1as defined not only in opposition to the heteronormati!e but also against other 1ays of defining non%heterosexual identifications* As 8ames R* +eller and 7eslie Startnyer obser!e: 'orn in the desperate and contentious en!ironment of the A4DS crisis, B2ueerB adopted a more confrontational and radical political stance than 1as typical of the gay liberation mo!ement at that timeLa mo!ement that

/; has been characteri3ed as essentially capitulationist, seeAing to portray gays and lesbians as safe and bourgeois, not so much a challenge to as an emulation of heterosexual con!entions and !alues* ?:@ 9hether or not 2ueer politics 1as FreallyH more radical than those politics carried out under the label of FgayH and FlesbianH is an in!estigation 4 undertaAe in Chapter /* or no1, it is important to note that F2ueer,H especially in academic 1riting, is often used in implicit opposition to identity politics and in support of a conceptuali3ation of sexuality that emphasi3es acts and practices o!er identification 1ith a minority group often referred to as Fthe gay and lesbian communityH ?as if this is a stable category@* The conflicts surrounding the definitions of !isibility and of 2ueerness already indicate that 2ueer !isibility is a !olatile and complicated matter* Queer !isibility is often associated 1ith the emergence and definition of the .7'T community as minority group in the -*S* and 1ith the related political mo!ements that stri!e for the inclusion of .7'T Americans in terms of e2ual rights* Since the Stone1all riots in 8une of "#$#Lthe e!ent that has become commemorated as the originary moment for the gay and lesbian rights mo!ementLbeing !isible has often been understood as the cornerstone of .7'T identity* The t1in figures of coming out and of the closet shape this particular understanding of 2ueer !isibility* 9hile coming out of the closet is often imagined as enabling re!elations of communities and identities pre!iously Fhidden,H these processes also obscure as much as they re!eal* or a more comprehensi!e understanding of this simultaneous process of re!elation and obfuscation, it is necessary taAe a closer looA at ho1 Stone1all functions as a moment in gay and lesbian history often remembered as a turning point that

/E represents a collecti!e coming out*

FCome Dut, Come Dut 9here!er Qou AreH: Stone1all As 4 pre!iously mentioned, the riots that follo1ed the police raid of the Stone1all 4nn, a gay bar in .reen1ich Village, on 8une /;th, "#$#, ha!e become the focal point of American gay and lesbian history* Accounts of 1ho 1as there and 1hat exactly happened differ, but the basic story goes liAe this: during a routine raid of the Stone1all 4nn, patrons did not ac2uiesce to attempts of arrest but instead fought bacA* Clashes bet1een 2ueer patrons and the police continued for t1o more nights* Soon after1ards, the gay liberation mo!ement formed and spread all o!er the country, 1ith gay and lesbian people maAing their presence Ano1n to the media and to Fa!erage,H presumably heterosexual, Americans* This story of Stone1all Riots is a seducti!e, inspiring, and profoundly American story of triumph o!er ad!ersity, a narrati!e that characteri3es the popular stories of many other minority mo!ements in the /0th century* &aradoxically, it also imbues the Stone1all Riots 1ith 2ualities of the spontaneous and uni2ue: portraying it as an e!ent that 1as unprecedented and unstoppable* As this simultaneous figuring of Stone1all as part of a standard story of minority struggle and as a uni2ue e!ent already suggests, historians and acti!ists in!ested in .7Q history ha!e demonstrated that the e!ents that tooA place at the Stone1all 4nn 1ere neither unprecedented or uni2ue: there had been a number of other clashes bet1een police and gay patrons at bars in Ke1 QorA and other cities, and there most certainly had been other acti!ist efforts on behalf of gays and lesbians before 8une "#$#*

/# Despite the many historical accounts that document a !i!id gay and lesbian subculture in !arious cities and the beginning of gay and lesbian acti!ism in organi3ations such as The (attachine Society and The Daughters of 'ilitis from the "#<0s on1ards, Stone1all still stands for an explosi!e moment, the historical significance of 1hich 1as allegedly immediately apparent to e!eryone in!ol!ed ?see also (c.ary and 9asserman, "#@* 4n other 1ords, some of the acti!ism, and certainly the riots, prior to Stone1all ha!e been screened out from historical memory in order to facilitate the perception of Stone1all as extraordinary e!ent ?rather similar to ho1, as 4 1ill later elaborate, much of the 2ueer !isibility during the years "#;0%"##0 1as screened out to maAe room for the declaration of Fthe explosion of gay !isibilityH during the "##0s@* The raid and the protests at the Stone1all 4nn ha!e thus become Frecogni3edH as both the origin of 2ueer !isibility in the popular imagination and perhaps the most !isible e!ent of gay and lesbian history* 4n order to understand the !arious screening processes that contributed to the creation of Stone1all as the origin myth of 2ueer !isibility, it is necessary to looA at ho1 this e!ent has been marAed as both ordinary and extraordinary* The raid at the Stone1all 4nn falls s2uarely 1ithin the realm of the ordinary in the sense that raids of gay and lesbian bars 1ere a common occurrence in the "#<0s and "#$0s* Sociologists )li3abeth A* Armstrong and Su3anna (* Crage argue that these raids 1ere so fre2uent that a FscriptH detailing the beha!ior of police and patrons had emerged by the mid%"#$0s: Fpolice entered the premises, stopped acti!ities, and arrested patronsH ?;/E@* 9hile one might see a de!iation from this scriptLas, for example, in the form of a riotLas extraordinary for gay bar raids, riots in general 1ere common enough as part of

:0 other protest mo!ements in the late "#$0s* SAirmishes confined to one bar might not e!en be regarded as outstanding considering the much larger riots happening at the time* 4n fact, 8ohn DB)milio recounts that people sa1 the Stone1all riot and 1alAed past, shrugging it off as FCust another riotH ?FAfter Stone1all,H /O0@* Additionally, the Stone1all riots do not marA the first time patrons fought bacA against police* RemarAably similar e!ents tooA place in Ke1 QorA, 7os Angeles, and San rancisco throughout the "#$0s, but none of them attracted the attention or ha!e been remembered to the degree that the Stone1all riots did and ha!e* or example, 1hen gay patrons of a San rancisco coffee shop called ComptonBs Cafeteria fought bacA against police in August of "#$$, neither the media nor those in!ol!ed in gay acti!ism deemed the e!ent outstanding or inspirational* 4ndeed, the San rancisco homophile mo!ement, consisting largely of 1hite middle%class men, looAed do1n upon rioting as a form of Ffighting bacAH ?Armstrong and Crage, ;::@*/ 4n contrast to the radio silence surrounding the ComptonBs Cafeteria riot, the "#$; raid of the 'lacA Cat in 7os Angeles attracted significant attention from acti!ists and the media* ollo1%up demonstrations against police brutality dre1 protesters from di!erse bacAgrounds* 7illian aderman and Stuart Timmons obser!e that Fafter a couple of years of 1itnessing other minority groups demand their rights, and e!en taAe to the streets for them, many 7os Angeles homosexuals 1ere no1 un1illing to absorb such outrage 1ithout response* &R4D) ?&ersonal Rights in Defense and )ducation, a radical gay acti!ist group founded in "#$$@ spoAe for them, organi3ing multiple protests outside the
/

The San rancisco homophile mo!ement didnBt participate in the one%year anni!ersary commemoration of Stone1all, either* Dnly 1hen the first &ride parades in Ke1 QorA and other cities 1ere a success did they begin to recogni3e the Stone1all Riots as important e!ent ?Armstrong and Crage,;::M ;O/@*

:" 'lacA CatH ?"<;@* aderman and Simmons point out that e!en though Fhundreds of onlooAersH assembled in addition to the protesters, and :,000 informational flyers 1ere handed out, Fthe demonstrations ne!er caught the attention of the media, and the 'lacA Cat did not taAe the role in gay history attributed to the Stone1all Rebellion t1o and a half years laterH ?"<;@* Ko long%term changes happened in terms of the relationship bet1een police and the gay communityM thus protests against the raid 1erenBt seen as successful ?Armstrong and Crage, ;:O@* As one of the main reasons for 1hy the protests remained relati!ely contained to the gay community, aderman and Simmons cite the spra1l that characteri3es the 7*A* cityscape, 1hich 7*A* Residents na!igate by car and not on foot* Conse2uently, Fchance passersby Rsuch as many of the Stone1all protesters had beenS 1ere scarceH ?"<;@* ,o1e!er, the raid did moti!ate acti!ist DicA (ichaels to turn his ne1sletter into a ne1spaper, 1hich e!entually became the maCor gay publication in the -nited States, the Advocate ?Armstrong and Crage, ;:<@*: Split attitudes to1ards different forms of acti!ism and city geography are thus among the factors that contributed to 1hat happened in the immediate aftermath of the riots in San rancisco and 7os Angeles* 'ut they donBt explain 1hy Stone1all became understood as different from or outstanding in contrast to these e!ents* &erhaps the acti!ist climate in Ke1 QorA City 1as more fa!orable in "#$# ?1ith the beginnings of a more radical acti!ism sparAed in the spring@M more people 1alAed around .reen1ich Village than they did in 7*A*M and the funeral of 8udy .arland led an edge of desperation to the mood in the gay community on 8une, /#th "#$# ?DB)milio, FAfter Stone1all,H /O0@*
:

4n the creation of the Advocate, the story of gay liberation intersects 1ith the history of tele!ision, as the people 1ho created it put together the first copies of the maga3ine by using the ressouces at their place of employment, namely the print shop that printed the scripts for A'C daily soaps ? aderman and Simmons, "<#@*

:/ Qet, as Armstrong and Crage contend, it is not the actual e!ents that maAe Stone1all memorable, but the fact that it 1as remembered, and indeed, deemed memorable ?;OO@* As after the raid on the 'lacA Cat in 7os Angeles, acti!ists in Ke1 QorA immediately organi3ed a reaction to the Stone1all raids, reali3ing that this e!ent could be used strategically for political purposes* They called Ke1 QorABs print media and alerted them to the ongoing riots* (oreo!er, only three days after the Stone1all Riots, acti!ists distributed flyers that already declared that the e!ent F1ill go do1n in history as the first time that thousands of ,omosexual men and 1omen 1ent out into the streets to protestH ?Teal, E, 2td in Armstrong and Crage, ;:E@* Three months later, at the )astern Regional Conference of ,omophile Drgani3ations in Ko!ember "#$#, Ke1 QorA acti!ists proposed a resolution to turn the Annual Reminder, a yearly picAet at &hiladelphiaBs 4ndependence ,all that started in "#$<, into an annual demonstration to commemorate Stone1all under the name FChristopher Street 7iberation DayH ?Armstrong and Crage, ;:E@* This push to maAe Stone1all a national commemorati!e e!ent depended crucially on pre!iously compiled mailing lists and gay independent media ?ibid, ;O0@* 4n 8une "#;0, .ay &ride parades tooA place in Ke1 QorA City and 7os Angeles, among other cities* Thus, it is not Stone1all per se that is outstandingM rather, the immediate construction of Stone1all as an historic e!ent at the hand of Ke1 QorABs gay acti!ists made it outstanding* 9hat is most significant about Armstrong and CrageBs argument is the shift a1ay from finding explanations for 1hy Stone1all 1as or 1as not outstanding or different, and to1ards an understanding of Stone1all as carefully constructed tool that

:: acti!ists used to ad!ocate their goals, the most important of 1hich 1ere to claim a presence in the media ?thus in the imagination of Fstraight AmericaH@ and to affirm the burgeoning discourses surrounding gay and lesbian identities* Thus, Stone1all is not an originary e!ent that finally pushed gay acti!ism out of the closetM rather, acti!ists inscribed a particular narrati!e on the e!ents that tooA place at the Stone1all 4nn 1hile at the same time building an agenda of !isibility on this constructed narrati!e* The deliberate forgetfulness that surrounds the Stone1all Riots underlines the fragmentary and shifting constitution of 2ueer !isibility* 9hat emerges forcefully in histories of Stone1all is the constant reframing of e!ents and identities, and the repeated 2uestions of ho1 to understand and represent oneself, Fthe mo!ement,H and Fthe communityH both to insiders and outsiders ?and ho1 to dra1 lines around all these categories in the first place@* 4n the retelling of .7Q history, these contested !isibilities are screened in order to render a particular !ersion of 2ueerness !isible, usually one attached to the narrati!e structure of Fcoming out,H i*e* the story that something pre!iously hidden is re!ealed at one point and stays !isible from that point on1ards* Stone1all as origin story of gay liberation is one example of the !arious screening processes that comprise the discourse of 2ueer !isibility*

Screening the Closet As the !arious screening processes surrounding the Stone1all Riots sho1, it is misleading to thinA of Fcoming out of the closetH as a singular moment of crossing%o!er from a state or place that is FhiddenH to one that is !isible* )!en though the concept of

:O coming out relies on a spatial metaphor that describes an apparently finite transition from one space into another, it is best imagined as a continuous process* Thus, instead of one all%encompassing announcement of oneBs gay or lesbian identity, Fcoming outH is a laborious, repetiti!e process 1ithout endLone that has been thought of as fundamental to 2ueer identities, particularly after Stone1all* As )!e +osofsAy Sedg1icA explains in F)pistemology of the Closet,H e!ery meeting bet1een strangers Ferects ne1 closets 1hose fraught and characteristic la1s of o4tics and physics exact from at least gay people ne1 sur!eys, ne1 calculations, ne1 draughts and re2uisitions of secrecy or disclosureH ?O$, emphasis mine@* 4t is interesting that Sedg1icA chooses the 1ord FopticsH here to discuss the closet 1hen the term F!isibilityH is curiously absent from her o!erall discussion* Ke!ertheless, this 1ord choice underlines the importance of !isibility to understanding the epistemology of the closet: the spatial metaphor of the closet suggests an eitherPor state of being, 1hich is at the foundation of 2ueer !isibility ?one is either FinH or FoutH of the closet, i*e* either in!isible or !isible@, 1hen 2ueer !isibility is in fact a continuous process during 1hich multiple moments of being FinH and FoutH intersect* Also interesting is Sedg1icABs emphasis on Fat least gay people,H suggesting that the dynamics of the closet are more F!isibleH to 2ueer people than to straight people, 1ho find their identities and 1ays of life resonating 1ith the heteronormati!e demands surrounding them and 1ho conse2uently might not FseeH the pressure they can exert* 4n other 1ords, the propagated difficulty in identifying 2ueerness has more to do 1ith the allegedly blinding forces of heteronormati!ity than 1ith the !isibility or in!isibility of 2ueerness* rom this point of !ie1, heteronormati!ity is so !isible that it has cast other

:< sexual identifications into shado1* ollo1ing this line of thought, Shane &helan suggests that the closet actually acts liAe a screen: it FscreensH 2ueerness, or at least certain aspects of 2ueerness, from !ie1 1hile simultaneously ser!ing as the surface for heteronormati!e proCections ?#E@* This screening process leads, among other things, to the assumption that e!eryone is heterosexual until pro!en other1ise* ,o1e!er, the closet can ne!er fully screen 2ueerness from !ie1M a specter of 2ueer acts and identities al1ays remains, e!en in those spaces that appear to be fully saturated 1ith heteronormati!ity*O Thus, it isnBt so much that 2ueerness, or at least certain aspects of 2ueerness, are Fin!isibleH by default, but that there has been a concerted effort in society to declare them in!isible ?in part by promoting heterosexuality as FnormalH and FnaturalH@* Deeming 2ueerness Fin!isibleH only obscures it !ia the screening process of the closet: 2ueer acts and desires exist before and independently of coming%into%being in the moment of articulation, of Fcoming out*H (oreo!er, efforts nominally aimed at remo!ing 2ueerness from public !ie1Lpublic here meaning a 1hole host of institutions and !enues of representation ?employment by the state, ci!il rights, such as the right to marry and recei!e certain benefits, narrati!es of 2ueer romance in film and tele!ision, etc*@LdidnBt actually maAe 2ueerness disappear, but marAed it as Fde!iantH and discussed it as such* This Fde!iantH 2ueerness manifested itself in the !ery spaces from 1hich it 1as supposed to disappear, including sites ranging
O

The connection bet1een de!iant sexualities and secrecyPin!isibility isnBt an entirely ne1 insight, of course* 'oth (ichel oucault and )!e Sedg1icA ha!e sho1n ho1 this connection has become manifest o!er time* Sedg1icA characteri3es the increasingly intensifying association of sexuality and secrecy in the follo1ing 1ay: FThe gradually reifying effect of this refusal Rof same%sex desireS meant that by the end of the "#th century, 1hen it had become fully currentLas ob!ious to Queen Victoria as to reudLthat Ano1ledge meant sexual Ano1ledge, and secrets sexual secrets, there had in fact de!eloped one particular sexuality that 1as distinctly constituted as secrecyH ?Sedg1icA, O#@*

:$ from public parAs to ,olly1ood cinema* Considering all of this, it is more producti!e to asA 1hich forms of 2ueer expression ha!e existed 1here, 1hen, and for 1hom, rather than holding on to a strict distinction bet1een F!isibleH and Fin!isible*H That is, understanding the closet as a screen, as &helan proposes, allo1s for a more precise mapping of this discourse of 2ueer !isibility* (y analysis of the screening processes that are in effect in histories of the Stone1all Riots are an example of such an approach* 'ut 4 1ant to taAe &helanBs conceptuali3ation of the closet%as%screen one step further and argue that, 1hile this screen ser!es as a proCection surface for heteronormati!e ideals, it also allo1s for the coming%into%being of specific types of 2ueer !isibilities, namely those that can nominally adhere to certain class, race, and gender norms* This broader understanding of the closet%as%screen becomes particularly important 1hen one considers that e!en those scholars 1ho are concerned 1ith critically analy3ing the alleged necessity of rendering 2ueerness !isible often also rely on a screening process to facilitate this coming%into%being as 2ueer* As 4 pre!iously argued regarding .7Q history, it is not only the demands of heteronormati!ity that screen 2ueerness, but also those 1ho, one might assume, are concerned 1ith rendering the entire spectrum of 2ueer identities, practices, and communities !isible* The most fre2uently appearing screening process comes into effect in comparisons bet1een sexuality, race, and sex* As a first obser!ation in such analyses, scholars typically mention, often in a casual 1ay, that sexuality needs to be rendered !isible because it is not F1ritten on the bodyH in the 1ay that race and sex apparently are* or example, in "#E:, Richard Dyer obser!ed, FA maCor factor about being gay is that it doesnBt sho1* There is nothing about gay peopleBs

:; physiognomy that declares them gay, no e2ui!alents to the biological marAers of sex and raceH ?FSeen to be belie!ed,H /0@* (ore recently, in /00", Su3anna 9alters 1rote, F-nliAe people of color, and 1omen, gays are not necessarily or ine!itably B!isible*B (ost of the time, difference is not marAed on our bodiesH ?/E@* Such comparisons bet1een sexuality, race, sex, and gender, ho1e!er, yield incredibly problematic arguments for a number of reasons* Dne, in both DyerBs and 9altersB assessments, the imagined gays and lesbians lead li!es that are remo!ed from the percei!ed burden of constant !isibility* They are by implication 1hite: as 1hiteness is still the only racial category that can imagine itself as unmarAed, 2ueer subCects that exist outside of the regime of the !isible are 1hite by default*< T1o, the comparison stabili3es sex and race as categories in 1ays that are untenableM specifically, assertions liAe those made by 9alters and Dyer render sex and race as easily FlegibleH in order to facilitate an analysis of the complex processes that allo1 2ueerness to become !isible in media representations* 9hat is obscured in this comparison are the 1ays in 1hich raciali3ation has an uneasy relationship to !isibility as 1ell: race isnBt F!isibleH because of bodily marAers, but because certain cultural discourses construct a specific 1ay of FseeingH race that is al1ays already an interpretation, not simply a reading of embodied Ffacts*H$ Three, this comparison neglects the fact that sexuality, rather than being merely a parallel category, is al1ays bound up 1ith race and sex: 2ueer people are al1ays also sexed, gendered, and raced in multiple, mutually constituti!e yet often conflicting, 1ays ?Cust as
<

or an account of ho1 homosexuality became associated 1ith 1hiteness by modeling gay politics on the Ci!il Rights (o!ement, see .u3man, #O* Also, this 1hiteness is inscribed by certain class norms* As 4 discuss in Chapter :, those people 1ho are positioned as F1hite trashH cannot inhabit the category of FunmarAedH 1hiteness as their class position 2ualifies and intersects 1ith their racial identity* See (ichael Dmi and ,o1ard 9inantBs Racial *ormation in the 7nited States: *rom the !"#8s to the !""8s, especially <:%;;*

:E Fpeople of colorH and F1omenH are constituted by discourses of sexuality as 1ell as those of race and gender@* 4n other 1ords, comparisons bet1een 2ueer !isibility, race, sex, and gender, and the implicit o!ersights of such comparisons, are problematic because they obscure crucial processes of raciali3ation and their intersection 1ith discourses of sexuality and gender* 4n fact, these o!ersights amount to 1hat 4 1ant to call a screening of raceLthey Fscreen outH the importance of race and raciali3ation in the construction of 2ueer !isibility* This differentiation of race and sexuality into t1o categories that can be compared, but are considered to be separate, has a long%standing history* This tendency to consider processes of raciali3ation and of categori3ing sexual identifications as parallel but unrelated goes bacA to the late "#th century* Qet, as Shioban Somer!ille argues, concerns o!er ho1 to define FblacAH andP!ersus F1hite,H and FhomosexualH andP!ersus FheterosexualH 1erenBt parallel or analogous e!ents, but rather linAed and constituti!e of one another ?:@* As such, the 1orA of early sexologists, for example, borro1ed from and relied on methodologies of categori3ing bodies that emerged from studies trying to determine racial difference ?ibid, "0@* Another example of the intert1ining of discourses of race and sexuality emerges in the 1ay that the late nineteenth%century figures of the blacA rapist and the murderous lesbian 1ere mobili3ed as threats to 1hite 1omanhood and to 1hite domesticity ?Duggan, Sa44hic Slashers, :@* )!en these brief examples sho1 that ideas of homo% and heterosexuality ha!e been bound up 1ith specific concepts of race from the time that those ideas first circulated in both scientific and popular discourses* 4t is thus imperati!e to consider the

:# representation of both race and sexuality in conCunction 1ith one another, not as separate categories* 4n fact, the discourse of 2ueer !isibility is replete 1ith Cunctures that rely on the screening of race* or example, in addition to allo1ing the Stone1all riots to emerge as moment of origin of gay liberation, the screening processes at 1orA in retelling the e!ents at the Stone1all 4nn also often screen out race* 9hat goes often unmentioned in popular narrati!es about the Stone1all Riots is that those 1ho participated in the riots 1ere largely on the fringe of the gay and lesbian community in terms of racial and gender identifications ?DB)milio, FAfter Stone1all,H /O0%O"@* (ore recently, during the Congressional hearings on the 2uestion of 1hether or not to allo1 gays and lesbians in the military, those in fa!or of repealing the ban relied on maAing analogies bet1een discrimination based on race and on sexual orientation, yet did not in!ite a single 2ueer person of color to testify, thus upholding the impression that race and sexuality are separate matters and, specifically, that gays and lesbians are 1hite ?'erube, /O:@* The subse2uent chapters offer more in%depth analyses of crucial turning points that reshaped the discourse of 2ueer !isibility and its concurrent screening of race, including the A4DS crisis of the "#E0s, )llen De.eneresB coming out, the FbreaAthroughH films Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, as 1ell as the recent tele!ision program Brothers 3 Sisters* 4f one unscreens the importance of race in shaping the discourse of 2ueer !isibility, its most fundamental concepts, such as the closet and coming out, appear in a different light* (anolo .u3manBs study of gay 7atino men, for example, refutes the idea that not coming outLthat is, not to declare oneself as gayLto oneBs family or community

O0 is both a failure and a reaction to an oppressi!e, homophobic en!ironment* ,e argues that the absence of such a declaration in this particular cultural context Fis not an imposition of the code of silence on homosexual expression* Rather, this absence of speech, no longer talAing about things liAe marriage, represents a suspension of the assumption of heterosexuality* There is enormous amount of room for the expression of homosexuality under this absence of speech about homosexualityH ?EE@* This assessment is crucial for three reasons: one, it demonstrates that Fcoming outH is a specific cultural product, namely one that is largely FAngloH ?i*e* American and 1hite@M t1o, a decision against coming out is not al1ays a reaction to a hostile climate that suppresses all aspects of gay lifeM and three, that not%being%!isible ?in the sense of constantly coming%into%being as FgayH@ might create spaces in 1hich 2ueerness can flourish* -nderstanding the cultural specificity of concepts such as Fcoming outH helps to interrogate the insistence on !isibility as fundamental to the formation of 2ueer subCecti!ities* This interrogation can then foster alternati!e ideas of ho1 2ueerness can manifest itself in spaces 1here 2ueer desires and acts undeniably exist but donBt re2uire explicit articulation in the ?1hite American@ tradition of Fbeing out*H 4nterestingly, one of those spaces exists in the midst of the American cultural imagination: ,olly1ood cinema, and more recently, commercial tele!ision* 'oth ha!e offered room for specters of 2ueerness that are not definitely described or represented* At the same time, the insight that Fbeing outH is a mostly ?Anglo%@American concept also underlines that it is often closely aligned 1ith 1hiteness, especially 1hen it comes to 1hat are often the most !isible facets of 2ueerness, namely those found in media representations* 4n the follo1ing

O" section, 4 sAetch out !arious 2ueer traditions in ,olly1ood cinema and in tele!ision to underline that the de!elopments of the "##0s ha!e a long history and especially to call attention to aspects of this history that are fre2uently as deliberately forgotten as the importance of race 1hen it comes to mapping the discourse of 2ueer !isibility*

,olly1ood is abulous, and Al1ays ,as 'een: Queerness and (edia Representation As my pre!ious thoughts on the central role of race in the formation of 2ueer !isibility indicate, media representations play a central role in screening the closet* 4n fact, in a mass%mediated society such as contemporary American society, the 2uestion of 2ueer !isibility is al1ays tied to ho1 this !isibility is expressed in the mediaLin print, TV, film, and, most recently, in digital media* Dften, !isibility and representation are conflated: 2ueer !isibility is only possible, only comes into existence, through representation*; The e2uation of !isibility and representation is another reminder that !isibility is a discourse, not a pre%existing state of being that only finds expression in the media* Closely connected to the manifestation of 2ueerness in the media is the perception of it ?that is, the reception by members of the audience@, as presence and perception are presumed as the t1o hal!es that constitute !isibility* 4n fact, the 1ay !arious spectators Fsee,H that is, recogni3e and assess, manifestations of 2ueerness in the media is a crucial aspect of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* This close relationship bet1een manifestations of 2ueerness and the possibility of recogni3ing them also appears as a central motif in
;

FRepresentationH can also signify political representation, in the sense of 2ueer Americans being recogni3ed as politicalPci!ic constituents and thus as full citi3ens* The struggle o!er that form of representation is closely linAed to struggles o!er 2ueer !isibility in the media, as 2ueer images ha!e often been a rallying point for or against gay and lesbian ci!il rights* 4 elaborate this more fully in Chapters / and O*

O/ many academic studies de!oted to the exploration of 2ueer !isibility in the media* )llis ,ansonBs exclamation F4 can see againTH in the introduction to Out ,a0es: 'ueer ,heor( and *ilm, Richard DyerBs choice of 9o+ (ou See It as the title for his essay collection on gay and lesbian film, and the use of S4ectacular /assions as the title of 'rett armerBs study of gay male spectatorships, among many other examples, all point to the fact that in academic as 1ell as popular discourses, !isibility is intimately linAed to !ision, i*e* the ability to see or discern 2ueerness* Qet this discernment is a complex matter, in!ol!ing both production and reception, as 1ell as both 1hat is screened and screened out* Queer !isibility in the media, then, is a multi%faceted and fluid process, one that Alexander Doty so aptly defines as Fthose aspects of spectatorship, cultural readership, production, and textual coding that seem to establish spaces not described by, or contained 1ithin, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, or transgendered understandings and categori3ations of gender and sexualityH ?*laming Classics, ;@* Dne of the most important aspects to consider 1hen analy3ing 2ueer !isibility in the media is the fact that any o!ert representation of same%sex intimacy 1as, in effect, banned in ,olly1ood film and suspended in commercial -*S* TV for decades during the /0th century* 4n other 1ords, during the heyday of ,olly1ood cinema, and through the early years of tele!ision, the closet%as%screen primarily functioned to Aeep 2ueerness from manifesting itself on mo!ie and TV screens* 4mportantly, these constraints 1ere largely adopted !oluntarily and not as a result of court orders or in response to other legal inter!entions* Rather, the ban gre1 out of a sense on the part of those 1ho 1orAed in the media industry of 1hat Americans might be ready to see in film or TV* or the cinema,

O: the ,olly1ood &roduction Code 1as in effect from "#:O%"#$E* or most of that time, the representation of any form of sexuality 1as extremely limited: heterosexual desire could only be sho1n 1ithin certain parameters ?resulting in many closed%mouth Aisses and in the apparent preference of married couples to sleep in separate beds@, and Ftransgressi!eH sexualities, including interracial romance and any nominal representation of same%sex desire, 1ere not sho1n at allLat least not in any FexplicitH 1ays ?e!en if, as 4 1ill adress shortly, FimplicitH coding or connotation 1as 1idespread@* The ban of both interracial and same%sex romance once again underlines the close alignment of race and 2ueer sexualities, as both 1ere deemed too F2ueerH for the imagined tastes of mainstream ?read: 1hite and heterosexual@ America* 4n "#$", the Code 1as re!ised to allo1 limited depictions of homosexual subCect matter, and, in "#$E, it 1as abolished entirely and replaced by a ratings system* This system supposedly shifted the responsibility for content from the producers to the audience: theoretically, e!erything could no1 be sho1n in films, but 1ho 1as allo1ed to see this content 1as limited by age ?'enshoff and .riffin, #:M ":$@* Since the most profitable rating is &.%":, ho1e!er, production companies stri!e for content that 1ill be appro!ed for that rating* The desire to fulfill the re2uirements for earning this rating from the (&AA ?(otion &ictures Association of America@ constitutes another form of self% regulation as a large number of subCects ?often related to sexuality rather than, for example, !iolence@ are deemed inappropriate for the age group allo1ed to see films under the &.%": rating* Conse2uently, screening processes are still at 1orA in ,olly1ood today* As for TV, net1orAs mostly looA to ad!ertisers and their expectations 1hen

OO deciding 1hat subCects maAe for acceptable programming* 9hile the CC ? ederal Communications Commission@ has regulatory po1er o!er -*S* TV, it hasnBt enforced a singular set of standards similar to the cinemaBs &roduction CodeM rather, it is net1orAs and their Standards and &ractices offices that, typically, !oluntarily regulate TV content ?1ith some exceptions in 1hich the CC has issued fines for inappropriate content@* The !ariety and type of 2ueer content ?and e!en 1hat counts as F2ueerH content@ !aries among tele!ision net1orAs* 9hile A'C, K'C, ox, and the C9 subscribe to a !ery limited idea of 2ueer !isibility ?at least in terms of explicit narrati!es of .7'T people@, cable channels, especially those financed through subscriptions, such as Sho1time and ,'D, allo1 for a 1ider and more sexually explicit range of 2ueer !isibilities as part of their original programming* Qet, despite these representational constraints, the existence of the &roduction Code and of net1orA self%regulation didnBt ?and doesnBt@ entail an absence 2ueer representations from these media ?the contrary, rather@* They did, ho1e!er, shape 1hat Ainds of 2ueer !isibilities manifested themsel!es, and in 1hat 1ays* urthermore, the prohibitions and their partial repeals ?2ueer acts and desires can still only be sho1n in specific 1ays, after all@ ha!e also led to some critical blocAages and o!ersights, in!iting commentators to accept an o!erly simple di!ision of 2ueer !isibility in a FbeforeH and Fafter*H or example, one might be inclined to say that before the &roduction Code 1as lifted, 2ueer !isibility manifested itself mostly through FconnotationHLgestures, iconography, character typing, plot de!ices, genre structuresL1hereas, after a redefinition of this prohibition, FdenotationHLopenly gay and lesbian characters and

O< storylinesLbecame more pre!alent* This is an inaccurate di!ision, ho1e!er, since both denotati!e and connotati!e 2ueer !isibilities existed and continue to existLand, in fact, are textually inseparable* )!en the terms Fconnotati!eH and Fdenotati!eH are some1hat problematic if one adheres to the idea that anything in the realm of the connotati!e is merely secondary to the supposedly real and un2uestionable statement of the denotati!e ?'arthes, ;@* D*A* (iller, in his analysis of Alfred ,itchcocABs Ro4e ?"#OE@, sho1s ho1 connotati!e 2ueer elements in film manage to spread their meaning to all other signifiers precisely because the 2ueerness they represent is unstable and not clearly defined ?"/#@* The ambiguity that connotati!e elements containLleading spectators to 1onder 1hether or not there is something 2ueer about this character or that course of actionLinforms e!en supposedly safely heterosexual characters, rendering their sexuality as something to be doubted and by no means confirmed* 4n contrast, a denotati!e 2ueerness that is clearly defined 1ould not spread its signification in the same 1ayM rather, it 1ould be contained in the one character or course of action that is textually labeled as F2ueerH ?or FgayH or Flesbian,H etc*@* Thus, instead of considering 2ueer connotati!e significations in film as secondary to denotati!e ones, 4 argue for them as different 1ays of indicating 2ueer presences, both of 1hich ha!e specific conse2uences on the construction of meaning in the film as a 1hole* Additionally, 4 Coin Alexander Doty in a refusal to consider 2ueerness%!ia%connotation as mere FsubtextH to the supposedly straight textM rather, 2ueer and straight meanings co% exist on e2ual planes in the same text ?*laming Classics, /@* They are t1o sides of the closet%as%screen: 1hat is proCected denotati!ely onto it cannot exist independently of

O$ 1hat is seemingly screened out connotati!ely* 4n short, 4 consider denotation and connotation different registers of signification that appear alongside one another in cinematic and tele!isual texts* 4nstead of understanding connotati!e meanings as those that are FhiddenH or Fin!isible,H and denotati!e meanings as those that are FapparentH and Fclear%cut,H it is more producti!e and more important to asA 1hich forms of 2ueer expression ha!e existed 1here, 1hen, and for 1hom* 9ith this in mind, 4 1ant to map a history of 2ueer !isibility in the media that recogni3es both sides of the closet%as%screen !ia a fe1, !ery select examples* 4 1ill elaborate on parts of this history in more detail in subse2uent chapters, but for no1 4 pro!ide a general o!er!ie1 that fosters an understanding both of the !arious 1ays in 1hich 2ueer !isibility has been part of film and tele!ision and of ho1 scholars ha!e discussed this !isibility* To start this traCectory, consider an assessment that Su3anna 9alters, 1riting in /00", maAes at the beginning of her Fhistory of gays in TV,H as she calls it: FThe ne1 gay !isibility on TV is surely a dramatic departure from the history of the medium* 9hile film has long dealt 1ith gay subCects, albeit in a stereotyped and BtragicB 1ay, tele!isionBs Bfamily%focusedB format seemed to insist that gays and lesbians 1ere simply not part of the families that made up TV audiencesH ?<#@* The ne1 Fgay !isibilityH to 1hich 9alters refers is the proliferation of gay and lesbian images in the media during the "##0s, a de!elopment that is the main focus of her booA All the Rage: ,he Stor( o )a( -isi1ilit( in America* 9alters positions this Fne1H !isibility in contrast both to the presumed pre!ious absence or in!isibility of gays and lesbians on TV and to a long history of Fgay subCectsH in film ?itBs a little unclear 1hether she means FsubCectsH in

O; the sense of gay and lesbian characters or of gay and lesbian plotsPthemes, or perhaps both@* She locates this difference in medium specificityLaccording to 9alters, tele!isionBs heteronormati!e, familial form ?both in textual structure and contextual location@ made it more difficult for tele!ision programming than film to represent gays and lesbians, at least until recently* 9hile 4 agree 1ith 9altersB o!erall assessmentLnamely that gay and lesbian images became more fre2uent during the "##0sLmuch needs to be added to the story and her analysis of it* or example, the FlongH history of 2ueer !isibility in film is mirrored, to a certain extent, in tele!ision if one looAs beyond the narro1 conception of such !isibility as indicating only programs Fabout gays and lesbians,H or, in other 1ords, if one only considers the denotati!e proCections onto the closet%as%screen* 4ndeed, the idea that there is a pre%constituted community that either finds representation on TV or does not is problematic ?1hich, in all fairness, 9alters discusses as 1ell@* )!en gay and lesbian characters ?named as such by themsel!es or other characters in the texts@ found their 1ay onto TV screens long before the "##0s ?as, for example, in popular sitcoms such as All the *amil( and ,he Mar( ,(ler Moore Sho+ in the early "#;0sM in !arious (ade%for%TV mo!ies liAe An .arl( *rost from the early "#E0s on1ardsM or in drama series including %(nast( or Soa4 in the "#E0s@*E Similar denotati!e and connotati!e mechanisms to those used to represent 2ueerness in ,olly1ood films 1ere used on TV as 1ell ?i*e* coded characters, situations, and plots@, but 1hether or not those 1ere al1ays FtragicH and FstereotypedH is a 2uestionable notion* &articularly the issue of stereotypes and the !arious meanings they can hold deser!es more consideration* inally, 9alters
E

See 7arry .rossB chapter FTele!ision TaAes D!erH in 74 *rom Invisi1ilit(, E"%#:*

OE introduces the imagined, straight audience 1hich presumably has had much difficulty adCusting to 2ueer !isibility* This imaginary group of people commands the attention of media producers and scholars aliAe, 1ith often peculiar results* These aspectsLthe constitution of 2ueer !isibility in film and TV, and the similarities and differences bet1een those media, the 2uestion of stereotypes, and the imagined audienceLpro!ide a focus for my brief general o!er!ie1* As mentioned, film shares a number of connotations and denotations used to signify 2ueerness 1ith tele!ision, perhaps because 2ueer cinematic coding 1as already 1ell%established by the time that commercial TV became an institutionali3ed medium 1ith its o1n narrati!e con!entions* Qet there are significant differences bet1een ho1, in general, film and TV frame narrati!es and images, of course, and FfilmH and FTVH arenBt uniform media either* There ha!e been different possibilities for 2ueer representations in studio films and in independent films, for example, as there ha!e been in net1orA, cable, or public TV* Ke!ertheless, 2ueer cinematic codes that came into being in the ,olly1ood studio system had an impact on both independent film and TV* Considering the pre!alence of progressi!e narrati!es that circulate 1hen it comes to telling the history of 2ueer !isibility in the mediaLtypically presented as a mo!e from a homophobic past that disallo1ed 2ueer representations to a more open climate that allo1s the portrayal of gays and lesbiansLit is perhaps surprising to find that 2ueer images ha!e been part and parcel of ,olly1ood filmmaAing from its beginning* or example, the relationship bet1een .reta .arboBs character Christina and )li3abeth QoungBs character )bba in the "#:: (.( .rand film 'ueen Christina has all the

O# significations of a romance, including a shared Aiss* 4t is films liAe 'ueen Christina that maAe one 1onder if the institution of the &roduction Code 1as in part a response to the proliferation of 2ueerness in studio productions* Qet e!en once the &roduction Code 1as enforced, an arsenal of connotati!e de!ices allo1ed the continued presence of 2ueer images in ,olly1ood films* These include 2ueer characters, 1hich range from men 1ho appear a little Ftoo feminineH to 1omen 1ho are a little Ftoo masculineH ?corresponding to the idea that gender in!ersion 1as part of homosexuality, a theory that 1as popular in the early /0th century@ to character types such as the Fsissy,H Fthe sad young man,H or the Fspinster,H all of 1hom had a 2ueer air about them*# urthermore, beyond specific characters and character types, entire genres became outlets for 2ueer presences, including supernatural, horror, and musical films*"0 All three genres broAe through the con!entions of the e!eryday, be it !ia the intrusion of alien and ghostly beings or the sudden eruption into song and dance, thus challenging and disrupting ideas of 1hat 2ualifies as Fnormal*H )!en the melodrama, 1hich largely stayed 1ithin a realist frame1orA, made Fthe normalH 2uestionable by re!ealing the instability of marriage and family, often rendering them as institutions that confine and oppress, and by marAing this instability through moments of stylistic, iconographic, narrati!e excess and rupture*"" Queer producers and audiences also
#

"0

""

or detailed analyses of 2ueer character types in ,olly1ood cinema, see, for example, Richard DyerBs ,he Matter o Images, Andrea 9eissB -am4ire and -iolets: Les1ians in ilm, and &atricia 9hiteBs 7nInvited: Classical &oll(+ood Cinema and Les1ian Re4resenta1ilit(: or a 2ueer taAe on supernatural and horror films, see, for example, ,arry (* 'enshoffBs Monsters in the Closet: &omose6ualit( and &orror *ilm and Rhona 'ernsteinBs Attac0 o the Leading Ladies: )ender, Se6ualit(, and S4ectatorshi4 in Classic &orror CinemaM examples of 2ueer analyses of the musical are D*A* (illerBs A /lace or 7s: .ssa(s on the Broad+a( Musical and Alexander DotyBs FB(y 'eautiful 9icAednessB: The 9i3ard of D3 as 7esbian antasyH in *laming Classics* or more on ,olly1ood melodrama and its engagement 1ith normalcy, see Christine .ledhillBs &ome is Where the &eart is: Studies in Melodrama and the Woman2s *ilm*

<0 contributed to the continued circulation of 2ueer images* Some of the most famous FclassicsH are outcomes of behind%the%scenes struggles o!er 2ueer representations* (y fa!orite anecdote from Vito RussoBs history ,he Celluloid Closet details ho1, during the filming of Ben-&ur ?released in "#<#@, screenplay 1riter .ore Vidal, director 9illiam 9yler, and actor Stephen 'oyd agreed to portray the relationship bet1een main characters (essala, played by 'oyd, and 'en%,ur, played by Charlton ,eston, as one of former lo!ers to gi!e it more depth ?Russo, ;$@* ,eston 1as ne!er informed of this decision, but his performance certainly matches the emotional intensity of 'oydBs acting, thus pro!iding much fodder for possible 2ueer readings of this relationship* And audiences did picA up on 2ueer moments in, and 2ueer facets of, ,olly1ood films, de!eloping 1ays of Fseeing 2ueerlyH that spread beyond the subcultural le!el to become a!ailable for a mainstream audience*"/ 9hile some historical examples ?such as lesbians flocAing to see ,he 7ninvited or the more recent example of gay men finding 2ueer pleasures in ,o4 )un; are probably not 1idely Ano1n, ,he Wi5ard o O5 and ,he Roc0( &orror /icture Sho+ are recogni3ed and enCoyed as 2ueer cult classics by large numbers of people of !arying sexual identifications ?'enshoff and .riffin, "0, $$, "O;M Doty, *laming Classics, <O@* After the &roduction Code 1as abolished in "#$E and homosexuality could be named as such in ,olly1ood film again, films began to appear that denotati!ely narrati!i3ed gay characters and gay urban life* This does not mean that the earlier 2ueer registers disappeared or 1ere replaced by Fmore !isibleH representations* Rather, the
"/

or a more elaborate analysis of the 1ays in 1hich straight audiences see 2ueerly, see my article JThe Ad!entures of a Repressed armboy and the 'illionaire 9ho 7o!es ,im: Queer Spectatorship in Smallville andom*J 4n: ,een ,elevision: .ssa(s on /rogramming and *andom*

<" before%and%after story often told about 2ueer representations is testament to a shift in attention of those in!ested in 2ueer images ?a shift that is similar to the in!estment in coming out that characteri3es narrati!es of gay li!es and identities FbeforeH and FafterH Stone1all@* 'oth acti!ists of the ne1ly existing gay rights mo!ement and some media scholars chronicling the history of 2ueer media images gi!e preference to discussions of the meaning of these ne1 images because of the 1ays in 1hich the strategies employed by the media themsel!es shifted in modes that do!etailed 1ith ne1 social discourses of !isibility ?see, for example, the 1orA done by 7arry .ross, Su3anna 9alters, or Stephen Tropiano@* This shift in attention constitutes another example in 1hich scholars 1ho are in!ested in 2ueer !isibility use screening processes to facilitate their discussions: in order to highlight ne1ly possible denotati!e 2ueer representations, the continuing use of connotati!e 2ueer elements needs to be screened out* (oreo!er, the discussion of post% Code 2ueer !isibility often taAes place 1ithin the frame1orA of e!aluating Fpositi!eH !ersus Fnegati!eH images and of decrying the pre!alence of stereotypes in films and TV programs from the late "#$0s on1ard*": The so%called Ke1 Queer Cinema of the "##0s allo1ed for a point of con!ergence bet1een connotati!e and denotati!e manifestations of 2ueerness as 1ell as an
":

Stereotypes relate to the idea of Fpositi!eH and Fnegati!eH images in the follo1ing 1ay: a stereotype is considered a Fnegati!eH image because it reduces gays and lesbians to a limited number of character traits 1hich may or may not relate to ho1 gays and lesbians FreallyH are* Qet, in a circular logic, these characters traits are considered demeaning, in part, 4 1ould argue, because they ha!e become stereotypes* ,o1e!er, the fundamental problem 1ith the idea of di!iding representations into Fpositi!eH and Fnegati!eH images is the fact that a representation 1ill ne!er be able FaccuratelyH to represent reality* This is not only because the production of filmic and tele!isual representations is subCect to a number of formal constraints that shape 1hat and 1ho is being represented in 1hich 1ays, but also because FrealityH itself is an entirely unstable concept that is al1ays in part shaped by media representations* The complexity of stereotypes has been explored by Richard Dyer in A Matter o Image, Sasha Torres in Blac0, White, and In Color: ,elevision and Blac0 Civil Rights, and by 8ose )steban (uno3 in %isidenti ications: 'ueers o Color and the /er ormance o /olitics*

</ engagement 1ith stereotypes that goes beyond the Fpositi!eHPFnegati!eH frame1orA* The collection of independent films grouped under the label of Ke1 Queer Cinema challenges pre!ious gay and lesbian films on the le!el of both formal and narrati!e structures and of subCect matter* As '* Ruby Rich, 1ho coined the term FKe1 Queer Cinema,H put it in "##/, FDefinitely breaAing 1ith older humanist approaches and the films and tapes that accompanied identity politics, these 1orAs are irre!erent, energetic, alternately minimalist and excessi!e* Abo!e all, theyBre full of pleasureH ?"$@* (any filmmaAers 1ho contributed to Ke1 Queer Cinema 1ere themsel!es 2ueer and often from acti!ist bacAgrounds* 'ut films such as &eter 8acAsonBs &eavenl( Creatures ?"##O@ or Kancy (ecAlerBs Sister M( Sister ?"##O@ demonstrate that straight filmmaAers can also maAe films that construct 2ueer subCect matter in unexpected and challenging 1ays ?Aaron, #@* 9hile this might seem liAe an ob!ious obser!ation, the territorialism that is sometimes exhibited by 2ueer filmmaAers and 2ueer media scholars o!er their cultural pro!enance of 2ueer cinema maAes such a statement necessary and important* 9hile Ke1 Queer Cinema broAe 1ith or rein!isioned the politics of positi!e images, it used and re1orAed both the 2ueer cinematic coding of ,olly1ood film and the traditions of independent 2ueer filmmaAing* 4nstead of reCecting certain character types, liAe the gay !illain, as stereotypical andPor tragic, films such as S+oon ?"##/@Lan adaptation of ,itchcocABs Ro4e ?"#OE@Lembrace Fnegati!eH images and sho1 the producti!e and pleasurable forces that can be found in them* 4n fact, an engagement 1ith and 2ueer re1riting of classical ,olly1ood film is a recurring theme in Ke1 Queer Cinema* or example, Todd ,aynesB film /oison ?"##"@ re1orAs horror, prison, and

<: documentary genres through an excessi!e use of their distincti!e con!entionsLa mo!e that calls attention to the naturali3ation of cinematic styles* ,aynes further de!eloped this approach in *ar *rom &eaven ?/00/@: embodying the generic marAers of "#<0s melodrama, the film also dra1s on the possibility of portraying both 2ueer desires and interracial romance as such* 4 1ant to refrain from saying that the film maAes a pre!iously only implied 2ueerness and interracial romance F!isibleH because the non% normati!e aspects of "#<0s melodrama +ere !isible, both to many audiences and to many people in the film industry* Rather, *ar *rom &eaven brings together connotati!e and denotati!e manifestations of illicit sexualityLone example of many 1here both modes exist side%by%side in the same film* Thus, instead of approaching the film as one that undoes the suppression of 2ueer and interacial images in ,olly1oodBs past, it is more accurate to consider it as an insistence on the non%normati!e that has al1ays been a part of our media culture* Despite *ar *rom &eavenBs attempt to address both sexuality and race 1ithin cinematic codes and history, the one area in 1hich Ke1 Queer Cinema did not breaA 1ith ,olly1oodBs tradition is its engagement 1ith race* )!en though a fe1 films, such as Lie %o+n +ith %ogs ?"##<@, Love< -alor< Com4assionT ?"##;@, or =e re( ?"##<@, feature a di!erse cast, an interrogation of the 1ays in 1hich race and desire intersect often fall flat or are absent entirely* 8ose )steban (uno3 calls these moments of di!ersity Fdetours into differenceH that do not challenge the o!erall 1hiteness of these films ?FDead 9hite,H ":0@* Another Todd ,aynesB film, namely Sa e ?"##<@, represents an exception to this practice, (uno3 explains, as it defamiliari3es both 1hiteness and heteronormati!ity*

<O )xploring the increasing illness%induced estrangement of a 1hite married 1oman from the 1orld of suburbia, ,aynes relies on connotation to tell a parable about A4DS that engages 1ith the correlation of sexuality and race 1ithout reducing it to a detour into difference ?)steban, FDead 9hite,H ":$@* Turning no1 to TV, 4 1ant to come bacA to 9alterBs assessment of the nearly complete absence of 2ueer representations on tele!ision before the "##0s* At the end of her Fbrief history of gays in TV,H she summari3es, FSo, historically speaAing, 1e ha!e a mo!e from an almost totally in!isibility ?and 1hen !isible, almost total stereotyping@ to an increased presence, albeit a fla1ed, sporadic, and episodic one, to a bacAlash against that increased presence that then pa!es the 1ay for the more substanti!e Bopen doorB that 1e are no1 1itnessingH ?$<@* Qet the before%and%after story embedded in her historical o!er!ie1 focuses almost entirely on denotati!e representations of 2ueerness and accepts the binary categories of F!isibleH !s* Fin!isibleH as the basis of this discourse* 9alters maAes one passing reference to potential FsubtextH in the Fbest friendsH sitcom >atie and Allie ?"#EO%"#E#@ and one reference to the camp sensibilities of the prime%time soap %(nast( ?"#E"%"#E#@, but other1ise, connotati!e 2ueerness doesnBt exist for 9alters* Qet e!en if one 1ere to focus only on those representations that are considered denotati!e, a rich history unfolds* The e!ents that tooA place at the Stone1all 4nn and the subse2uent formation of the gay liberation mo!ement recei!ed a great deal of mainstream media co!erageM e!en before then, TV ne1s reports dealt 1ith the issue of homosexuality ?'enshoff and .riffin, ":0@* The A4DS crisis during the "#E0s also led to numerous ne1spaper and tele!ision reports in!estigating gay life and communities* 4f maCor ne1s

<< outlets as 1ell as the aforementioned TV dramas and comedies engage 1ith 2ueer subCects, ho1 can 9alters insist that 2ueerness 1as Falmost totallyH in!isible before "##0G urther, in addition to these denotati!e representations, many of the connotati!e de!ices used in 2ueer cinematic coding, as 1ell as codes more specific to TV, are also at 1orA in tele!ision* The 1orlds of homosocial sitcoms such as >atie and Allie, ,hree2s Com4an( ?"#;;%"#EO@, and Laverne and Shirle( ?"#;$%"#E:@ are ripe 1ith 2ueer meaningsLto the point, for instance, 1here singular episodes featuring mistaAen%identity plots ?1hen the main characters are percei!ed as gay, 1hich gi!es them a chance to articulate their heterosexuality@ ha!e the tasA of ?unsuccessfully@ containing all the 2ueer possibilities offered through the sho1sB diegeses ?Doty, Ma0ing ,hings /er ectl( 'ueer, O:@* 'ut e!en more direct linAs can be established bet1een 2ueer cinematic coding and current tele!ision* Smallville ?/00"%present@, for example, a sho1 detailing the youth of Superman, features recurring appearances of genetically mutated FfreaAsH that lead the entire ensemble of main characters to 1onder 1hether or not they might be FfreaAsH as 1ell ?and at this point, all of them ha!e disco!ered that they, in fact, are@* The articulation of difference !ia the FfreaAH metaphor is easy to discern here, and the long%standing e2uation of the supernatural 1ith non%normati!e sexualities, as 1ell as the dialogue that frames being a FfreaAH in terms that compare it to closeted homosexuality, firmly embed 2ueerness at the center of SmallvilleBs diegesis* Considering all this e!idence, it is simply incorrect to say that 2ueerness 1as FlargelyH absent from tele!ision until recently* 4n fact, 4 1ould suggest that the Fexplosion

<$ of gay !isibilityH during the "##0s is a cementation of one form of 2ueer !isibility as the ?only@ form of 2ueer !isibility* rom this narro1 point of !ie1, 2ueer !isibility becomes compressed into gay and lesbian characters andPor plots that explicitly deal 1ith gay and lesbian li!es: categories that ha!e specific boundaries and can be opposed to heterosexual characters and storylines* 4n contrast, as 4 mentioned earlier, connotati!e 2ueer presences arenBt as easily contained or defined: liAe the supernatural and FfreaAishH presences 1ith 1hich they 1ere often associated in ,olly1ood films, they can appear any1here at any moment, including commercial tele!ision* Thus, 1hile the proliferation of gay and lesbian characters on TV during the "##0s made 2ueerness tangible and undeniable, it can also be read as an attempt to limit ho1 2ueerness can manifest itself on tele!ision, and it gi!es the illusion that anyone and anything outside of those marAed characters or storylines is safely heterosexual* rom this point of !ie1, the de!elopments of the "##0s arenBt 2uite as hopeful as, for example, the co!er story of .ntertainment Wee0l( suggested 1hen it announced that entertainment had come out of the closetLthough the image of the closet is perhaps the perfect choice for these de!elopments as it dra1s attention to some of the screening processes that regulate 2ueer !isibility and di!ide it into F!isibleH and Fin!isibleH hal!es* 'ut it is not only connotati!e 2ueer significations that are screened out of the stories told about the Fgay #0s*H The importance of 1hiteness in the screening of the closet that enables these Fne1H 2ueer representations doesnBt play a role in either .ntertainment Wee0l(Bs nor Susanna 9alterBs account of the Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH despite the fact that most of their examples feature 1hite gay and lesbian characters or

<; storylines* This is curious because the 1hiteness of those films and TV sho1s that are most fre2uently analy3ed in accounts of the Fgay #0sH is nearly blindingLfor example, programs such as .llen, Will3)race, or 'ueer as *ol0 center on the li!es of 1hite people, yet this is rarely included as factor in discussing 1hat Aind of 2ueer !isibility is being represented there*"O To once more return to the metaphor of the screen, one reali3es that it is the 1hiteness of the characters that their !arious sexualities are proCected upon, rendering it as seemingly nothing more than the surface on 1hich negotiations surrounding 2ueer and straight sexualities taAe place* 'ut, as 4 elaborated before ?and 1ill elaborate e!en further in Chapter : and O@, screening 2ueerness al1ays also includes moments of obfuscation, and in this case, it is the significance of race that is obscured* 'y reinscribing 1hiteness as that racial category 1hich doesnBt ha!e to explain itself, these programs continue the proCect of representing race and sexuality as unrelated social formations* Conse2uently, the persistence of 1hiteness in these programs is not simply or merely indicati!e of a failure to be more inclusi!e on the part of producers and net1orAs, or a perpetuation of tele!isionBs racial politics* Rather, 1hiteness becomes a necessary component of this particular expression of 2ueer !isibility*

To1ards ,omonationalism A reconsideration of celebrating the Fgay B#0s,H and its raciali3ed underpinnings, becomes a particularly pressing matter considering 1hat, in describing our current political and cultural landscape, 7isa Duggan refers to as the Fne1 homonormati!ity*H
"O

Df course there are some notable exceptions here, both in terms of scholarly analysisLRebecca Claire 'eirneBs essay on 'ueer As *ol0 comes to mind hereLand in terms of programmingLfor example, ,he L Word, ,he Wire, O5, and a range of reality TV programs such as ,he Real World feature 2ueers of color*

<E ,omonormati!ity comprises Fa politics that does not contest dominant heteronormati!e assumptions and institutions but upholds and sustains them 1hile promising the possibility of a demobili3ed gay constituency and a pri!ati3ed, depolitici3ed gay culture anchored in domesticity and consumptionH ?";#@* 4n other 1ords, the homonormati!e describes non%heterosexual identifications and 1ays of life that intersect 1ith heterosexual ones in 1ays that donBt challenge the o!erarching demands of heteronormati!ity* As examples of homonormati!e politics, Duggan lists groups and indi!iduals that rose to prominence during the "##0s, such as the 7og Cabin Republicans and the 1ritings by gay conser!ati!es such 'ruce 'a1er and Andre1 Sulli!an* Although there is, of course, some debate about this, certain gay rights organi3ations, such as the ,uman Rights Campaign, might also fall under this banner* As Shane &helan obser!es, FRtSheir membership, agenda, and strategies are resolutely 1hite, middle%class, and assimilationistH ?"00@, suggesting that, e!en though 1e might imagine gay and lesbian political acti!ism to pose a challenge to the general social order ?perhaps due to the left% leaning history of these politics, or because they are consistently portrayed as such by their opponents@, it 1ill not al1ays include that* 4n fact, ad!ocacy carried out under the banner of gay and lesbian identity politics might only represent a fraction of those 1ho identify as gay or lesbian* 4t is this rendering !isible of a particular Aind of 2ueer identity that frames the alleged explosion of gay !isibility in the media during the same decade* 4n fact, homonormati!ity and the celebration of denotati!e 2ueer media images as the most Fprogressi!eH Aind of 2ueer !isibility go hand in hand*"< or example, the emphasis on
"<

4n this context, it is interesting to consider 8asbir &uarBs obser!ation that F2ueer !isibility also functions

<# domesticity and consumption that Duggan singles out as characteristic of homonormati!ity lends itself to an integration of gay and lesbian representations into the familial and commercial 1orld of net1orA TV* 4ndeed, the insistence on a clear di!ision bet1een denotati!e and connotati!e 2ueer representations feeds into the proCect of recogni3ing only homonormati!e 2ueer representations as significant, or e!en as the onl( forms of 2ueer !isibility* ,omonormati!e politics and representations become particularly suspicious after the e!ents of #P""* .i!en those e!ents and their aftermath, in recent years, homonormati!e efforts ha!e been yoAed to a patriotic agenda* This Fhomonationalism,H as 8asbir &uar puts it, allo1s gays and lesbians of a certain class, race, and lifestyle to be symbolically included in the nationLsymbolically, of course, because this inclusion doesnBt erase ine2ualities in terms of access to certain rights ?F(apping,H $E@* The underpinning of this inclusion is the opposition of the acceptable ?straight or gay@ subCect to the abCect subCect, often embodied in the figure of the terrorist* Queerness and 1hiteness merge to produce proud American subCects that subscribe to discourses of American exceptionalism and di!ersity and are positioned in opposition to raciali3ed, 2ueer others ?,errorist Assem1lages, /@* This mo!e to1ards homonationalism is prominently echoed and ad!ocated in TV programming that relies on 1hiteness as a screen for the production of 2ueer !isibility ?A'CBs program Brothers3Sisters, 1hich 4 analy3e in%depth in Chapter O, comes to mind as the clearest example@* Conse2uently, the longstanding connection bet1een heterosexuality and the nation that had disallo1ed
as marAing of a moment of BrealB and definiti!e sexual subCecti!ityH ?FTransnational Configurations of Desire,H ";E@* 4n other 1ords, only denotati!e representations of 2ueerness are deemed FrealH 1hereas those 1hich are FmerelyH connotati!e are dismissed*

$0 identifiable 2ueers as part of its imagined community is no longer as tenacious as pre!iously assumed ?'erlant, "#@* This doesnBt mean that heteronormati!ity is suddenly suspended, but rather that other concernsLparticularly surrounding race and religionL ha!e become so pressing that the demand to be heterosexual can be momentarily suspended in some cases* 4f particular gays and lesbians can still fit the remaining re2uirements that are tied to the heteronormati!e, such as a specific racial and class hierarchy or a specific model of the family and of long%term partnerships, they can be symbolically included in the nation* Situating the screening of race and 2ueerness in a broader context con!eys the urgency of rethinAing ho1 to analy3e and understand the homonormati!e !ersions of 2ueer media representations* This urgency becomes particularly ob!ious 1hen considering the flip side of the screening of race and 2ueerness: not only does 1hiteness under1rite 2ueer representations, but 2ueerness is dra1n into the proCect of maintaining 1hite hegemony* 4n other 1ords, homonormati!e 2ueerness must be 1hite in order to be integrated into the heteronormati!e frame1orA of the nation* The F1hitenessH in 2uestion here transcends a discourse of racial marAersM rather, as &uar obser!es, it Ffunctions to marA concluding impulses of a linear modernist telos of progress and de!elopment characteri3ed by the Barri!alB of the subCect often through class, educational, and income statusH ?FTransnational Configurations of Desire,H ";E@* This type of 1hat one could call symbolic 1hiteness thus functions in tandem 1ith homonormati!ity: the discourse of homonationalism constructs 2ueerness and racial others in such a 1ay that it allo1s e!en those 1ho nominally do not fit the demands of heteronormati!ity and 1hiteness to be

$" included in the nation, 1hile at the same time allo1ing the -nited States to appear as a nation that embraces a di!erse, multicultural population* 4n light of these de!elopments, the importance of recogni3ing the connection bet1een 1hiteness and 2ueerness, race and sexuality, 1hen it comes to analy3ing 2ueer media representations becomes a crucial tasA* (oreo!er, 4 argue that this normati!e discourse of 2ueer !isibility has been in the maAing for longer than either Duggan or &uar presume* 9hile &uar locates the shift to1ards homonationalism after #P"", and Duggan mostly discusses the "##0s 1hen it comes to homonormati!ity, my analysis emphasi3es the important recognition that the discourse of 2ueer !isibility, as it has de!eloped since at least "#$#, has contributed the stepping stones for the !arious screening processes that characteri3e the current state of 2ueerness* 4ndeed, by tracing out the 1ays in 1hich 1hiteness has been a crucial factor in the facilitation of the so%called explosion of gay !isibility in the "##0s, 4 tease out the moments that lay the ground1orA of homonationalism 1hich comes into full force during the post%/00" F1ar on terror*H These insights about the !arious screening processes that influence the 1ays in 1hich 2ueerness manifests itself in society are crucial to a comprehensi!e mapping of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* They once again underline that !isibility is an unstable, contested category that is historically and culturally specific* urthermore, as this brief discussion of the central role that 1hiteness plays in facilitating certain types of 2ueer media representations during the "##0s sho1s, one of the most contested social sites in 1hich 2ueerness manifests itself is the mediaM indeed, it is film and tele!ision that ha!e long had a decisi!e impact on ho1 Americans understand 2ueer identities* Conse2uently,

$/ a di!ersification in analy3ing the !arious 1ays in 1hich 2ueer !isibility can manifest itself in film and on TV is an urgent proCect and much needed inter!ention in the screening of the closet* An analysis that demonstrates ho1 denotati!e representations stand alongside connotati!e representations, e!en in the same film or TV sho1, that looAs across genres, that taAes both form and content into considerationLindeed, that undoes these !ery di!isionsLand that recogni3es the crucial role that race plays in 2ueer !isibility produces a more thorough mapping of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* This mode of analysis also maAes it possible to linA current and past modes of 2ueer representations so as to underline that 2ueerness has al1ays existed in the midst of media representations* The follo1ing chapters undertaAe such an analysis and thus offer a ne1 1ay of understanding and conceptuali3ing the relationship bet1een !isibility, sexuality, race, subCecti!ity, politics, and representation*

C,A&T)R / To1ards the F.ay #0s:H Redefining Queer Visibility Through the 7ens of A4DS The dramatic increase in 2ueer !isibility did not begin 1ith the gays%in%the military issue, of course, but 1ith A4DS* or all our attempts to become !isible in the years after Stone1all, nothing 1e 1ere able to do for oursel!es ensured our !isibility so much as the horrible crisis that beset our communities in the early "#E0s* 4t goes 1ithout saying that that !isibility came at a terrible cost, the cost of hundreds of thousands ill, dying, and dead* 'ut the cost is not only in li!es but in the sort of !isibility 1e achie!ed* ?Crimp, Melancholia and Moralism, /;E@ Douglas Crimp maAes t1o important obser!ations regarding 2ueer !isibility: one, that it surfaced most strongly in the American cultural imagination during the A4DS crisis, and, as is commonly thought, not after Stone1all or during the so%called Fgay #0sMH and t1o, that the usual story about A4DS and the .7'T community, namely that it 1as a tragedy 1hich ultimately managed to get ?heterosexual@ Americans to reconsider their attitudes to1ards .7'T concerns, needs to be interrogated* 4n many 1ays, the impact of ,4VPA4DS on 2ueer identities, sexualities, and discourses forms the focal point of the thirty years 4 in!estigate in this dissertation* Reactions to A4DS 1ithin the gay community led to a radical reimagination of the type of FliberationH that the Stone1all riots initiated, on the one hand, and laid the foundation for the alleged Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH during the "##0s, on the other* This chapter has three parts that deliberately o!erlap* The first part focuses on the language and images that emerges in press and TV reports about A4DS, rendering ,4V $:

$O and A4DS !isible in types and metaphors in the cultural imaginationM the second part addresses acti!ist responses to mainstream A4DS discoursesM and the final part lays out ho1 the disarticulation of gay identity and gay sexuality in light of the A4DS crisis 1as crucial for maAing the so%called Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH in the "##0s possible* The three sections co!er similar ground from different angles in order to underline the complex intersections of 2ueer !isibility and A4DS and to sho1 ho1 profoundly ideas of 2ueer identities and sexuality changed throughout the "#E0s* Cindy &atton explains this type of exploration best 1hen she says, F,ere, in the landscape of the ,4V epidemic, 1e 1ill disco!er !ast tracAs of barren land, territories 1hose existence remains unspoAen, perhaps e!enLfor the time beingLunspeaAableH ?Inventing AI%S, :@* &attonBs !i!id in!ocation of the co%existence of speech and silence and of chartered and unchartered territories underlines the significance of discourse ?in its most literal definition as speech and in its more abstract meaning of media images, cultural protocols, regulatory mechanisms@ and of geography ?especially in regard to A4DS in the "#E0s, the urban landscape of (anhattan@ in understanding 2ueer !isibility 1ithin the frame1orA of A4DS* The 1eighing of speech against silence, of !isibility against in!isibility, of Fbeing outH against Fstaying in the closetH are deliberations that are al1ays central to 2ueer identities but that come into sharp relief in ACT -&Bs ?Aids Coalition to -nleash &o1er@ protests* 7iAe1ise, the struggle o!er geography, o!er the often indeterminate line of public and pri!ate, is central to the re%3oning of 2ueer !isibility during the A4DS crisis, and plays out most !isibly in the debate o!er the closing of gay bathhouses and bars in (anhattan* Choosing three o!erlapping angles from 1hich to examine the A4DS crisis is also

$< a deliberate mo!e against constructing one chronological narrati!e about A4DS* There is not one story about 2ueer !isibility and A4DS, but manyM these stories start and stop, intersect and contradict one another* (y intention is to pro!ide an o!er!ie1 of ho1 2ueer !isibility 1as redefined during the "#E0s, ultimately leading to the particular construction of 2ueer !isibility during the Fgay B#0sH but this o!er!ie1 necessarily remains partial ?both in terms of scope and focus@*

Rendering A4DS Visible The intersections of ,4VPA4DS, non%normati!e sexualities, and !isibility in!ol!e complex phenomena fraught 1ith explanations proCected in hindsight upon clusters of e!ents and people* The competing narrati!es surrounding the first diagnosis of A4DS in the -nited States are a good example of this pattern* or example, e!en the seemingly obCecti!e assessment that doctors first diagnosed 1hat 1ould be called A4DS in a group of urban gay men in "#E" already represents a decision to pri!ilege, or render !isible, certain circumstances o!er others* Among the circumstances that fell to 1ayside as that historical narrati!e solidified are the fact that these men 1ere diagnosed 1ith medical conditions that only later on 1ere brought into association 1ith the label FA4DSHM that similar conditions 1ere obser!ed in 4V drug users in the "#;0s, but not recogni3ed as indications of a potentially ne1 !irusM and that the identification of Fgay menH as those affected by these medical conditions 1as based on a gro1ing recognition of something called a Fgay community,H a recognition that is an outcome of the gay liberation and gay rights mo!ements of the "#;0s* Thus, the by no1 familiar assessment that urban gay men

$$ 1ere the first to be diagnosed 1ith A4DS is already based on a number of abstractions and on a narrati!e imposed on di!ergent circumstances* This narrati!e emerged in press accounts in the early "#E0s and still circulates today as a short%hand Forigin storyH of A4DS in America*"$ The accompanying counter%narrati!e, mounted by A4DS acti!ists, that explained ho1 the initial diagnosis of A4DS only in gay men led to homophobia apparent in, for example, the preliminary designation of this ne1 !irus as F.R4DH ?.ay% Related 4mmunodeficiency@ and in the speculation that the Fgay lifestyleH had brought this !irus into existence is also based on a retroacti!ely constructed narrati!e* 9hile the acti!ist narrati!e highlights ho1 longstanding cultural associations among non%normati!e sexualities, de!iance, and disease shaped the initial assessment of 1hat 1ould be called ,4VPA4DS, it also relies on the understanding that gay men 1ere the first to be affected by the !irus* 4nstead of considering these t1o narrati!esLthe one emerging in the mainstream press and the one populari3ed by acti!istsLas competing for degrees of accuracy, and instead of considering the initial perception of A4DS as Fgay diseaseH as a homophobic misinterpretation of FfactsH ?namely, that gay men 1ere the first to be diagnosed@, it is more producti!e to see this FearlyH history of A4DS, as 1ell as its subse2uent de!elopment, as intersection of !arious discourses* 4n this case, the perception that gay men constituted a specific group that doctors generally considered to be FhealthyH made it possible to recogni3e that a repetition of unusual infectious diseases in these men 1as forming a pattern, rather than being merely a strange circumstance based on already
"$

See, for example, F,ysterical 'lindness*H Advocate, 4ssue #E: ?Dctober Oth, /00;@, $OM FThe State of A4DS, /< Qears After the irst, Quiet (entions*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?8une <, /00$@*

$; compromised health, as 1ith the cases on FCunAie pneumoniaH in 4V%drug users ?&atton, Inventing AI%S, /;@* 9hat emerges most strongly from this example is the o!erlaps bet1een Fcultural ideasH about gay men and about drug users, on the one hand, and Fmedical factsH about diseases and public health on the other* These o!erlaps are then put into sharper focus !ia established regimes of FseeingH in the sciences and the media, both of 1hich are institutions occupied by the pursuit of disco!eringLor at least narratingL the Ftruth*H 4n other 1ords, FA4DSH is not simply a medical or public health crisis that is also a cultural or epistemological crisis, but it is al1ays a medical and an epistemological crisis to the point that the t1o are too ent1ined to separate* Recogni3ing that it is impossible to separate the FmedicalH or FscientificH from the FculturalH dimensions of A4DS, Douglas Crimp obser!es: RThis recognitionS shatters the myth so central to liberal !ie1s of the epidemic: that there are, on the one hand, the scientific facts about A4DS, and, on the other hand, ignorance or misrepresentation of those facts standing in the 1ay of rational response * * * A4DS does not exist apart from the practices that conceptuali3e it, represent it, and respond to it* 9e Ano1 A4DS only in and through those practices* ?FCultural Analysis, Cultural Acti!ism,H /E@ Conse2uently, an assessment of the 1ays in 1hich A4DS relates to non%normati!e sexualities and identifications and to !isibility must thus not merely in!ol!e a cataloging of ho1 homophobic media representations and political debates acerbated the A4DS crisis and sAe1ed ideas circulating about gay men in particular ?e!en if such associations can

$E and should be noted@M it also necessitates charting the 1ays in 1hich already existing notions of 2ueer !isibility and non%normati!e sexualities 1ere reexamined and redefined through the lens of A4DS* Dne 1ay in 1hich older notions of 2ueer !isibility ser!ed as basis for narrating the emerging story about A4DS and gay men 1as the mediaUs employment of a set of terms that seem obCecti!e, e!en based on FscientificH insights, but that perpetuated ideas that linAed sexual de!iancy and disease* A "#E" 9e+ ?or0 ,imes article addressing the unusually high occurrence of +aposiBs Sarcoma in gay men ?an occurrence that becomes part of the Forigin storyH of A4DS in the -*S*@ goes to great lengths to suggest that Fde!iantH sexual practices consisting of Fmultiple and fre2uent sexual encounters 1ith different partnersH led to a 1eaAened immune system 1hich then allo1ed for the manifestation of +aposiBs Sarcoma ?Altman, FRare Cancer,H A/0@* As this example sho1s, the terminology fre2uently repeated in media reports addressing the FfactsH about ,4V and A4DS contains more than the ability to describe a ne1 !irus and a ne1 disease* Rather, it sets up a connection bet1een non%normati!e sexual practices and the spread of ,4V that becomes a staple in the discussion and representation of A4DS ?and e!entually becomes a crucial component in pa!ing the 1ay for the FexplosionH of Fgay !isibilityH in the "##0s@* This correlation also leads to the imaginary di!ide bet1een a Fgeneral populationH of 1hite heterosexual Americans 1ho remain mostly unaffected by A4DS and a number of FrisA groupsH that includes those 1ho are most at risA of simultaneously being affected by A4DS and of FspreadingH ,4V to the Fgeneral population*H Thus, 1hile the term

$# Fgeneral populationH seems to imply Fe!ery American,H it is actually employed in media and political discourse as designation for an imaginary group of heterosexual Americans 1hose normati!e sexual practices ha!e Aept ,4V infections at bayLunless, that is, they are unAno1ingly infected by members of FrisA groups,H i*e* those associated 1ith non% normati!e Flife stylesH or sexual practices*"; The standard repertoire of cited risA groups are gay men, bisexuals, drug users, and, in the early "#E0s, ,aitians*"E The opposition of a Fgeneral populationH to FrisA groupsH furthermore suggestsLfalsely, of courseLthat one group engages in fundamentally different sexual practices than others and that ,4V infection can be contained ?or spread@ on the basis of assumed membership in either a FrisA groupH or the Fgeneral population*H This notion of containment becomes so entrenched that, e!en as late as "#E#, an editorialist in the 9e+ ?or0 ,imes can suggest that FRtShe A4DS !irus can be heterosexually transmitted to the regular partners of bisexual men and addicts, but is generally not spreading beyond these groupsH ?F9hy (aAe A4DS 9orse Than 4t 4s,H A//@* The idea of FrisA groupsH in the context of A4DS has ser!ed to marginali3e further, yet also to bring under greater scrutiny, groups of people already percei!ed to be outside of the imaginary Fgeneral population,H and not, as the discourse of epidemiology
";

or more on ho1 the dichotomy of Fgeneral populationH !s FrisA groupsH shapes A4DS discourse, see &atton, Inventing AI%S, "0:fM 9atney, FThe Spectacle of A4DS,H ;:* or an excellent discussion of the moralist underpinning of seemingly neutral Aey phrases in mainstream media co!erage of ,4VPA4DS, see 8an Vita .ro!er, FA4DS: +ey1ords*H "E Consider the follo1ing examples: F4t first seemed that the ne1 and often deadly disease called A4DS 1as limited to a fe1 groupsLhomosexual men, intra!enous drug users, ,aitians, and hemophiliacs and others 1ho recei!e blood transfusionsH ?'iddle and Slade, FA 9ider RisA of A4DS eared,H "#E:@M F(ost cases ha!e in!ol!ed male homosexuals, intra!enous drug users and people from ,aitiH ?Altman, FResearch Traces A4DS in $ of ; emale &artners,H "#E:@M FAt present, the established risA groups are homosexuals, intra!enous drug users, hemophiliacs, and ,aitiansH ?Altman, F,eterosexuals and A4DS,H C", "#E<@M FThose at risA include homosexual and bisexual malesM intra!enous drug usersM those from foreign countries 1here A4DS is belie!ed to be endemicH ?Collins, FA4DS Cases and RisA .roupsH 'O, "#E<@*

;0 suggests, to contact and inform these groups about transmission and infection ?a course of action that 1ould in!ol!e safe sex education, 1hich at least the federal go!ernment 1as not ready to endorse for a long time, .ro!er /E@* Se!eral articles in independent gay maga3ines such as Christo4her Street discuss precisely this marginali3ation as early as "#E", urging gay men to resist the imbrication of morality and science* or example, 7a1rence (ass urges, FitBs probably that some STDBs that ma( be related to the current epidemic are being spread at the baths, but not 1ecause of the baths per seH ?F-nderstanding the )pidemic,H /<, emphasis not mine@* Df course it is precisely the bathhouses that come under attacA as points of origin for the spread of A4DS ?for more articles that discuss the alignment of disease and de!iancy, see (ass, FCancer SignsH and 7ancaster, F9hat A4DS is Doing to -sH@* 9ithin this context, a statement such as -ndersecretary of )ducation .ary 'auerBs explanation for 1hy &resident Reagan had not yet publicly addressed the A4DS crisis in "#E<Lnamely, F4t Rthe FA4DS !irusHS hadnBt spread into the general population yetHL taAes on an e!en more sinister meaning ?2td* in .ro!er, /:@* (ore than a homophobic dismissal of the significance of A4DS this comment reinforces the idea that the Fgeneral populationH of presumably heterosexual Americans is unaffected by, and perhaps e!en safe from, A4DS, and that the go!ernmentBs primary responsibility is to said Fgeneral population,H rather than to an insignificant FrisA groupH 1hose lifestyle exposed them to infection* As 7eo 'ersani so succinctly obser!es, FThe Bgeneral publicB is at once an ideological construction and a moral prescriptionH ?F4s the Rectum a .ra!eGH, /0:@* (oreo!er, according those 1ho engage in a Fde!iant lifestyleH the status of a risA group

;" Custifies scrutiny of said lifestyleLrendering !isible 1hat had pre!iously not been 1idely accessible ?such as the bathhouse culture and associated sexual practices@ or deeming presumably Fpri!ateH matters to be of FpublicH interest and concern* &erhaps the most incisi!e example that comes to mind is the "#E< Bo+ers vs &ard+ic0 decision, in 1hich the Supreme Court upheld statesB right to regulate consensual sex bet1een adults !ia contested sodomy la1s, but the debate about mandatory ,4V testing also falls into this category ?4 1ill discuss Bo+ers vs &ard+ic0 and state regulation of sexuality and pri!acy in more depth in Chapter O@* This is one of many instances that ser!es as reminder of ho1 a greater degree of !isibility does not automatically translate into libratory potential but rather may allo1 for more intensi!e regulation ?1hich then can be dismantled and resisted, as the acti!ism of ACT -& sho1s@* 4n laying out the underpinnings of some of the terms that shape the 1ay in 1hich A4DS has been rendered !isible, 4 ha!e relied in part on scientific FfactsH about ,4V and A4DS, but, as pre!iously mentioned, it is important to Aeep in mind that medical science is not a bedrocA of truth upon 1hich one might construct a FneutralH or FcorrectH discourse of A4DS* &erhaps more so than for other !iral diseases, the specific discourse of A4DS is full of uncertainties and struggles regarding the scientific meaning of ,4V and A4DS* As 7ee )delman summari3es: BA4DSB, in the first place, and on the most literal le!el, lacAs a coherent medical referent, remaining a signifier in search of the determinate condition or conditions it 1ould signify* A diagnostic term describing the state in 1hich the immune systemLcompromised, it is currently thought,

;/ through the ,4V infectionLcan no longer 1ard off officially designated opportunistic diseases* ?FThe (irror and the TanA,H #O@ 4n other 1ords, the definition of A4DS is so precarious that, for example, in "##", the 'oston .lobe reported on the possibility of the CDC ?Center for Disease Control@ adopting a ne1, "O%page definition of A4DS* Qet, despite the complexity to 1hich this struggle for a coherent definition points, much simpler definitions of A4DS remain dominant in the popular cultural imagination* 4n other 1ords, the relationship bet1een the signifier FA4DSH and the signified medical condition it supposedly describes is rendered intelligible only through a suppression of the possible multiple medical manifestations of FA4DSH and the replacement of multiple meanings by one definition* Thus, FA4DSH is an abstracted designation for an array of meanings that are all largely unstable* )!en on the le!el of science and medicine, A4DS is conse2uently part of a discourse of contested !isibilities in 1hich certain significations are pri!ileged o!er others* This pri!ileging of a particular FscientificH meaning of A4DS 1as cemented through the establishment of narrati!e patterns in media reports about A4DS* These reports created FreliableH !isual representations for the !arying cluster of symptoms grouped under the label FA4DS*H &aula Treichler obser!es that, e!en as early as "#EO, 1hen the documentary AI%S: Cha4ter One appeared on tele!ision, representational shorthands 1ere already in place to con!ey easily accessible meanings to !ie1ersM among those shorthands, Treichler names F!iral images enhanced and magnified, bacAground music that telegraphs significance, the A4DS crisis presented as a Bpu33leB being sol!ed by an interdisciplinary detecti!e team, laboratory footage shot and edited to simulate Aey

;: moments in the chronology of A4DS ?Robert .allo phones the CD@, inter!ie1s 1ith participants, schematic dra1ings of the immune systemH ?FSeduced and Terrori3ed,H ":0@* amiliar through fre2uent repetition, !ie1ers might not 2uestion 1hich images are paired 1ith 1hich statements, Treichler argues ?ibid@* The linear narrati!e of disco!ery, identification, and explanation of ,4VPA4DS also obscures the decisions and disagreements 1ithin the medical and scientific community that shaped the emergence of the terms F,4V,H FA4DS,H and the definitions thereof*"# 4n addition to stabili3ing the scientific meaning of A4DS !ia a set of !isual shorthands, tele!ision contributed significantly to shaping 1hat Douglas Crimp has called the genre of Fportraits of &9AH ?&eople 9ith A4DS@* Concei!ed as response to a call for a more FhumanH portrayal of A4DS, i*e* one that sho1s Fthe peopleH behind the medical FfactsH of ,4V and A4DS, these images pictured A4DS patients clearly marAed physically by the disease* Rather than producing a sense of shared Fhumanity,H the repetition of a specific set of images used to portray &9A as alone and !isibly sicA ultimately ser!ed to set them apart from the ?heterosexual, ,4V%negati!e@ Fgeneral population,H 1hich 1as expected to react 1ith sympathy at best, loathing at 1orst ?Crimp, F&ortraits of &eople 1ith A4DS,H EEM #0@* )xceptions to this portrayal 1ere the Finnocent !ictimsH of A4DS, i*e* those 1ho 1ere infected by a partner or by a blood transfusion* Children, not surprisingly, ranA high among the list of innocent F!ictims*H As Crimp obser!es, FThey are so innocent that they can e!en be sho1n being comforted, hugged, and played 1ithH ?F&ortraits of &eople 1ith A4DS,H #0@*
"#

See Treichler, p* "$0f* or a more in%depth analysis of the scientific construction of A4DS, see also )pstein, Ste!en* Im4ure Science: AI%S, Activism, and the /olitics o >no+ledge* -ni!ersity of California &ress, "##$*

;O Dne common feature in all portrayalsLno matter if they deal 1ith the FguiltyH or FinnocentH &9ALis the representation of ,4V and A4DS as a pri!ate matter, thus obscuring the public health dimension of ,4V and A4DS, specifically the go!ernmentBs inaction in terms of funding and education ?F&ortraits of &eople 1ith A4DS, #"@* Tele!isionBs inability or refusal to address the public health dimensions of the A4DS crisis is not a surprise, of course* TVBs familial address to an imagined heterosexual audience meshes most comfortably 1ith human interest stories, and not 1ith an indictment of go!ernment inaction ?especially because such an indictment 1ould also force a confrontation 1ith ho1 tele!ision narrati!es contribute to the construction and interpretation of categories such as FrisA groups,H Fgeneral population,H etc@* The declaration of A4DS as a pri!ate matter 1hile simultaneously sho1ing reports and documentaries about &9As is contradictory, and once again sho1s the complex 1ays in 1hich A4DS has been rendered !isible* The scientific representation of A4DS and the portrayal of &9A come together in 1hat Simon 9atney characteri3es as the FspectacleH of A4DS* This spectacle consists of a FdiptychH of images, namely, on the one side, a microscopic or digital image of the ,4V !irus, and, on the other side, images of FA4DS !ictimsH 1ho are physically marAed by A4DS* The spectacle is put on display for an outside obser!er, i*e* someone 1ho is presumed to be part of the Fgeneral populationH and thus not directly affected by A4DS, but ne!ertheless Falready BAno1s all he needs to Ano1B about homosexuality and A4DS,H as 9atney puts it ?;E, emphasis not mine@* 8oining the t1o sides in one !isual discourse stages a morality play 1hose principles characters are Fthe image of the miraculous

;< authority of clinical medicine and the faces and bodies of indi!iduals 1ho clearly disclose the stigmata of their guiltH ?ibid@* A remarAable example of this discourse of A4DS as morality play is FThe A4DS Conflict,H a "#E< 9e+s+ee0 article that frames the appeal to de!elop a FrationalH approach to A4DS that F1ill do Custice to both the extremes of innocence and depra!ityH by contrasting the case of a se!en%year old girl and a gay man 1ho engages in sex 1ith fre2uently changing partners ?";@* 4t is this morality play that inspires and enrages A4DS acti!ist groups to maAe media co!erage one of their main targets* 'ut these groups, most notably ACT -&, did not simply produce Fcounter%narrati!es*H Rather, in the form of direct action, pamphlets, graphics, and !ideos, they dismantled and reorgani3ed the discourse of 2ueer !isibility 1ithin the frame1orA of the A4DS crisis*

ACT -& 4n accounts that chart the significance and impact of A4DS on the .7'T community, ACT -& often plays a central role* ACT -&Bs !ery !isible style of acti!ism, al1ays 1ith the intention to disrupt established patterns of thought and action, represents one instance in 1hich the A4DS crisis forced the gay and lesbian community to come together and push bacA against the homophobia embedded in media, scientific, and go!ernment discourses of ,4VPA4DS, or at least that is ho1 the con!entional story about A4DS and ACT -& goes* 9hile this is certainly one 1ay to thinA about ACT -&Bs role in the A4DS crisis, 4Bm more interested in, on the one hand, ho1 ACT -& tried to redefine 1hat 2ueer !isibility can mean ?and indeed, ACT -& is often credited in part 1ith the

;$ reclaiming of the term F2ueerH for political and academic purposes@, and, on the other hand, ho1 this particular type of acti!ism fits into the discourse that leads up to the Fgay #0s*H or example, for all its creati!ity and in!enti!eness, not all of ACT -&Bs actions 1ere ne1 and radical inter!entions that reshaped the discourse of 2ueer !isibilityM rather, the group sometimes also relied on traditional models of identity politics* 4 discuss these contradictions in my analyses of ACT -&Bs most famous graphic, the FS47)KC) W D)AT,H poster, and their action on the t1entieth anni!ersary of the Stone1all riots* 'ut before 4 mo!e on to these t1o specific forms of protest, 4 1ant to pro!ide a little more bacAground about the formation of ACT -& and the Ainds of acti!ism in 1hich the group engaged in the late "#E0s* Dn (arch "0, "#E;, 7arry +ramer, author of se!eral plays and 1ell%Ano1n A4DS acti!ist, ga!e a speech on A4DS as part of a monthly series at the .ay and 7esbian Community Center in Ke1 QorA* ,e critici3ed both the usual suspectsLthe ood and Drug administration, the Kational 4nstitutes of ,ealth, Ke1 QorABs health care system ?or rather, lacA thereof@Land, perhaps unexpectedly, a gay organi3ation dedicated to education and action around ,4VPA4DS, the .ay (enBs ,ealth Crisis ?.(,C@* 4n his speech, +ramer tooA issue 1ith .(,C for its too Fcorporate structure and ser!ice orientation,H 1hich supposedly made it difficult to do aggressi!e political acti!ism* +ramer asAed if the assembled 1anted to start a ne1 organi3ation Fde!oted solely to political actionH ?Crimp and Rolston, /$@* That, according to Douglas Crimp and Adam Rolston, 1as the beginning moment of ACT -&, the FA4DS Coalition To -nleash &o1er,H 1hich defined itself as Fa di!erse, nonpartisan group united in anger and

;; committed to direct action to end the global A4DS epidemicH ?this definition 1as fre2uently repeated at ACT -& meetings and reprinted on ACT -& posters@* This is a po1erful account, yet as 1ith all origin stories, it is impreciseM for example, ACT -&Bs most famous logo, S47)KC) W D)AT,, had already been used publicly by the Silence W Death collecti!e for se!eral months prior to the formation of ACT -&, indicating that ACT -& did not initiate some of the designs 1ith 1hich the group is associated* 'ut it is certainly a compelling narrati!e, especially because the image of the .7'T community rallying its forces to fight bacA against the bacAlash caused by A4DS fits so 1ell into the patterns of gay historiography that, perhaps not incidentally, emerged around the same time* The first six months of ACT -& acti!ism 1ere dedicated to getting treatment to people 1ith ,4V and A4DS: Fthe central issue 1as getting A4DS treatments out of the K4, RKational 4nstitutes of ,ealthS and DA R ood and Drug AdministrationS and into the bodies of those 1ho are ,4V%infectedH ?Crimp and Rolston, :$@* 'ut ACT -&Bs engagement 1ith A4DS 1as not limited to battling 1ith public health institutions o!er drug trials and treatment options* Rather, the members of the group understood and engaged A4DS as both a crisis of health and of signification* As such, ACT -& tried to shift the terms of the debate, for example from mainstream press and politicsB usage of the phrase FA4DS !ictimsH to F&eople 1ith A4DS,H or from Fdying from A4DSH to Fli!ing 1ith A4DS*H ACT -& used print, graphics, and !ideo to create different images of the A4DS crisis: images that re!eal the construction of and the bias contained in mainstream representations instead of merely opposing them* Thus, through its protests, graphics,

;E texts, and !ideos, ACT -& insisted that it is not enough to be !isible, but that this !isibility should challenge the dominant discourses of A4DS* This approach differs significantly from, for example, the A4DS 2uilt that formed part of the "##/ (arch on 9ashington* 9hile this 2uilt is certainly hugely !isible and significant in terms of demonstrating the loss of life and doing important memory 1orA, it is not a strategy that fully challenges the signification of A4DSM rather, it reinforces the implications that &9A are ultimately all !ictimsLthe genre of &9A is thus once again upheld and reinforced* ACT -& 2uicAly became ?in@famous for its direct action campaigns featuring in% your%face graphics and chants that attracted media attention* 4n (arch "#E;, the groupBs first protest shut do1n 9all Street* 9e+s+ee0, among other maCor papers and maga3ines, tooA note, but dismissed ACT -& ?1hich is not mentioned by name@ as Cust Fangry protestersH 1ith outrageous demands ?ClarA and .osnell, /O@* 4n 8anuary "#EE, ACT -& directly challenged the mainstream media portrayal of A4DS* 4n their FDonBt .o to 'ed 1ith CosmoH action, the group brought attention to the false information in an article published in Cosmo4olitan maga3ine* 'ased on Fexpert opinions,H most notably the one of Robert )* .ould, a psychiatrist, the article purports that straight 1omen are not at risA for A4DS, not e!en during sex 1ithout condoms* 4n response, the ACT -& 1omenBs committee organi3ed an action at the Ke1 QorA offices of Cosmo4olitan, handing out condoms and informational flyers that attacA the sAe1ed information in the article* 9hen the national media got 1ind of the protest, ACT -& acti!ists 1ere denied access to telling their side of the storyLsometimes literally, as they 1ere not allo1ed to be part of the studio audience at the /hil %onahue Sho+ on the day that Robert )* .ould 1as there as a

;# guest ?Crimp and Rolston, O0@* 4n reaction to being barred from the /hil %onahue Sho+, ACT -& acti!ists produced the documentary %octors, Liars, and Women: AI%S Activists Sa( 9o to Cosmo* 4t aired on .(,CBs 1eeAly public cable access sho1 and also circulated at film festi!als, campuses, and community centers ?ibid@* Crimp and Rolston argue that Fthe !ideo not only presents a counterargument to .ouldBs lies * * * but also pro!ides information on ho1 to organi3e a demonstration and on the role of 1omen in A4DS acti!ism, including the role of self%representationH ?ibid@* 4n its attempt to pro!ide information about A4DS 1hile at the same time functioning as an acti!ist tool, %octors, Liars, and Women is typical of the !ideos produced by !arious ACT -& affinity groups*/0 4n other 1ords, ACT -& !ideos often engaged 1ith 2uestion of representation on multiple le!els: they taAe apart mainstream media representations of A4DS and of ACT -& itselfM they offer a different point of !ie1 of ,4VPA4DSM and they function as documentaries and testimonials about the groupBs organi3ing efforts*

S47)KC) W D)AT, A blacA poster featuring an in!erted pinA triangle and starA 1hite letters proclaiming S47)KC) W D)AT, has become ACT -&Bs most persistent and recogni3able legacy* The slogan S47)KC) W D)AT, exemplifies the 1ays in 1hich ACT -& rendered A4DS and its impact on the .7'T community !isible: on the one hand, it is unflinchingly direct, but on other hand, it has more complexity and
/0

ACT -& defined Faffinity groupH in the follo1ing 1ay: FA tradition of 7eft organi3ing, affinity groups are small associations of people 1ithin acti!ist mo!ements 1hose mutual trust and shared interest allo1 them to function autonomously and secretly, arri!e at 2uicA decisions by consensus, protect one another at demonstrations, and participate as units in coordinated acts of ci!il disobedienceH ?Crimp and Rolston, /"@*

E0 contradictions than one might expect from a t1o%1ord phrase ?or other brightly colored and concise messages that ACT -& used o!er the years@* 4n recalling their first encounter 1ith this graphic, people fre2uently insist its meaning 1as Fimmediately apparent*H or example, 'ill Dlander, 1ho later becomes the curator of Let the Record Sho+, an ACT -& installation in the 1indo1 at the Ke1 (useum for Contemporary Art in Ke1 QorA City, obser!es that FRfSor anyone con!ersant 1ith this iconography, there 1as no 2uestion that this 1as a poster designed to pro!oAe a heightened a1areness of the A4DS crisisH ?Crimp, FCultural Analysis, Cultural Acti!ism,H ::@* Cindy &atton emphasi3es that FRiSt 1as 1ar 3one graffiti, produced as slicA, po1erful poster 1arning anyone in a position to understand that this 1as our 1ar,H 1hile also remembering that F9hen 4 first sa1 this poster 4 belie!ed it said BScience W Death*B 4 had no doubt that this 1as 1hat 4 readH ?Inventing AI%S, "/;@* 9hile perhaps instantly recogni3able, the meaning of the graphic remains unstable, slippery, and e!en, in &attonBs case, a candidate for misreading* Crimp and Rolston offer yet another perspecti!e: S47)KC) W D)AT, declares that silence about the oppression and annihilation of gay people, then and no+, must be broAen as a matter of our sur!i!al * * * * 'ut it is not merely 1hat S47)KC) W D)AT, says, but also ho1 it looAs, that gi!es it particular force* The po1er of this e2uation under the triangle is the compression of its connotation into a logo, a logo so striAing that you ultimately have to asA, if you donBt already Ano1, B9hat does it meanGBH ?"O, emphasis not mine@

E" 9hat striAes me as most significant about Crimp and RolstonBs interpretation of the graphic is not its apparent alignment 1ith pre!ious calls for a politics of !isibility ?i*e* that becoming !isible is a means to liberation from oppression@, but their emphasis on the 2uestion of signification itself* 4n other 1ords, the force behind S47)KC) W D)AT, does not lie exclusi!ely or completely in 1hat it appears to say, but in its ability to elicit 2uestions about possible meanings and, by extension, about ho1 1e arri!e at 1hat 1e thinA this graphic means* 7ee )delman, Stuart (arshall, and Cindy &atton ha!e offered incisi!e criti2ues of these processes* 4 1ant to explore )delmanBs taAe on the slogan and (arshallBs thoughts on the imagery to further explore the complex array of meanings called forth by S47)KC) W D)AT,, and 4 use &attonBs analysis of the slippage bet1een FsilenceH and FscienceH to discuss the discursi!e constraints 1ithin 1hich the graphic operates* 4n FThe (irror and the TanA,H )delman argues that A4DS is al1ays already bound up 1ith homosexuality, and specifically, that the act of anal sex figures in the cultural imagination as the ForiginH of A4DS ?#E@* .oing beyond a repudiation of the homophobia implicit in this imaginary causal chain, )delman argues that 1hat is at staAe here is the anxiety of maintaining a specific subCect position, namely that of the acti!e 1hite male heterosexual subCect: FSubtended by the al1ays excitable fantasy of threat to this subCectBs agency, the originary myth linAing BA4DSB to the Baddicti!eB passi!ity of the anus in intercourse is immobili3ed largely in order to affirm, and thereby to shore against his ruins, the 1hite male heterosexual as uni2uely autonomous in his moral agencyH ?"0"@* The proCection of an acti!ePpassi!e, topPbottom binary onto gay sex allo1s a

E/ defense of said subCect position* )delman goes on to argue that A4DS acti!ism that insists on a specific form of politicsL)delman briefly refers to ACT -&Bs direct action tacticsL and that sets itself up against a so%called Fnon%politicalH position, associated 1ith the presumably FnarcissisticH gay male lifestyle of the late "#;0s, ends up duplicating the same acti!ePpassi!e split that brought about the homophobic origin story of A4DS against 1hich A4DS acti!ism fights ?""0@* 4n other 1ords, sentiments 1ithin the gay community that condemn certain sexual practices as FunsafeH and FirresponsibleH in the age of A4DS ultimately reaffirm the logic that fuels the homophobic moral panic surrounding A4DS ?Crimp maAes a similar point in F&ortrait of &eople 1ith A4DSH@* )delmanBs analysis of the larger ideological implications of A4DS rhetoric that marAs itself as anti%homophobic 1hile at the same time ad!ocating a normali3ed gay sexuality is an extremely useful addition to similar analyses by Douglas Crimp and &atricA (oore* As 4 1ill elaborate later on, this insight is crucial to understanding ho1 the A4DS crisis shapes the discourse of 2ueer !isibility in the "##0s* ,o1e!er, 1hile )delmanBs basic analysis is helpful in its assessment of ho1 FoppositionalH positions may still adhere to and are at risA of replicating larger ideological frame1orAs, his taAe on A4DS acti!ism o!ergenerali3es the different positions and groups that maAe up the designation of FA4DS acti!ism*H or example, ACT -& did not merely oppose general discourses of A4DS but tried to sho1 their construction* Additionally, and more importantly, ACT -& did not participate in the morali3ing denouncement of a FnarcissisticH lifestyle, as )delman suggests*/" 4n fact, ACT -&
/"

9hile )delman ne!er directly maAes the connection bet1een his criticism of Facti!ismH and ACT -& in FThe (irror and the TanA,H the fact the he mentions ACT -& as the one example of direct%action politics maAes one 1onder if he isnBt thinAing of ACT -& all along*

E: meetings 1ere Ano1n as cruising spots* &atricA (oore recalls, FRtShey Rthe meetingsS pro!ided a forum for sociali3ing and cruising* 'ut the (onday night meetings also de!eloped the culture of ACT -& itself, a culture that 1as inclusi!e but not intensely competiti!e, highly sexual, intelligent, and chaoticH ?"/E@* (oreo!er, those 1ho ha!e both participated in and 1ritten about ACT -&, such as Crimp and (oore, subscribe to a sex%positi!e position* 9hile )delman is concerned 1ith the implications of the slogan S47)KC) W D)AT,, Stuart (arshall engages 1ith the !isual component of poster* 4n FThe Contemporary &olitical -se of .ay ,istory: The Third Reich,H Stuart (arshall analy3es the history of the pinA triangle, specifically in relation to the persecution of homosexuals during the Ka3i regime 1hen the pinA triangle 1as used as the concentration camp badge to designate homosexual men* (arshall 1onders 1hy ACT -& and other gay rights groups adopted a symbol so clearly associated 1ith, as he puts it, Fthe inconcei!able and unspeaAable possibility of annihilationH ?$E@* ,e also briefly maAes the important point that being !isible and identifiable 1ill not al1ays be a producti!e or appropriate choice* Referring bacA to an inter!ie1 1ith a gay man 1ho sur!i!ed the Ka3i regime precisely because he did not re!eal his sexual identity, (arshall argues that silence 1as a sur!i!al strategy: FS47)KC) W S-RV4VA7H ?;0@* (arshall doesnBt explore this point further, but 4 1ant to underline the importance of historical contextuali3ation for the persistent call to come out in both radical and FassimilatedH 2ueer and gay politicsLa call that does not al1ays heed the specific circumstances of a 2ueer personBs life and times* The relationship bet1een speech and silence, !isibility and in!isibility is much more complex

EO than the demands of the slogans Fcome out 1here!er you areH and FS47)KC) W D)AT,H maAe them out to be* Additionally, yet con!ersely to a moment in time 1hen !isibility is not an option, there are moments and groups of people for 1hom Fin!isibilityH is not an option* 4n other 1ords, the option of Aeeping oneBs sexuality pri!ate is not al1ays a!ailable to e!eryone in this country, as 8asbir +* &uar demonstrates in her analysis of the situation of non%-*S* citi3ens in American detention facilities after the e!ents of #P""* Detainees and their families do not ha!e access to the same Aind of pri!acy that is afforded -*S* citi3ensLfor them, Aeeping their intimate and familial li!es Fpri!ateH is not an a!ailable option ?see ,errorist Assem1lages, "O"%"<", and my analysis in Chapter O@* The fre2uent calls to register or physically marA ,4V%positi!e people in the late "#E0s are another example of ho1 !oluntary Fcoming outH can turn into a pri!ileged choice not a!ailable for e!eryone* 9e+ ?or0 ,imes Columnist 9illiam * 'ucAley demanded in "#E$, FReS!eryone detected 1ith A4DS should be tattooed in the upper forearm, to protect common needles users, and on the buttocAs to pre!ent !ictimi3ation of other homosexualsH ?A/;@* 4f calls such as 'ucAleyBs had turned into la1s, the decision of 1hether or not to be !isibly 2ueer 1ould ha!e remained the pri!ilege of those are ,4V%negati!e* 'ucAleyUs editorial furthermore underlines the centrality of language to constructing a causal connection bet1een 2ueerness and A4DS: in 'ucAleyBs imagination, A4DS spreads in and through FrisA groupsH such as drug users and gay menM infection 1ith A4DS is a form of F!ictimi3ationMH and sex bet1een men is reduced to anal sex, a sexual acti!ity so dangerous that it re2uires a 1arning label*

E< Regarding the pinA triangle, (arshall argues that A4DS acti!ists used it Fto produce a specific ideological effect,H namely recalling genocide at the hand of the state* Qet the implied analogy maAes (arshall uncomfortable because it is historically imprecise* ,e also obCects to its usage because it obscures the !arious processes through 1hich A4DS becomes a morali3ing discourse that regulates 2ueer desire by constructing differences bet1een FguiltyH and FinnocentH &9As* F9e cannot understand this RprocessS if 1e focus on genocide metaphors,H (arshall obser!es ?E;@* (oreo!er, he is concerned that the use of this symbol obscures differences among &9As because it proCects Fpolitical cohesionH around a specific identity ?i*e* that of gay men@* These points are 1orthy of consideration, yet, liAe )delman, (arshall fails to recogni3e that S47)KC) W D)AT, does not signify one coherent or stable meaning* Specifically in this case, it is not the symbol of identity%dri!en politics, as (arshall presumes* rom the beginning, ACT -& 1as concerned 1ith issues related to A4DS that 1ent beyond ad!ocating on behalf of one specific minority group ?ACT -&Bs fight for clean needle exchange in Ke1 QorA City is perhaps the best example@* 4ndeed 4 1ould argue that ACT -& began to implement exactly the Aind of representation that (arshall calls for, namely one that Fmust be polysemic, multiple, and perhaps, 1hen it speaAs about difference, contradictoryH ?E#@* 4t is these contradictory and polysemic meanings in S47)KC) W D)AT, that Cindy &atton tries to unra!el 1hen she analy3es her o1n initial misreading of the slogan as FScience W Death*H She insists that this misreading is no mistaAe because both science and silence ha!e been part of the construction and destruction of gay and lesbian

E$ identities since FhomosexualityH emerged as category of identification in the late "#th century: Fonce the closet, no1 media blacAoutsM once psychiatry, no1 internal medicine,H &atton summari3es ?Inventing AI%S, "/;@* 'oth Fobli!ionH ?i*e* the initial 1illful ignorance of A4DS on the part of mainstream media and politics that amounts to an imposition of silence@, and FdiagnosisH ?i*e* the interCection of medical science in the life of a ,4V%positi!e person that renders silence impossible@, are threats not only to &9A, but also to those percei!ed to be Fat risAH of ,4V infection ?ibid@* As such, both silence and speech are e2ually dangerous* 9hile &atton grants that silence can be a pri!ilegeL the Fsafety of camouflage,H in her 1ordsLit can also mean complicity in the construction of homophobic discourses, particularly 1hen it comes to assessments of A4DS ?Inventing AI%S, "/#@* SpeaAing out against these constructions is not al1ays an act of rebellion, ho1e!er* Rendering oneBs self into speech !ia the Fne1 coerci!e technology of confessionH embedded in the ,4V antibody test ultimately also ser!es to uphold the disciplinary mechanisms of the state ?!ia registration of ,4V status, for example@ and of the scientific pursuit of the FtruthH about A4DS ?&atton mentions that scientists elicited and relied upon &9A talAing about their sexual practices to establish the cause?s@ of A4DS, Inventing AI%S, ":0@* Qet &atton seems to fa!or speechLspeech that doesnBt allo1 itself to be contained in either scientific protocols or in tele!isionBs human interest stories, but rather dra1s attention to the 1ays in 1hich &9A are !ariably rendered as non% existent, as sources of scientific information, as FrisA groups,H or as sympathetic F!ictimsH 1hile at the same time refusing to comply 1ith these categori3ations ?":"@* 9hile S47)KC) W D)AT, e!oAes and in!ites a range of interpretations

E; regarding the meanings of silence and speech, and of !isibility and in!isibility, as 1ell as their connection and possibilities for political organi3ing, other ACT -& actions and graphics did not lea!e as much room for multi!alent interpretations* The slogans and graphics that ACT -& used for FStone1all /0,H an action to commemorate the t1entieth anni!ersary of the Stone1all riots, engage in 1hat one might call a !ery FtraditionalH politics of !isibility that emphasi3es coming out as the central building blocA of gay identities* Aside from pro!iding yet another affirmation of the Stone1all Riots as the originary moment of gay acti!ismLFThis year R"#E#S 1e celebrated the /0th anni!ersary of the Stone1all Riots, the opening !olley in the formation of the gay liberation mo!ement,H Crimp and Rolston obser!e in passingLa number of contradictions emerge around ACT -&Bs self%defined relationship to gay and lesbian history and to Fcoming outH as politically significant action ?#E@* or example, Crimp and Rolston underline that as members of ACT -&, F1e see oursel!es both as direct heirs to the early radical tradition of gay liberation and as reCu!enators of the gay mo!ement, 1hich has in the inter!ening decades become an assimilationist ci!il rights lobbyH ?ibid@* The assessments Crimp and Rolston maAe here are imprecise* irst of all, the tradition of direct action that ACT -& follo1s traces bacA, in part, to the media F3apsH staged by the .AA ?.ay Acti!ist Alliance@* The .AA is actually a group that split off from the .7 ?.ay 7iberation ront, i*e* the group founded after the Stone1all Riots@ because they thought the .7 1as too ineffecti!e due to its lacA of organi3ational structure* 4n engaging 1ith the mainstream media on the basis of pointing out FinaccurateH representations of gays and lesbians, the .AA pursued a less radical agenda than the .7 * Also, Crimp and RolstonBs

EE condemnation of the Fassimilationist ci!il rights lobbyH is rather unproducti!e* The Aind of acti!ism undertaAen by groups such as the Kational .ay and 7esbian TasA orce is certainly not entirely useless, e!en if their lobbying targets and ad!ocates mostly on behalf of the 1hite middle class, and, interestingly enough, critics of ACT -& use the same strategy to undermine ACT -&Bs !alidity and radicalism: they obser!e that members of ACT -& are mostly 1hite middle%class men* 9hat maAes Crimp and RolstonBs imprecise obser!ations so interesting, ho1e!er, is that they constitute an inter!ention in the narration of historical e!ents in order to bolster their o1n position as heirs and current ad!ocates of the gay liberation mo!ement Lmuch liAe the .7 shaped the perception of the e!ents at the Stone1all 4nn to lend substance to the emerging gay liberation mo!ement* 4n addition to aligning itself 1ith the Fradical traditionH of gay liberation, ACT -& also produced a booAlet about the history of political gay and lesbian acti!ism, namely A &is3&er Stor( o 'ueer Activism, thus further strengthening ACT -&Us position in the historical de!elopment of .7'T organi3ing since Stone1all ?note the use of the term 2ueer in the title of their history@*

Stone1all /0 Dn the anni!ersary of the Stone1all Riots, 8une /#, "#E#, ACT -& staged an alternati!e pride march to the official parade* 4nstead of follo1ing the traditional route from Central &arA to .reen1ich Village, ACT -& chose to maAe its 1ay along the in!erse path, i*e* from .reen1ich Village to Central &arA* The defiance of the parade route laid out by those 1ho ACT -& perhaps percei!ed as the assimilationist faction of

E# the gay and lesbian community 1as grounded in yet another emphasis on not only reclaiming, but rendering !isible, radical gay history: FDne piece of history unco!ered by that effort Ri*e* the compilation of &is3&er Stor( o 'ueer Acti!ismS 1as the symbolism inherent in the route of gay pride marches* 4n the early "#;0s, 1e had marched out of the gay ghetto, up Sixth A!enue, and into Central &arA for a militant rally* 9e had no police permitsM 1e simply tooA to the streets and proclaimed our right to be e!ery1hereH ?Crimp and Rolston, "00@* Again, this interpretation of the early gay pride parades is contradicted by other interpretations* The Christopher Street 7iberation Day &arade didnBt taAe place 1ithout permitsLthe parade 1as officially permitted ?see reproduction of the permit in Becoming -isi1le: An Illustrated &istor( o Les1ian and )a( li e in ,+entieth-Centur( America, "$@* Also, the declaration that F1e simply tooA to the streetsH suggests that the parade 1as a spontaneous e!ent 1hen it 1as the outcome of months of careful planning on both an organi3ational and symbolic le!el ?as 4 discussed in Chapter "@* 9hat is once again most interesting about this assertion is the 1ay in 1hich Crimp and RolstonBs proclamation of Fthe right to be e!ery1hereH speaAs less to a historic precedent than to an important and consistent feature of ACT -& actions and to their politics of !isibility, namely ACT -&Bs fre2uent taAe%o!ers of significant public spaces such as .rand Central Station or 9all Street* During the parade, ACT -& members 1ore T%shirts 1ith the slogan F4 am out therefore 4 amH on them* &erhaps the declaration F4 am outH is a marAer of the passage of time: it is no longer necessary to encourage oneself and others to Fcome out,H as the gay liberation mo!ementBs most famous slogan, Fcome out, come out, 1here!er you are,H did*

#0 Rather, one simply is Fout,H and this position defines 1ho one Fis*H The declaration of F4 am out therefore 4 amH aligns 1ith the idea of coming out as libratory act and 1ith the interpretation of the failure to come out as betrayal, notions that solidified o!er the next fe1 years* The perception of coming out as some sort of 2ueer duty becomes most ob!ious during the 1a!es of celebrity outings during the early "##0s, a practice that 1as initiated by ACT -& member (ichael Signorelli in his column for OutWee0* 4n its insistence on coming out as Aey to the constitution of subCecti!ity, F4 am out therefore 4 amH differs significantly from S47)KC) W D)AT, in its incitement to !isibility* 9hile the Stone1all /0 slogan figures coming out as an indi!idual act, structured around personal experience, S47)KC) W D)AT, is a predominantly anonymous, collecti!e action of raising attention to structures of po1er and discrimination* S47)KC) W D)AT, also emphasi3es processLthe process of speaAing, of discourseLnot a one time occasion of Fcoming out*H 4n both cases, ho1e!er, a similar Aind of hope of change is pinned onto a public declaration* As part of their description and analysis of Stone1all /0, Douglas Crimp and Adam Rolston ?both former ACT -& members@ explain the design process for the F4 am out therefore 4 amH T%shirt* The T%shirt is another example of ACT -&Bs use of Fappropriation art,H i*e* the construction of a piece of art out of pre%existing images or art1orAs 1ith the goal of abdicating claims to originality and artistic FgeniusH in an effort to underline that Fthe Buni2ue indi!idualB is a fiction, that our !ery sel!es are socially and historically determined through preexisting images, discourses, and e!entsH ?Crimp and Rolston, "E@* The emphasis on a criticism of the Funi2ue indi!idualH is important in the

#" context of the F4 am out therefore 4 amH T%shirt* As 4 elaborated abo!e, the slogan centers on the act of self%creation through the act of coming outLnot exactly a denial of uni2ue indi!idualism* Crimp and Rolston go on to obser!e: or the /0th anni!ersary of Stone1all the statement Ri*e* publicly announcing oneBs sexual identityS 1as gi!en a ne1 graphic emblem, ACT -&Bs T%shirt 1ith an image appropriated from artist 'arbara +ruger* Re1riting DescartesU cogito, +ruger tooA a s1ipe at consumer%determined identity: 4 S,D&, T,)R) DR) 4 A(* Dur graphic played a oucauldian t1ist on hers, turning the confession of sexual identity into a declaration of sexual politics: 4 A( D-T, T,)R) DR) 4 A(* ?"0/@ The idea of the F4 am out therefore 4 amH T%shirt as an appropriation of an anti% consumerist art1orA playing on Descartes already offers enough of a referential entanglement 1ithout the reference to oucault, 1hich appears 1ithout further elaboration* The specific 1ay in 1hich Crimp and Rolston dra1 on oucaultBs theory of the confession is curious indeed as their interpretation does not correspond to the 1ays in 1hich this passge in ,he &istor( o Se6ualit(, -ol:! is most fre2uently interpreted* After all, in oucaultBs theory, the confession is not an admittance of sexual preferences ?in the classic understanding of Fcoming outH@, but rather the production of subCecti!ity !ia the construction of sexuality* 4n other 1ords, according to oucault, one does not re!eal a pre!iously existing understanding of oneself as gay or lesbian, but rather the 2uest for the FtruthH about oneself that is pursued during the confession leads to a formation of subCecti!ity in the moment of confessing, 1ith the constitution of sexuality as a subCectBs

#/ percei!ed innermost Ftruth*H Considering that ACT -&Bs politics are often brought into connection 1ith the emergence of 2ueer theoryLa body of theory that hea!ily dra1s on oucaultLthis ?perhaps 1illfulG@ misreading of oucault once again dra1s attention to the construction of narrati!es about e!ents and ideas* Stone1all /0 tried to recapture the percei!ed radical spirit of the gay liberation mo!ement 1ith the goal of inspiring A4DS acti!ists and perhaps also to remind one another of the !itality of the gay community, a reminder that seems crucial at a moment 1hen both people and institutions are at risA of annihilation due to the A4DS crisis* 7ooAing bacA at his interpretation of the F4 am out therefore 4 amH T%shirt and other ACT -& graphics, Douglas Crimp states, FThe A4DS acti!ist graphics 4 1rote about in AI%S %emogra4hics, for example, 1ere produced for specific demonstrations, 1ere about local issues of the moment, and thus ha!e no meaning today except as mementos, documents, or examples of the type of 1orA that might be made for other times and placesH ?FDe%(orali3ing Representations of A4DS,H /$O@* 4 respectfully disagree 1ith Crimp on the percei!ed lacA of the usefulness of ACT -& graphics* 4n addition to inspiring current forms of acti!ism, they also pro!ide insights into ho1 2ueer !isibility 1as understood during the A4DS crisis and into 1hich Ainds of narrati!es emerged around this !isibility*// These insights are crucial to understanding ho1 the discourse of 2ueer !isibility e!ol!ed and changed o!er the years* The graphics and interpretations surrounding S47)KC) W D)AT, and Stone1all /0 sho1 that 1hile ACT -& attacAed the predominant representations of gays and
//

or examples of current acti!ism inspired by ACT -&, see *rom AC, 7/ to the W,O: 7r1an /rotest and Communit( Building in the .ra o )lo1ali5ation*, an anthology edited by 'enCamin Shepard and Ronald ,ayduA*

#: lesbians that 1ere circulating in the media at the time, they ne!ertheless also enacted a politics structured around !isibility, thus emphasi3ing and reaffirming the centrality of !isibility to 2ueer identities* The une!en meanings that emerge around S47)KC) W D)AT, and Stone1all /0 lay a claim to !isibility, but one in 1hich !isibility is not fixed, but rather adaptable to different circumstances* 9hile the insistence to speaA out remains, 1hat 1ill be said and to 1hom changes, especially o!er time* ACT -& 1as certainly successful in maAing its !oice heard in many 1aysLin capturing the mediaBs attention, in gaining a fe1 political !ictories, and in securing a place in gay and lesbian history* 'ut as Crimp and Rolston asA, FSuch success can ensure !isibility, but !isibility to +homGH ?"#@* 4t is such 2uestions of !isibility, for 1hich audiences and under 1hich protocols, that become crucial to understanding the transition bet1een the FdarAH times of A4DS in the "#E0s and the Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH during the "##0s*

The FendH of A4DS !ia the normali3ation of A4DS 'y the early "##0s, a decade after the first diagnoses of 1hat 1ould be called A4DS, the A4DS crisis 1as no longer percei!ed as an emergency, but had transitioned into a Fpermanent disaster,H discussed as such in the same breath as drug abuse, homelessness, and po!erty* This transition from emergency to chronic social problem represents the first 1ay in 1hich A4DS 1as Fnormali3edMH it becomes part of a list of social issues that are too o!er1helming to be resol!ed and can thus be ignored ?Crimp, FRight Dn, .irlfriendT,H ";O@* At the same time, the film /hiladel4hia ?8onathan Demme, "##:@, a maCor

#O ,olly1ood production 1ith an A%list cast consisting of Tom ,anAs and Den3el 9ashington, emerged and turned the spotlight on the impact of the A4DS crisis* 9hat may seem paradoxical at first sightLthe A4DS crisis fading into the 1hite noise of constant social problem 1hile at the same time being rendered highly !isible through a mainstream ,olly1ood filmLare actually t1o phenomena that go hand%in%hand* The press lauded /hiladel4hia as daring and critical, as if this film 1as the first time that FAmericaH 1as confronted 1ith the A4DS crisis* Such a portrayal denies an entire decade of media representations and A4DS acti!ism that significantly contributed to the image of A4DS presented in /hiladel4hia* 4n fact, this most F!isibleH encounter 1ith A4DS, in 1hich ,olly1ood, and by extension, FAmericaH is no1 finally able to deal 1ith A4DS, also ushers in the end of A4DS !ia a normali3ation of A4DS: no1 that a maCor mo!ie studio has brought us a story about A4DS that elicits sympathy for its F!ictims,H and this story has been lauded by critics and Fa!erageH Americans aliAe, A4DS can be con!eniently forgotten about ?Cust as a similar moment, in 1hich, arguably, the height of 2ueer !isibility ushers in forgetfulness occured 1ith Bro0e1ac0 Mountain in /00<@* /hiladel4hia is thus not a turning point in the representation of &9A, but the culminating moment of this genre, or at least of its more sympathetic dimensions* /hiladel4hia rehearses all its characteristics: the sympathetic !ictim, the properly monogamous relationship, the supporti!e family, the Custice of the la1, the containable discrimination in the form of preCudiced employers, the address to the Fgeneral populationH and so forth* 'y rendering A4DS a personal matter, one that plays out bet1een straight, ,4V%negati!e indi!iduals 1ho react either 1ith sympathy or fear to the

#< person 1ith A4DS, /hiladel4hia once again fa!ors a personali3ed !ie1 of A4DS, similar to 1ays in 1hich TV ne1s and special reports ha!e framed the A4DS crisis* Among the issues that are con!eniently left out of the picture yet again are the structural and institutional forms of discrimination against &9A as 1ell as the 1ays in 1hich media representations are implicated in the production of exactly those anxieties brought to1ards &9A that /hiladel4hia critici3es* (oreo!er, 2ueer sexualities and communities are merely bacAdrops in the film, thus marAed as FunimportantH 1hen compared to the FrealH issues of the film, namely the inCustice of discrimination and the appeal to sympathy to1ards A4DS F!ictims*H As Douglas Crimp puts it, FAnd 1hat Rdirector 8onathanS Demme seems thus to be saying is that you ha!e to dispense 1ith 1hat maAes a 2ueer a 2ueer in order to get anybody else to feel sorry heBs going to dieH ?FDe% (orali3ing Representations of A4DS,H /<$@* 4 1ould go one step further and argue that the denial of 2ueer sexuality and culture is not only necessary to elicit sympathy, but to allo1 for this form of mainstream !isibility in the first place* The disa!o1al of desire bet1een the gay couple featured in /hiladel4hia is crucial to constructing a narrati!e that demands the recognition, sympathy, and tolerance of their partnership* /hiladel4hia is exemplary of the 1ay in 1hich A4DS FdisappearsH !ia the mechanism of normali3ation* 4t also sho1s ho1 the Fend of A4DSH !ia the normali3ation of A4DS sets up the conditions for, and in fact enables, the explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s: the process of normali3ation allo1s an uncoupling of the immediate association of A4DS and gay sexuality !ia the assurances that Fgood,H 1hite middle%class gays ha!e Fgro1n upH and become responsible citi3ens* As such, they no longer present a

#$ danger to the status 2uo ?or the Fgeneral populationH@*/: There are se!eral interlocAing 1ays in 1hich this disarticulation has come about, and 4 1ant to looA at each of them in some detail* As 4 mentioned, /hiladel4hia 1as the pinnacle of a genreLthe genre of portraits of &9ALthat had been constituting itself throughout the "#E0s* During that time, net1orA tele!ision and mainstream mo!ie representations of gay men 1ith A4DS re!ealed a lingering hesitancy to represent intimacy bet1een 2ueer characters and relegated 2ueer sexualities to an Foff%screenH realm* An .arl( *rost, a "#E< made%for%TV mo!ie that outlines a familyBs reaction to disco!ering that their son is ,4V%positi!e, is perhaps the most 1idely Ano1n stepping stone to1ards /hiladel4hia* Secondly, the discourse of safe sex also plays a maCor role in this disarticulation: it e2uates FsafeH sex 1ith sex that occurs 1ithin a monogamous relationship, that happens in pri!ate, and that doesnBt include any FrisAyH practices* inally, and directly related to the push for a specific definition of FsafeH sex, the mainstream media ran stories about changes in Fgay lifestyleH throughout the "#E0s that condemned the careless and FpromiscuousH days of post%Stone1all cruising and dancing in the "#;0s* These three discursi!e processes allo1 for the emergence of a normali3ed gay !isibility that is celebrated in the "##0s and that, by proCecting itself as FfirstH and only type of !isibility there is, screens out other 1ays of representing 2ueerness, at least in the mainstream press and on TV*

Disco, Drugs, and DicA

/:

Conser!ati!e gay Cournalist Andre1 Sulli!an most famously articulated this point of !ie1 in his "##$ 9e+ ?or0 ,imes Maga5ine article F9hen &lagues )nd: Kotes on the T1ilight of an )pidemic*H

#; The alignment of safe sex and monogamy as populari3ed in many safe sex discourses can be traced bacA to the "#E0s through articles in both the gay and mainstream press* or example, as early as "#E:, the 9e+ ?or0 ,imes put forth a narrati!e that begins to separate FgoodH gays from FbadH gays and that lauds a change of attitudes to1ards casual andPor public sex* The article F,omosexuals Confront a Changing 9ay of 7ifeH includes numerous 2uotes by gay men, most of 1hom are professionals or business%o1ners, 1ho cite A4DS as an impetus for shifting their romantic priorities a1ay from casual sex to long%term partnerships* Some opposing !oices find an outlet in the article as 1ell, but these opinions are deemed to be Fbehind the times,H held by people incapable of changing their habits* The article features a 2uote by Alan R* +ristal, a doctoral student in &ublic ,ealth, 1ho argues that FThey Rmen 1ho fre2uent bars and bathhousesS are trapped in adolescent masculinity * * * and lacA the social sAills of forming relationshipsH ?Korman, A"@* Statement by Fexperts,H such as the one by +ristal and others 1orAing in the field of medicine and science, frame the opinions gi!en by gay men, thus allo1ing the experts a Ffinal 1ord,H namely one that endorses relationships and dismisses casual sex* The article clearly declares sex that taAes place in pri!ate and 1ithin an exclusi!e relationship as FsafeH and sex that is anonymous and public as FrisAyH and as contributing to the FspreadH of A4DS* This dichotomy is then proCected onto a narrati!e of gay liberation that deems the post%Stone1all days of disco and cruising as adolescent mistaAes that A4DS brought into sharp relief, allo1ing for the reali3ation that Fgro1ing upH means letting go of these mistaAes in order to achie!e FrealH liberation: F)!eryone 1ants the same thingsLa home, a Cob you donBt hate too

#E much, and someone to share it 1ith * * * 9eB!e begun our liberation, no1 letBs liberate oursel!es,H ,ar!ey ierstein says ?ibid@* The idea that such morali3ing condemns a significant part of gay culture does not cross the FexpertsBH minds* As one doctor obser!es, FA lot of gay people thinA you canBt extract the life style from being gay* 4 thinA you can ha!e a gay identity 1ithout the risA factorsHLthe FrisA factorsH here being sexual beha!ior that escapes the norm, of course ?ibid@* 4t is not only mainstream press outlets such as the 9e+ ?or0 ,imes that under1rites this ne1 gay morality* .ay maga3ines, such as Christo4her Street, also feature similar opinions* 4n a "#EO feature article on FSur!i!ing A4DS,H 7an3aratta &hilip explains, F(y most re1arding moments are the one%on%one con!ersations 1hen 4 can relate to specifically someoneBs 1ords* The intensity becomes similar to the Bold days,B 1hen dishing 1as disco, drugs, and dicA, not life and deathH ?:/%::@* &hilipBs statement sets up an analogy bet1een gay life in the time of A4DS, 1hen intimacy that does not rely on sexual relationships becomes the most re1arding Aind, and before A4DS, 1hen life re!ol!ed around the shallo1er pursuits of gossip, going out, and getting laid* )!en though &hilip deems this ne1 Aind of intimacy as re1arding, a hint of 1istful remembrance is also palpable in the statement* Despite any potential nostalgia, ho1e!er, the article maAes it clear that the days of Fdisco, drugs, and dicAH are o!er* A similar sentiment characteri3es a "#E< editorial by Douglas Sardo1nicA in the Advocate* SpeaAing on behalf of young gay men, Sardo1nicA explains that an increasing number choose monogamy as the first line of defense against Fthe ne1 dangers of illnessH ?E@* 9hile he admits that his three%year relationship began out of necessity, he also underlines

## that, as someone 1ho came of age in the early "#E0s, he Fhad no history of untamed promiscuity to fall nostalgically bacA onH and that, for this generation of gay men, cruising is not an ideal lifestyle ?ibid@* 4n other 1ords, it is not only mainstream press outlets that foster an alignment of safe sex 1ith monogamy ?an alignment that depends on the condemnation of the supposedly misguided and hedonistic late "#;0s@, but it is also the gay press that participates in this reframing of 1hat many pre!iously considered the embodiment of gay liberation* 4t is important to Aeep in mind that neither the condemnation nor the celebration of the days of Fdrugs and discoH offer the FtrueH story of gay life in the late "#;0sM rather, both are frame1orAs for organi3ing and understanding 2ueer sexualities* 4t is the differing implications of these narrati!es that are most important to understand: one allo1s for the construction of gay sexuality that acti!ely resists heteronormati!e patterns ?but is not 1ithout its alienating and destructi!e elements@M the other fa!ors car!ing out a niche 1ithin the constraints of heteronormati!ity ?one that possibly allo1s for participation and e!entual acceptance into the nation@* The fight o!er the closure of gay bathhouses in Ke1 QorA City in "#E< is the incident that most clearly illuminates ho1 intersecting discourses of Fgeneral populationsH !ersus FrisA groupsH and a condemnation of FpromiscuityH produce a frame1orA for the renegotiation of 2ueer !isibility under the banner of safe sex* Specifically, the deployment of a rhetoric centered around Fsa!ing li!esH and Fprotecting public healthH lead to a restructuring of ho1 2ueer !isibility became manifest in and through physical spaces such as bathhouses, bars, mo!ie theaters, and other commercial

"00 !enues that had allo1ed for public sex* 9hile Ke1 QorA State .o!ernor Cuomo, Ke1 QorA City (ayor +och, and State ,ealth Commissioner Dr* Da!id Axelrod initially concurred 1ith A4DS acti!ists that bathhouses pro!ided a space 1here FrisA groupsH could be educated about A4DS, they radically changed their position in the fall of "#E<* Kot so incidentally, the ne1s co!erage surrounding the death of RocA ,udson on Dctober /, "#E< dro!e home the point that if a pre!iously belo!ed film star could turn out to be gay and dying from A4DS, FanyoneH could be at risA*/O Defending the stateBs authori3ation to close bathhouses if they posed a risA to Fpublic health,H Axelrod explained .o!ernor CuomoBs decision to the 9e+ ?or0 ,imes in the follo1ing 1ay: F4 thinA he 1as increasingly concerned about public%health considerations, particularly about the spouses of bisexual males 1ho did not Ano1 of their husbandBs procli!ities and 1hat impact that 1ould ha!e on the ultimate birth of childrenH ?2td* in &urnicA, FA4DS and the State,H 'O@* The implications of AxelrodBs statement are staggering: aside from the suggestions that the goal of heterosexual marriage is reproduction ?maAing future children the group that most deser!es to be protected from A4DS@ and that 1omen are the !ictims of their philandering husbands, the construction and defense of Fpublic healthH in the stateBs imagination clearly only in!ol!es those 1ho fully comply 1ith the demands of heteronormati!ity* The ultimate risA here is not a !irus, but de!iancy*
/O

(oreo!er, RocA ,udsonBs death reinforced the impression that A4DS is a Fgay disease*H or example, headlines such as Li e Maga5ineBs FKo Dne is SafeH do not indicate the reali3ation that ,4V, as a !irus, could affect anyone, but rather that it is impossible to tell 1ho might be part of a FrisA groupH and thus expose the Fgeneral populationH to ,4V ?&atton, Inventing AI%S, "0"@* Richard (eyer argues that the re!elation of RocA ,udson as a gay man 1ith A4DS caused a feeling of betrayal among many AmericansL a betrayal of an image of safe, straight masculinity, as so fre2uently put forth by ,udsonBs publicity shots from the "#<0s ?/;E@* The images publici3ed along 1ith the re!elation of ,udsonBs struggle 1ith A4DS can no longer contain the 2ueer air that surrounded his earlier photographs: through a collapse of a specific representation of &9A ?as physically marAed by disease@ and homosexuality into a synonymous relationship, these pictures shore up panic instead of dispelling it*

"0" Thus, the 1ay Axelrod and other officials constructed safe sex discourse redre1 moral boundaries around specific sexual beha!iors* The Fde!iantH act that 1as implied but not discussed in the struggle o!er Ke1 QorA CityBs bathhouses is anal sex, 1hich 1as once again imagined as exclusi!ely 2ueer practice* As 4 elaborated earlier in my discussion of S47)KC) W D)AT,, mainstream discourses reduce gay sexuality to the practice of anal sexM moreo!er, anal sex becomes the imaginary site 1here A4DS originates and from 1hich it spreads* Dnce the a1areness of so%called Fheterosexual A4DSH cases began to rise after "#E:, it became important to uphold a neat separation of heterosexual and 2ueer sex practices* An admission that heterosexuals might also engage in anal sex became problematic as it rendered the neat separation of straight and 2ueer sexualities slippery and !ague, 1hich in turn 1ould ha!e shaAen the foundation of mainstream A4DS discourses that crucially depended on ideas of FrisA groupsH ?such as gay men@ as distinct from the safe Fgeneral populationH ?i*e* heterosexuals@* As Cindy &atton obser!es, Fanal sex in heterosexuals must be explained a1ay as a form of birth control, as an unci!ili3ed BmistaAeB about 1here to put Bit,B or as a AinAy pleasure engaged in only 1ith BprostitutesBH ?Inventing AI%S, ""E@* 9ith anal sex safely ensconced in the realm of 2ueer sex, FtrueH heterosexuals ?i*e* those 1ho are imagined to refrain from non%normati!e sexual practices, from drugs, and from contact 1ith FrisA groupsH@, no longer had to concern themsel!es 1ith its dangers* 8onathan AlterBs assessment of ho1 the press handles co!ering A4DS in "#E< illustrates both the reduction of gay sexuality to anal sex and the separation of heterosexual sex from that practice: FR1Shile much remains unAno1n about ho1 the A4DS !irus spreads, no description is really complete 1ithout

"0/ reference to breaAage of the rectal lining through anal sex* That is probably ho1 the !ast maCority of the cases ha!e been transmitted so farLa fact that underlines the remoteness of the A4DS risA from most peopleBs experienceH ?FSins of Dmission,H /<@* The full extent of 1hat the mainstream media imagined under the Fde!iancyH contained in the lifestyle of certain gay men emerged in a 9e+ ?or0 ,imes article about the closure of The (ineshaft, a gay bar that 1as the first to be shut do1n after the announcement of ne1 measures in the fight against A4DS in the fall of "#E<* Relying on reports by city health officials, author 8oyce &urnicA described The (ineshaft as FdarA placeH featuring Fthe accoutrements of sadomasochism*H The article ends on a 2uote by (ayor +och 1ho deems the health officialsB report Ftough stuff to readH but imagines that the acti!ities at The (ineshaft Fmust be horrific, horrendous in its actuality to 1itnessH ?FCity Closes 'ar,H ':@* 4t is these FdarAH bars, bathhouses, and mo!ie theaters that ha!e no place in the ne1, FenlightenedH gay lifestyle that is in the process of emerging in the second half of the "#E0s* 'ut the regulation and redefinition of 2ueer !isibility !ia inter!entions in the actual geography of Ke1 QorA CityBs gay neighborhoods doesnBt end 1ith the fight o!er bathhouses* During the "##0s in particular, a series of inter!entions on behalf of the city reduced public and commercial spaces that had long been sites for cruising and alternati!e sexual cultures* rom the enforcement of the city health code in "##< ?disallo1ing any type of sexual encounter in commercial spaces, 1hether FsafeH or not@, through gentrification of spaces such as the ,udson ri!er piers, to the establishment of ne1 3oning la1s in the same year ?se!erely restricting 1here adult businesses could operate@, the Fne1H gay !isibility is not only modeled by Fout and proudH characters on

"0: TV, but is also car!ed into the urban landscape of -*S* Cities such as Ke1 QorA ?9arnerBs FVones of &ri!acy,H ;#%E/@*

To1ards the F.ay #0sH Dnce Fgay sexH had been isolated from Fheterosexual sexH and had been rendered a pri!ate act taAing place 1ithin a monogamous relationship, the media 1as able to disa!o1 the existence of gay sex altogether: gays in the mainstream media donBt ha!e sex at all* Thus, 1here once the connection bet1een 2ueer identities, sexualities, and A4DS seemed inseparable, and one could not confront or represent one 1ithout the others, discussions surrounding a more FresponsibleH 1ay of life coupled 1ith a morali3ing safe sex discourse allo1ed a disarticulation of the automatic association of gay sexuality and A4DS* The proliferation of Fpositi!eH images of gays on TV and in film could only happen after the at least superficial disentanglement of the percei!ed causal intert1inement of A4DS and 2ueer sexuality* The continued absence of gay ?and lesbian@ sexuality on net1orA tele!ision in particular can thus be explained by this normali3ation as 1ell: being confronted 1ith gay sex ser!es as a reminder of the still%present threat that non%normati!e identifications and practices pose to the heteronormati!e structures of American society* The specter of A4DS is only one component of this threat, but perhaps the one that has been most effecti!ely suppressed* Among other effects, the normali3ation of A4DS in conCunction 1ith the Fexplosion of gay !isibilityH in the "##0s brought about prominence for a handful of conser!ati!e gay Cournalists 1ho shape and align themsel!es 1ith a homonormati!e

"0O discourse* This perspecti!e on A4DS is e!en more insidious than the blatantly homophobic attitude that 1as put forth by the media and certain politicians in the "#E0s because it is 1rapped in FsensibleH arguments ?such as the one that aligns monogamy 1ith the pre!ention of A4DS@ and supported by a con!ersion narrati!e ?gay men used to lead li!es of promiscuity and drugs, but the A4DS crisis made them Fgro1 upH and become responsible@* This type of FreasonableH argument, under1ritten by the e!idence of experience ?or at least the claims of some peopleBs experiences@ becomes difficult to undo* (oreo!er, it bolsters the idea of FgoodH gays !ersus FbadH gays* 4t is astonishing to see the same myth that first surrounded A4DSLnamely that only people 1ho subscribed to a certain FlifestyleH ?read, gay and promiscuous@ 1ould be susceptible to A4DS, and that, conse2uently, heterosexuals 1ere not at risA, reappear hereLalbeit in slightly altered 1ays* 4tBs a shift from FinnocentH &9A ?heterosexuals and children@ and FguiltyH &9A ?drug users and gay men, 1ho are by default considered promiscuous@ to Fgood gaysH ?those 1ho are monogamous, 1hite, and middle class and seemingly ne!er ha!e sex@ and Fbad gaysH ?those 1ho refuse to Fgro1 upH and let go of their promiscuous 1ays@* 4f, in the "#E0s, the specter of A4DS haunted all non%heterosexual acts and identities, the normali3ation of A4DS successfully banished this specter for those 1ho 1ould conform to the ne1 images put forth in the explosion of gay !isibility* Considering the notion of a gro1ing acceptance of gays and lesbians ?e!idenced by the Fne1H media !isibility@ and the general, post%/hiladel4hia understanding that A4DS F!ictimsH deser!e sympathy, charges of homophobia outside of the acceptable parameters of hate crimes or legally recogni3ed patterns of discrimination seem nonsensical and irrational*

"0< 4n light of this, historical narrati!es such as the follo1ing brief o!er!ie1 of the years "#;0%"##0 that (olly (c.ary and red 9asserman put forth in Becoming -isi1le: An Illustrated &istor( o Les1ian and )a( li e in ,+entieth-Centur( America paint a picture of the relationship bet1een non%normati!e sexualities, A4DS, and !isibility that is not only simplistic but, 4 1ould argue, reactionary: 4n large measure the gay liberation mo!ement of the "#;0s had been predicated on coming out and on a politics of !isibility* 4n the "#E0s, A4DS created a 1hole ne1 le!el of !isibility for gay people in American society as discussions of homosexuality necessarily spread in the media, the classroom, and the home* (iddle America finally had to acAno1ledge A4DS and homosexuality as its gay sons came home to die* 9hile the epidemic and this ne+ visi1ilit( engendered a bacAlash in some 2uarters, the gay and lesbian communityBs extraordinary response to the health emergency and the courage of people 1ith A4DS prompted a greater acceptance of and respect for gay people* ?/O0M emphasis mine@ (c.rary and 9assermanBs story of yet another minority groupBs triumph o!er ad!ersity obscures that, rather than coming out once and then fighting for increasing degrees of !isibility, the gay community comes out o!er and o!er again: first in the "#<0s as F!ictimsH of psychological disorders, then in the "#$0s%;0s 1ith Stone1all and gay liberation, then in the "#E0s 1ith A4DS, and finally, in the "##0s 1ith appearances in TV and ,olly1ood mo!ies and 1ith more political battles surrounding issues liAe gays in the military, hate crimes, and gay marriage* (oreo!er, a recognition of the normali3ation of A4DSLthe 1ays in 1hich certain aspects of the A4DS crisis needed to be FforgottenH in

"0$ order to allo1 for the proliferation of FoutH gay and lesbian characters on TV and in mo!iesLthat pa!es the 1ay for the FexplosionH of gay !isibility has no place in this progressi!e narrati!e* 4t is narrati!es such as the one offered in Becoming -isi1le that underline the importance of resisting the morality tales told about the A4DS crisis and, perhaps more importantly, about 1hat &atricA (oore calls the FbacAstage yearsH of "#$#%"#E"* As he obser!es in the introduction to Be(ond Shame: Reclaiming the A1andoned &istor( o Radical )a( Se6ualit(, F4t is !ery difficult to see those bacAstage years* They lie in shado1, hidden behind the scrim, illuminated only dimly by the light of A4DS* All scrims become opa2ue 1hen they are lit from only one side and 1e, the audience, sit in the present, !ie1ing those years through the lens of tragedyH ?(oore, :@* (ooreBs use of a media%based metaphor ?the scrim as screen@ to describe historiography is !ery telling, pointing to1ards the complicated 1ays in 1hich 2ueer identites, sexualities, and media !isibilities intersect* Against the opa2ue screen that only allo1s the proCection of a progressi!e, morali3ing narrati!e that sees the late "#;0s as period of drugs, disco, and sex that FresponsibleH gay men ha!e fortunately left behind, thus enabling them to emerge into media and political representation, one needs to mount a story of simultaneity: a struggle bet1een different ideas about 2ueer identities and !isibilities, about FassimilationH and Fliberation,H about Fnormati!eH and FradicalH sexLstories that cannot be reduced to one or the other*

C,A&T)R : Dutside of Space and Time: Screening Queerness in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( During the last ten years, mo!ie critics, audience members, and academics ha!e hailed Bro0e1ac0 Mountain ?Ang 7ee, /00<@ and Bo(s %on2t Cr( ?+imberly &ierce, "###@ as FbreaAthroughH films regarding their representation of .7'T issues* Continuing the narrati!e of the so%called explosion of gay !isibility that began in the early "##0s, both films are deemed another step for1ard for including a greater degree of 2ueer !isibility in ,olly1ood cinema* 4t shouldnBt come as a surprise, then, that both Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( rely on the same screening processes that accompany other FbreaAthroughH media texts of the "##0s and early /000s: namely the reliance on 1hiteness as screening surface for proCecting 2ueerness and the simultaneous screening out of the significance of race and of those aspects of 2ueer identities and sexualities that defy easy categori3ation* Specifically, genre and mise%en%scene facilitate a screening of 2ueerness in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, as these produce screening processes that encapsulate and contain the filmsB diegeses in distant places and times* 4nstead of bringing 2ueerness closer to the spectator, these screening processes render the representations of 2ueer desires and identities non%threatening to both the norms of ,olly1ood cinema and of American society* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain translates Annie &roulxBs short story of the same name into a "0;

"0E film about a lo!e affair bet1een t1o ranch hands, 8acA T1ist and )nnis del (ar* Their affair begins in "#$:, 1hen 8acA and )nnis spend one summer herding sheep on 'roAebacA (ountain, and continues for the next t1enty years in brief return trips to the mountain that reunites their other1ise separate li!es* Bo(s %on2t Cr( is also the result of adapting pre!iously 1ritten material for the screen* 'ut in this case, the film is not based on a fictional narrati!e, but rather on ne1spaper accounts, oral histories, and police transcripts of transgendered 'randon TeenaBs life and murder in rural KebrasAa in "##:* Director +imberly &ierce translates these sources into a tragic cinematic lo!e story that explores the last fe1 1eeAs of 'randonBs life and his short relationship 1ith 7ana Tisdel* 'oth films locate their diegeses in spaces and times that seem remote from FusH%%Hout thereH rather than nearby* 4n Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, the romance bet1een )nnis and 8acA spans decades, all of 1hich are firmly anchored in the past* This FpastnessH goes beyond specific marAers of historical time to incorporate broader discourses of cinematic historicity, including generic marAers of genres past their heyday, such as the classic 9estern and the mid%/0th century melodrama* 4n an allusion to another popular genre, namely science fiction, the KebrasAa landscape depicted in Bo(s %on2t Cr( taAes on an almost alien 2uality: blurring lights speed along darA high1ays that lead no1here* Despite its origins in FtrueH e!ents that can be tied to a specific time and place, the film portrays characters and places as untethered and 1ithout a sense of 1ho they are and 1here their li!es are headed* This is not the FheartlandH that is fre2uently portrayed as AmericaBs moral center* &roCected onto this bacAdrop, both 'randon TeenaBs struggle 1ith transgender identity and his e!entual murder also appear far%a1ay, a product of a remote

"0# almost other%1ordly homophobic culture* 7ocating the diegeses of both films outside of a particular space and time softens the potential disruption e!oAed by the cinematic examination of 2ueer identities* At the same time, the spaces in!oAed in both films, namely the American 9est and the (id1est, are spaces that are central to the American cultural imagination* The paradoxical 1ays in 1hich the 9est and the (id1est become both familiar and distant spaces are thus Aey to ho1 Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( tell stories about 2ueer media !isibility* 4n other 1ords, the screening of 2ueerness in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and in Bo(s %on2t Cr( oscillates bet1een t1o poles: one the one hand, the films offer seemingly pro!oAing representations of 2ueer li!es in the ideologically charged spaces of the 9est and the (id1est, and, on the other hand, they contain this pro!ocation in remote times and places* 4n fact, 4 1ant to underline that the praise for the breaAthrough 2ualities of these films precisely depends on their encapsulation of 2ueerness in a time and place that is alien and remote, and, as such, ultimately unable to impact neither ,olly1ood film% maAing nor e!eryday life in significant 1ays*

Kot Quite 'reaAing Through: Situating Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( in the Discourse of Queer Visibility 4n terms of reception, themes, and their place in the discourse of 2ueer !isibility, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( o!erlap in many 1ays: both films tell stories about 2ueer li!es and identities in remote rural areas, ending in the !iolent deaths of their protagonists, and both ha!e been hailed as breaAthrough .7'T films* 4 1ant to sAetch

""0 out these similarities in more detail before mo!ing on to examine the significance of space and time in the filmsB diegeses, mises%en%scene and narrati!es in more detail* At first sight, both films seem to defy the traditional norms of ,olly1ood cinema and the cultural discourses circulating about the regions in 1hich these films taAe place* The idea of telling a lo!e story bet1een t1o men in a big studio mo!ie 1ith stars in the leading roles, or of addressing the reCection of gender norms on the part of a young trans% man in a 1idely distributed independent film, may seem liAe a challenge to both ,olly1ood cinema and the idea of the pastoral 9est and of the (id1est as core elements to imagining the nation* Dne might 1ant to applaud the producers and directors of these films for these Ffirsts*H (any re!ie1s certainly did* or example, Adam '* Vary obser!es in his re!ie1 of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain for the Advocate: Ke!er before has a gay%themed film been as 1ritten about, re!ie1ed, lauded, a1arded, discussed, dissected, parodied, and hyped as Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, so itBs easy to forget amid this din that the film is deeply mo!ing millions nation1ide one theater and one screen at a time, communities sitting together in the darA and emotionally connecting 1ith this story* ?np@ )2ually effusi!e praise for the 1ay Bro0e1ac0 Mountain unites Americans in appreciating the story of 8acA and )nnisB romance appears in maga3ines of !arying political affiliations* ,he 9e+ Re4u1licBs Stanley +auffman remarAs, FRtSthey R8acA and )nnisS are as truly in lo!e as t1o people can be,H Richard Corliss of ,ime Maga5ine proclaims that FAmerica is no1 experiencing the 'roAebacA breaAthrough,H and 7eah

""" Ro3en of /eo4le obser!es that FRaS haunting lo!e story about t1o 9yoming co1boys 1ho carry on a furti!e romance for decades, its delicate storytelling and percepti!e performances maAe it one of the yearBs best filmsH ?/0M np@* )!en the 9ational Catholic Re4orterBs mo!ie critic 8oseph Cunnen deems that Bro0e1ac0 Mountain demonstrates Fgood tasteH and concludes his re!ie1 1ith the 2uestions, F4f one sees this lo!e as less than profound, the 2uestion remains, ho1 many mo!ie examples of deep lo!e are there to place against itG 9ere the lo!ers in those other films as innocent as they are hereGH ?";@* Across the board, re!ie1ers for maga3ines and ne1spapers lauded Bro0e1ac0 Mountain both for the 1ay it handled the portrayal of t1o men in lo!e and for ho1 it managed to transcend that context to tell a uni!ersally appealing story* 9hile the re!ie1s of Bo(s %on2t Cr( donBt reach for the same sort of superlati!es regularly used in response to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, mo!ie critics still consider the film outstanding* Dennis +ing of ,ulsa World remarAs that the film Fsays something enduring about the achingly complex business of being human, fitting in and finding lo!e and acceptanceH ?np@* Similarly, Carol Cling of the Las -egas Revie+-=ournal deems that the film Ftranscends its suspenseful, inside%the%crime elements to explore more complex attitudes and emotions, from the mysteries of sexual identity to the all%American conflict bet1een indi!idualism and conformityH ?np@* D!erall, re!ie1s for both films stress presumably uni!ersal or FhumanH themes, such as the 2uest for lo!e, acceptance, and finding oneBs place in society* At the same time, mainstream media critics underline that these are remarAable achie!ements for films that engage 1ith characters and topics that they percei!e to be distant from the imagined reader of these re!ie1s* The re!ie1s thus anchor the

""/ FbreaAthroughH 2ualities of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( in the successful combination of breaAing ne1 cinematic ground by telling a gay and transgendered lo!e story, respecti!ely, and of communicating familiar cinematic themes at the same time* The criticsB praise for the filmsB allegedly effortless blending of ne1 and established themes and storylines already suggests that the FbreaAthroughH 2ualities of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( might not be 2uite as disrupti!e as the term FbreaAthroughH suggests* (ore importantly, by declaring these films FbreaAthroughsH that portrayed certain li!es and identities for the first time in mainstream cinema, a 1hole history of pre!ious 2ueer li!es and identities is erased, both in on% and off%screen terms: 8acA and )nnis 1erenBt the first Fgay co1boysH in mainstream film history, and 'randon Teena not the first trans person to appear on screen* As such, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( fulfill a similar role for gay male lo!e and for transgender identities that /hiladel4hia ser!ed for cinematic renditions of the A4DS crisis: becoming hailed as breaAthroughs 1hile dra1ing on long%established patterns of 2ueer representation, most of them not exactly progressi!e or producti!e*4n addition, declaring both FfirstsH not only denies these histories, but also allo1s the depiction of male%male intimacy and of transgender identity in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and in Bo(s %on2t Cry, respecti!ely, to become blueprints for subse2uent portrayals of those relationships and identifications 1ithin the confines of the redefined discourse of 2ueer !isibility that emerged during the "##0s* or example, Mil0 ?.us !an Sant, /00E@ and ,ransamerica ?Duncan TrucAer, /00<@ are t1o 1idely distributed ,olly1ood films in the past fe1 years that address .7'T issues in the 1aAe of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(* 'oth films engage

"": time, space, race, and sexuality in similar 1ays to their predecessors* 4n its exploration of ,ar!ey (ilABs 1orA and life, Mil0 is another example of a film that contains and constrains gay male lo!e in the past, namely the "#;0s, limits it geographically ?to San rancisco, 1hich is already Ano1n that as a FgayH city@, and ends in the murder of the gay protagonist* ,ransamerica tells the story of (T 'reeBs cross%country Courney 1ith her son, 1hose existence she 1asnBt a1are of until the beginning of the film* The film stabili3es racial identities almost to the point of caricature in order to facilitate a ?rather poor@ exploration of gender identityM for example, the Kati!e American 'ree encounters on the road perfectly fits the stereotype of the Fnoble sa!ageH 1ho is one 1ith the land and 1ho imparts 1ords of 1isdom* The employment of space and time to screen race and 2ueerness in Mil0 and ,ransamerica thus echoes similar patterns in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(* The contradictions that emerge around the assessment that Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cry are the first films to address Fgay co1boysH or trans identities are compounded by the praise for the alleged breaAthrough 2ualities ascribed to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(: 'oth films ha!e been lauded for their ability to tell stories about Funi!ersal lo!eH and the temporal defiance of a homophobic culture, but neither of those themes donBt actually breaA 1ith heteronormati!e ideas about space and time* Keither Bro0e1ac0 Mountain nor Bo(s %on2t Cr( offer 1hat 8udith ,alberstam calls a 2ueer time and space: BQueer timeB is a term for those specific models of temporality that emerge 1ithin postmodernism once one lea!es the temporal frame of bourgeois

""O reproduction and and family, longe!ity, risAPsafety, and inheritance* BQueer spaceB refers to the place%maAing practices 1ithin postmodernism in 1hich 2ueer people engage and it also describes the ne1 understandings of space enabled by the production of 2ueer counterpublics* ?In a 'ueer ,ime and /lace, $@ 9hile Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( offer momentary possibilities of creating li!es outside of normati!e 1ays of life, the FbreaAthroughH aspects of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( fold bacA into a frame1orA of homonormati!ity and do not create spaces and times outside of it* or example, the portrayal of )nnisB choices throughout Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e might be read as the desire to escape the expected milestones of a heteronormati!e life ?settling do1n, marriage, children@, but most re!ie1s, as 1ell as Annie &roulx and the screenplay 1riters of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, read these choices as being moti!ated by internali3ed rural homophobia and the impossibility of )nnis choosing a domestic life 1ith 8acA on a ranch of their o1n ?4 1ill elaborate on )nnisB choices and other 2ueer possibilities in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain later on in this chapter@*/< Thus extratextual discourses ha!e 1orAed to contain glimpses of 2ueer times and spaces in the film by labeling )nnisB choices as passi!e response to an oppressi!e en!ironment, rather than an acti!e stance against the demands put upon him* The une!en potrayal of 2ueer li!es and identities in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( also encompass a focus on !iolence and murder* 'oth films end on the !iolent death of one of the protagonists: in the case of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, 8acA dies
/<

Author Annie &roulx and screenplay 1riters 7arry (c(urty and Diana Dssata outline their interpretations of the primary characters in 'roAebacA (ountain in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain: Stor( to Screen4la(:

""< alone on the side of the road* The film strongly implies that his death is the result of a beating by homophobic community members* 4n Bo(s %on2t Cr(, 'randon is first raped and then shot for the transgression of gender lines* &aradoxically, 8acABs and 'randonBs murders are points of both initiation and inertia in relationship to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(* Dn the one hand, it is !ery unliAely that either of these films 1ould ha!e been made if they didnBt in!ol!e horrific crimes that are supposed to elicit sympathy ?1ith the !ictims@ and condemnation ?of the circumstances that led to these crimes@ in the audience* Dn the other hand, the murders also effecti!ely shut do1n the possibilities of the 2ueer li!es and lo!es that the mo!ies suggestM thus, the !iolence also 1orAs as another strategy of containment* The exertion of !iolence against 2ueer characters has a long tradition in ,olly1ood cinema, and it is 2uite surprising to find this theme in films that are deemed Fprogressi!eH by mainstream media re!ie1s and by many audience members* As suggested by my pre!ious t1o obser!ations regarding the breaAthrough 2ualities and the significance of !iolence in relationship to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, the full significance of ho1 the discourse of 2ueer !isibility 1orAs in these films only emerges 1hen one reads textual against and alongside extratextual discourses ?such as mo!ie re!ie1s, inter!ie1s 1ith the directors, screenplay 1riters, and stars, audience reactions, and academic analyses@* 4n most cases, extratextual discourses offer !arious 1ays of reading the filmsB plots and characters as 1ell as insights about their significance to our current cultural moment* 4 ha!e already mentioned ho1 the fre2uent interpretation of )nnisB actions in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as inability to act on his feelings for 8acA in con!entionally romantic terms, rather than a deliberate refusal to act according

""$ to heteronormati!e expectations, ser!es to obscure possible 2ueerly disrupti!e moments in the film* Another example of ho1 extratextual discourses ser!e to constrain the potential 2ueerness expressed in these mo!ies happens !ia the attempt to separate the actors from their characters and to inscribe the actorsB sexual and gender identifications as FrealMH as such, 8aAe .yllenhaal and ,eath 7edger need to be un2uestionably straight, and ,ilary S1anA needs to be un2uestionably female*/$ 9hile all of the abo!e o!erlaps are significant, the most important connection bet1een Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( remains their temporal and spatial disclocation and the ensuing possibility of screening out of race and 2ueerness* 4t is this connection bet1een space, time, race, and 2ueerness that 4 1ant to explore in the remainder of the chapter*

Screening the 9est in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs ability to e!oAe sympathetic identifications depends on the location of its protagonists and narrati!e in a remote space and time, specifically in 9yoming during the "#$0s and "#;0s* This spaceL9yoming in particular, and the 9est in generalLis central to the American imagination* The 9est is al1ays both a real and an imaginary space that has Aey significance for ho1 America imagines itself as a nation: it is the space of (anifest Destiny and of the frontier* The construction of this ideali3ed 9est depends on screenings of race and 2ueerness* or example, the image of the co1boy as symbol of a rugged, straight, and 1hite masculinity obscures a history that
/$

or an excellent analysis of ho1 star images and characters of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain relate to one another, see 8essica 7*9* CareyBs F&erforming B7onesome Co1boyB and B8acA KastyB: The StarsB Kegotiation of Korms and Desires*H

""; encompasses 2ueer relationships bet1een men, many of 1hich 1ere not 1hite* Recent scholarship has sho1n that ideali3ed accounts of the settlement of the 9est suppress both the range of intimacies that characteri3ed the li!es of co1boys in the "#th century ?encompassing social, erotic, and sexual relationships@, and the racial di!ersity among co1boys ?&atterson, "0#@* )!en the term Fco1boyH has its origin in the Spanish 1ord va@uero ?lit* Fco1man@M the idea of co1boys tra!eled from (exico to the -nited States and became progressi!ely 1hiter the more it circulated in American culture ?&ere3, ;E@* ,iram &ere3 summari3es the screening processes at 1orA in the emergence of the American co1boys in the follo1ing 1ay: The Anglo co1boyBs homosexuality is critical to 9est1ard expansion* ,is sexuality is 2uietly sanctioned by the nation as is the racial !iolence he executes against American 4ndians, as 1ell as (exican ranchers 1ho remained in Texas, and e!en 'as2ue shepherders * * * * 4f the co1boy is recuperated as a hero after his demise due to land pri!ati3ation, it is perhaps due to a need to recast his role ?and conse2uently that of the nation@ in the !iolent settlement of the American 9est* ?E/@ The emergence of the co1boys as 1hite heroLin other 1ords, the !ery position he occupies in many 9esternsLthus depends on a 1illful forgetting of the historical circumstances of 9est1ard expansion* 9hat remains is not only a 1hite1ashed image of the co1boy, but 1hat (ary &att 'rady has called Fimperialist nostalgia:H a longing for an ideali3ed past that is de!oid of a history of racial conflict ?/O@* Conse2uently, 1hile the designation of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as a Fgay co1boyH mo!ie 1as fre2uently used

""E flippantly, a careful consideration of this moniAer re!eals much about the 1ays in 1hich Bro0e1ac0 Mountain participates in and uses dominant cultural narrati!es about the 9estern and the American 9est* At first, the description of 8acA and )nnis as Fgay co1boysH seems to be at odds 1ith the image of the co1boy created in the classic 9estern* The 9estern genre, especially the frontier 9estern, has significantly contributed to ho1 Americans imagine the 9est and the co1boy ?Anderson, ";@* rom the point of !ie1 of some critics, the appearance of openly acAno1ledged desire bet1een co1boys re!eals the homoeroticism of the 9estern genre as a 1hole* As )ric &atterson obser!es, FBro0e1ac0 Mountain addresses the erotic element in the 9estern mo!ie genre directly, forcing straight !ie1ers to be a1are of the sexiness of the co1boy figure that forms an important dimension of his appeal but that they 1ould prefer to denyH ?""$@* Specifically, &atterson dra1s attention to the tight Ceans and shirts 8acA and )nnis 1ear, neither of 1hich are nearly as styli3ed as the co1boys costumes of the classic 9estern, but they do their part to tie 8acABs and )nnisBs co1boy looAs into a discourse of desire* &atterson thus argues that the film forces audiences to engage 1ith the pre!iously suppressed homoeroticism of 9esterns and co1boys* (aybe, maybe not* 9hile 8acA and )nnis are certainly erotici3ed figures in the film ?not dissimilar from many leading men in contemporaneous ,olly1ood cinema@, the 1ay in 1hich 8acA and )nnis are hailed as the first gay co1boys 2ualifies &attersonBs argument* &ositing Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as the first mo!ie of its Aind marAs 8acA and )nnis as extraordinary and suggests a breaA 1ith the pastL1ith films in 1hich gay co1boys allegedly had no placeLinstead of a continuation* Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs status

""# as FbreaAthroughH obscures pre!ious historical and cinematic moments, including pre!ious 2ueer co1boy mo!ies such as Midnight Co+1o( ?8ohn Schlesinger, "#$#@ and Lonesome Co+1o(s ?Andy 9arhol, "#$E@ or the position of the co1boy as erotic figure in gay male culture* The designation of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as FtheH gay co1boy mo!ie pri!ileges the denotati!e representation of 2ueerness o!er connotati!e ones* &re!ious connotati!e moments of 2ueerness bet1een co1boys are obscured !ia the no1 denotati!e 2ueerness of 8acA and )nnis* This pattern appears in many of the media texts that are considered part of the Fgay #0s*H -pon closer inspection, it turns out that identifying Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as the Fgay co1boy mo!ieH is a misnomer on t1o le!els* irst of all, 8acA and )nnis are neither co1boys nor gay* Throughout the film, they taAe up a di!erse range of occupations, including shepherds, ranch hands, rodeo participants, and seasonal laborers, but they are not co1boys in the traditional sense, i*e* men 1orAing 1ith cattle* Secondly, they do not self%identify as gay* 4n fact, 8acA and )nnis do not identify or label their sexuality at all* The only identification of their sexual preferences comes in form of a reCection: both of them state that they are Fnot 2ueerH 1ithout an elaboration of 1hat they Fare*H The continuous identification of 8acA and )nnis as Fgay co1boysH in re!ie1s of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain therefore proCects a sexual identity onto the characters to 1hich they ne!er subscribe in the film* Qet the Fgay co1boyH label has stucA: extratextual discourses thus settle the 2uestion of identification e!en though it remains open in the film itself as neither 8acA nor )nnis embrace a FgayH ?or any other particular@ identity* Ron 'ecAer explains this need to pin do1n definiti!ely 2ueer identifications in the follo1ing 1ay:

"/0 F or 1hat might be called post%closet TV, gay men 1ho are not outL1ho fail to identify 1ith the label 1aiting for them, 1ho refuse to accept the straight 1orldBs tolerance, 1ho expose the gaping hole in the post%ci!il%rights logicLare a real problem* To maintain confidence in the clarity bet1een gay men and straight men, these closet cases must be helped outH ?"/;@* 4n other 1ords, in the supposedly gay%friendly "##0s and beyond, engaging in same%sex desire 1ithout subscribing to a corresponding label confuses the idea that being out is both a safe choice and expected* 9hile 'ecAer uses this argument primarily to discuss TV characters 1hose sexual identification remains unclear and thus problematic because it cannot be definiti!ely opposed to that of straight characters, 4 1ould extend this reading of the need to label and identify characters as an aspect of the broader discourse of 2ueer !isibility as it emerged during the "##0s* The case of 8acA and )nnis certainly fits this pattern* A further exploration of the Fgay co1boyH moniAer re!eals that it relates to historical narrati!es of the 9est in e2ually complex 1ays as it does to the 9estern* )!en though Bro0e1ac0 Mountain seems to challenge the usual narrati!e of the 9est by re!ealing that yes, Fgay co1boysH did exist, thus apparently re!ising ideas about the 9est, the film also participates in the same screening processes that ha!e been crucial to the construction of the 9est as ideali3ed space in the first place* 4n other 1ords, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain engages in its o1n screening of race and 2ueerness to facilitate a lo!e story of t1o 1hite ranch hands* As such, Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e of tragic lo!e, and the celebration thereof in the filmBs reception, participates in and reflects another central dynamic that has characteri3ed the discourse of 2ueer !isibility as it has

"/" emerged in the early "##0s: it re!eals one aspect of 2ueer !isibility and defines it as all that there has been and could be 1hile obscuring other possibilities of rendering 2ueerness !isible* 'ut, as is al1ays the case in these screening processes, race and other forms of 2ueerness cannot be completely screened from !ie1: alternati!e !isions of race and 2ueerness appear at the edges of the frame, in fleeting moments that are deemed insignificant in both the narrati!e and in re!ie1s, but that are actually crucial to the construction of )nnis and 8acABs romance* 9ith the exception of the denotati!e, that is, textually rendered sexual desire bet1een 8acA and )nnis, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain fits into and reflects the prominent cultural narrati!e of the 9est, especially in the early part of the film* The mise%en%scene e!oAes familiar !ie1s of pristine mountains and !alleys: it places 8acA and )nnis into an ideali3ed, timeless 9estern landscape* As (artin (analansan obser!es, FRlSiterally and figurati!ely, )nnis and 8acA are a1ay from it all, from the turmoil of e!eryday life ?including 1omen, family, and colored people@ and from the messiness of historyH ?#E@* The 9estern landscape of 'roAebacA thus isnBt merely a bacAdrop to the de!eloping romance bet1een 8acA and )nnis, but is rather an integral part to ho1 1e understand their romance* (oreo!er, instead of disrupting pre!ailing ideas about or reimagining the 9est, the idea of Fgay co1boysH unscreens only one element that didnBt appear in standard narrati!es of the 9est* This denotati!e rendering of 8acA and )nnisB desire for one another still relies on the screening of race as 1hiteness simultaneously functions as proCection surface for a gay romance and as filtering de!ice for racial otherness* Situating 8acA and )nnis in a 9estern landscape that al1ays already includes screenings of race and

"// 2ueerness is thus a crucial component and facilitator of constructing this Fneoliberal story of gay lo!eH ?(analansan, "00@* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain might tell a story about Fgay co1boys,H but the screening of race remains firmly in place* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain participates in the same Aind of 1hite1ashing that characteri3es both narrati!es of the 9est and of the 9estern, in 1hich the li!es of 1hite people figure prominently 1hile non%1hites taAe up the roles of the enemy or of insignificant side%AicAs*/; 4n Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, this pattern continues as racial difference appears insignificant to 8acA and )nnisB life and romance* irst of all, it does not appear important that 8acA and )nnis are 1hiteM as so often in ,olly1ood film, their 1hiteness is a gi!en and does not re2uire further elaboration* The only time 1e are a1are of racial difference is during 8acABs trips to (exico, 1here he cruises (exican men for anonymous sexual encounters* F(exicoH as a cultural space is summed up in !isual shorthands: in a brief establishment shot, people in bright clothes dance in a street of clay houses, music blaring from off%screenM the only legible store sign reads F7icoreria*H 8acA 2uicAly ducAs into a darA alley, 1here men lounge against house 1alls* Red light streaming from a 1indo1 confirms 1hat the menBs poses suggest* 8acA nods at the man 1ith the lightest sAin tone and they disappear into the darA together* This scene taAes up all of t1o minutes in the film* Despite the bre!ity of the scene, it is clear that (exico is coded as a de!iant space: 8acA tra!els to (exico to fulfill sexual needs, not to disco!er romantic lo!e* As Roy .undman obser!es, Fbanishing unromantic promiscuity beyond national borders is pandering to !ie1ersB middle%class mainstream mentalityH ?np@* The
/;

or an elaboration on ho1 race shapes the 9estern, see (arA Cronlund AndersonBs Co+1o( Im4erialism and &oll(+ood *ilm*

"/: unscreening of race in this brief scene thus only functions to reaffirm the lo!e bet1een 8acA and )nnis as Freal,H 1hereas 8acABs sexual encounters in (exico occur out of shameful desperation* 7ocating cruising and anonymous sex in (exico also allo1s the 9est to remain a FpureH space that fosters the Aind of intimacy 8acA and )nnis experienced during the first summer on 'roAebacA* The grandiose !istas of the mountain stand in sharp contrast to the night%time setting of the (exican marAet ?(analansan, ##@* The F2ueererH elements of gay relationships and sexual practices are thus tied to a racially de!iant space and effecti!ely banished from the larger story about 8acA and )nnisB li!es* -ltimately, 8acABs trips are only important as signifiers of the emotional struggles that 8acA and )nnis face in their relationship 1ith each other* 4n a climactic scene to1ards the end of the film, these emotional struggles erupt in a confrontation bet1een 8acA and )nnis that is Aey to understanding ho1 screenings of race and 2ueerness con!erge 1ith narrati!es of the 9est in order to elicit sympathetic identifications* 4t is "#;E, fifteen years after that summer 8acA and )nnis first spent together on 'roAebacA* They ha!e returned there for yet another of their infre2uent tripsM )nnis is no1 di!orced and 8acABs marriage exists in name only* 8ust before they lea!e to return to their li!es, 8acA once again expresses frustration o!er ho1 long it 1ill taAe until they can see each other again* The follo1ing con!ersation taAes place bet1een them as they stand in the shado1 of 'roAebacA (ountain: )nnis: FQou got a better ideaGH 8acA: F4 did once*H )nnis: FQou did once* 9ell, ha!e you been to (exico, 8acA T1istG ,mmG

"/O BCause 4 hear 1hat they got in (exico for boys liAe you*H 8acA: F,ell yes, 4B!e been to (exico* 4s that a fucAing problemGH )nnis: F4Bm telling you this one time, 8acA fucAing T1ist, and 4 ainBt foolinB* 9hat 4 donBt Ano1, all them things that 4 donBt Ano1, 4Bd get you Ailled if 4 come to Ano1 them* 4 ainBt CoAinB*H 8acA: FQo, try this one, and 4Bll say it Cust once*H )nnis: F.o ahead*H 8acA: FTell you 1hat: 1e coulda had a good life together, real fucAing good life* ,ad us a place of our o1n* 'ut you didnBt 1ant it, )nnisT So 1hat 1e got no1 is 'roAebacA mountain* )!erythingBs build on that* ThatBs all 1e got, boy, fucAinB all* So 4 hope you Ano1 that if you donBt e!er Ano1 that rest*H )nnis mumbles something incomprehensible* 8acA: FQou count the damn fe1 times 1e been together in nearly t1enty years and you measure the short fucAing leash you Aeep me on* Then you asA me about (exico, and you tell me you Aill me for needing something 4 donBt hardly e!er get* Qou ha!e no idea ho1 bad it gets* And 4Bm not you, 4 canBt maAe it on a coupla high altitude fucAs once or t1ice a yearT Qou are too much for me, )nnis* 4 1ish 4 Ane1 ho1 to 2uit you*H )nnis, crying: F9hy donBt youG 9hy donBt you Cust let me be, huhG 4tBs Bcause of you, 8acA, that 4Bm liAe this* 4Bm nothinB, 4Bm no1here*H

"/< 8acA and )nnis had se!eral similar con!ersations o!er the course of the film, but none of them ends in such a harsh confrontation* 4t is apparent that 8acABs re!elation that he has been going to (exico in search of sexual encounters fuels )nnisB anger* ,is statement about being a1are of 1hat (exico offers to Fboys liAe youH reaffirms (exico as de!iant space 1ithin the diegesis of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain* ,is threat of !iolence against 8acA underlines Cust ho1 threatening this de!iant space is: it intrudes into the relationship )nnis has 1ith 8acA, the one built around 'roAebacA* 4t needs to be reCected, perhaps e!en excised from pristine space of the 9est* Dra1ing on this and other arguments bet1een )nnis and 8acA, many re!ie1s designate 8acA as the character 1ho embraces his lo!e of and desire for )nnis more fully* This fre2uently repeated interpretation of 8acA as the one 1ho is more accepting of his desire and lo!e for )nnis is bolstered by a homonormati!e frame1orA: 8acABs suggestion of settling do1n on a farm together fits 1ell into the traCectory of particular ci!il rights discourses ?especially around gay marriage@ that dominated the mainstream discussion of .7'T identities at the time Bro0e1ac0 Mountain 1as released* )nnisB reCection of 8acABs suggestion is seen as sign of internali3ed homophobia on )nnisB part, bacAed up by information 1e recei!e about a traumatic e!ent during )nnisB childhood, during 1hich )nnis is forced to looA at the mutilated body of man 1ho 1as rumored to share a ranch 1ith another man* 'ut 1hat if 1e read )nnisB reCection of 8acABs plan as refusal of both homo% and heteronormati!e domesticity, as, for example, ,iram &ere3 suggestsG &ere3 argues that F)nnisB Bco1boy lifestyleB in this modern contextL1hich incorporates but cannot be reduced to 2ueer sexualityLis arguably the greater threat to heteronormati!ity

"/$ and the American 1ay of life: migrant, exclusi!ely homosocial, communal, anti% industrialH ?;#%E0@* rom this perspecti!e, )nnis emerges as a 2ueer figure 1ho resists normati!e temporalities, both in his marriage and in reCecting 8acABs proposal to settle do1n together*/E ,e defends his choice to ha!e a life marAed by transient moments and Cobs and the occasional trip to 'roAebacA 1ith 8acA* 4t is in this transience that 1e can find a 2ueer time and space in ,alberstamBs understanding* 4nterestingly, this 2ueer time and space once again opens up !ia the possibilities of silence ?similar to my arguments about silence in Chapters " and /@* 4n the lines of dialogue 4 2uoted abo!e, and indeed throughout most of the film, )nnis listens to 8acA far more fre2uently than he talAs to him* 4nstead of considering )nnisB silence as inability to articulate his thoughts and feelings, 1e can also see it as a refusal to define himself* As )nnis implores 8acA, FR1Shy donBt you Cust let me beGH* 'ut 8acA, and the logic of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility, demand self%identification from him* The designation of the film as Fgay co1boy mo!ieH and criti2ues of )nnis as repressed figure ?because he canBt embrace a FgayH identity in the 1ay 8acA does@ deny other 2ueer readings of his life and choices*

F&astness:H 9here 9estern and (elodrama (eet The significance of space and place, and their accompanying screenings of race and 2ueerness, to Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e and reception intersect 1ith a range of temporalities, all of 1hich signify differing le!els of 1hat 4 call Fpastness*H &astness
/E

or a similar taAe on )nnisB reCection, see also .undman and Colin 8ohnson, FRural Space: Queer AmericaBs inal rontier*H

"/; indicates a certain state of being that encapsulates an undefined ?i*e* timeless@ belonging in the past* This pastness 1orAs in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain in conCunction 1ith a remote location in the 9est, and, of course, 1ith the !arious screening processes of race and 2ueerness, to facilitate a mostly sympathetic and celebratory engagement 1ith the film* Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e taAes place roughly bet1een "#$0%"#E0* &ro!iding a fixed time frame 1ithin 1hich the filmBs narrati!e happens is the most ob!ious marAer of temporal distance: 8acA and )nnisB li!es taAe place in a time that is historically remo!ed from the contemporary spectator of the early /000s* 'ut despite this precise marAing of time, 8acA and )nnisB li!es also seem to be taAing place outside of timeLhistorical milestones of the decades during 1hich Bro0e1ac0 Mountain taAes place, for example the Vietnam 1ar or the Ci!il Rights (o!ement, donBt touch 8acA and )nnisB li!es* This sense of their li!es taAing place outside of time underlines and 1orAs in conCunction 1ith the spatial distance bet1een FusH ?the audience@ and FthemH ?8acA and )nnis@: their li!es unfold in such a remote place that e!en e!ents of allegedly nation1ide importance donBt reach them or touch their li!es* This particular conCunction of being outside of historically grounded time and space then facilitates the recognition of 8acA and )nnisB story as one of Funi!ersalH lo!e, an identification that also hea!ily depends on 1hiteness ?as the discourse of 1hiteness represents 1hiteness as unremarAable racial categori3ation 1hich then allo1s it to function as proCection surface for the struggle surrounding sexual identities@* ,o1e!er, 4 1ant to argue that the most significant tool for creating distance, namely the one that facilitates the sympathetic identification 1ith 8acA and )nnis, doesnBt

"/E taAe place through the anchoring of the plot in a distant time and place, but !ia Fpastness*H This pastness en!elops Bro0e1ac0 Mountain in t1o 1ays: irst, the film in!ol!es a transgeneric mix of 9estern and melodrama, t1o genres that, despite the occasional re!i!al, are percei!ed as unpopular and are strongly associated 1ith classical ,olly1ood cinema* 4n the 1ords of ,ime2s mo!ie re!ie1ers, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain is Fa gay 1estern art filmLa triple 1hammy of unfashionable genresH ?Corliss et al@* Secondly, Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e itself emphasi3es 8acA and )nnis as being stucA in the past* 4n terms of genre, labeling Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as the Fgay co1boy mo!ieH is a misnomer: Bro0e1ac0 Mountain is not a 9estern in the classic senseM rather, it is a transgeneric film that meshes together con!entions from the 9estern 1ith that of the melodrama*/# Conse2uently, labeling Bro0e1ac0 Mountain a Fgay co1boy mo!ieH does more than obscure that 8acA and )nnis are neither ?or necessarily@ FgayH nor Fco1boysH and that racial difference is neglected as playing a role in their li!es* 4n addition to constraining a fluidity of sexual identifications through sexual labels ?i*e* by labeling 8acA and )nnis as FgayH@, the use of textual labels ?i*e* the F9esternH label@ also tries constrain the generic fluidity of the film itself* This is particularly important since it is the transgeneric 2uality of the film that is crucial to the screening of race and 2ueerness apparent in the reception of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain* 9hile 8acA and )nnis dress and talA liAe co1boys, and they mo!e through a landscape that is identified 1ith the figure of the
/#

or a more elaborate explanation of Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs transgeneric elements, see Chris 'erryBs FThe Chinese Side of the (ountain,H in 1hich he discusses the inclusion of Chinese melodrama and yaoi elements in the film, and 8oshua Clo!er and Christopher KealonBs FDonBt AsA, DonBt Tell (eH for the containment the generic mix of 9estern and melodrama entails*

"/# co1boy in the American cultural imagination, they also find themsel!es in situations more closely associated 1ith the melodrama* 4n particular, 8acABs and )nnisB conflicted domestic situations carry signifiers of the melodrama* -ltimately, it is Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs transgeneric mix that facilitates the screening of !arious possibilities of 2ueerness in the film by rendering pre!iously connotati!e 2ueer moments in 9esterns singularly !isible !ia the romantic ?and melodramatic@ lo!e story bet1een 8acA and )nnis* These 2ueer moments undergo a codification of sorts in 1hich the homonormati!e model of domesticity as desired outcome of gay romance o!ershado1s other 2ueer possibilities ?e*g* the possibilities that surface in )nnisB silence and apparent inaction in response to 8acABs seemingly more acti!e proclamations of commitment@* The pastness facilitated !ia transgeneric elements also allo1s an amalgam of se!eral 9ests to emerge* The beginning of the film sho1s us the pastoral 1ilderness that 1as created by 1riters and painters in the "#th century and that inspired the ideas of the frontier and the doctrine of (anifest DestinyM 1e also see images of the 9est as shaped specifically by the 9estern, putting forth a specific type of rugged 1hite masculinity ?ne!er entirely de!oid of connotati!e 2ueerness, ho1e!er@* As the film progresses, the mise%en%scene transforms into a 9est in 1hich co1boys donBt ha!e a place anymoreM a space of big farms, economic decline, and settled li!es* Thus, through a combination of generic and narrati!e marAers, the text itself encapsulates 8acA and )nnisB romance in the pastness of one summer, in a spaceL'roAebacA mountainLthat once 1as but can ne!er exist again and only li!es on in nostalgic memory* The relationship 8acA and )nnis ha!e during the summer on the mountain thus ser!es simultaneously as an anchor of their li!es

":0 and as something that has irre!ocably been lost, Cust liAe the pastoral 9est that pro!ided the bacAdrop of that summer*

4nside of Space and Time: 8acA, )nnis, and the FDo1n 7o1H 9hile genre, diegesis, and narrati!e 1orA hard to imprint a sense of pastness onto Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, broadening the focus beyond the filmBs text and its immediate reception context offers a 1ay of understanding ho1 Bro0e1ac0 Mountain speaAs directly to current debates about race, sexuality, and 2ueerness* As 4 explained in the pre!ious sections, the screening of race in Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs mise%en%scene and in its diegesis underlines the importance of 1hiteness to constructing particular forms of 2ueer !isibility and challenges the Fprogressi!eH message most re!ie1s found in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as the tragic lo!e story of t1o Fgay co1boys*H The implications of and ans1ers to the 2uestion, F1hat if 8acA and )nnis 1ere blacAGH brings the importance of 1hiteness to the sympathetic reception of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain ?and to the filmBs importance to the discourse of 2ueer !isibility@ into e!en starAer relief* 4n F9hy 4 hate that 4 lo!ed Bro0e1ac0 Mountain,H D1ight (c'ride asAs precisely that 2uestion and argues that FRtS1o African American men could not possibly ha!e been !ie1ed as representing uni!ersal gay male experience in the 1ay that the 1hiteness of the characters in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain can and doesH ?#$@* 4n other 1ords, the 1hiteness of 8acA and )nnis is Aey to the presumed uni!ersalism of Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs FmessageH ?1hich most critics identified as being about lo!e and as communicating 8acA and )nnisB struggles in 1ays to 1hich F1eH can easily relate@* urthermore, (c'ride underlines that 8acA and

":" )nnis fulfill a Fsense%maAing normH of gay identity that goes beyond 1hiteness and includes a masculine and non%2ueer appearance and demeanor, all of 1hich come together to maAe them figures ready for sympathetic identification ?#;@* Conse2uently, 8acA and )nnis fit into the parameters laid out for 2ueer media !isibility throughout the "##0s and beyond* Dther similarly sympathetic figures include the media renditions of (atthe1 Shepard and the portrayal of fictional characters such as Will3)raceBs 9ill Truman* 'ut 8acA and )nnis also fit into the traCectory of recent 2ueer media !isibilities in other, perhaps more unexpected, 1ays* Specifically, the fact that they continuously cheat on their 1i!es is often either o!erlooAed or excused as by%product of a homophobic en!ironment that doesnBt allo1 8acA and )nnis to be 1ith the people they really 1ant to be 1ith, i*e* each other, and that imposes lo!e%less marriages on them* 9hiteness is again the crucial component in e!oAing sympathy and identification here* A contextuali3ation of interpretations of 8acA and )nnisB marital digressions in the media discourses surrounding blacA men on the so% called Fdo1n lo1H demonstrates most clearly Cust ho1 significant 1hiteness is to the type of 2ueer !isibility embodied by 8acA and )nnis* 4n /00<, the year in 1hich Bro0e1ac0 Mountain 1as released, the debate about blacA men 1ho ha!e sex 1ith other men 1ithout either identifying as FgayH or 1ithout openly acAno1ledging their 2ueer desires had been going on for a fe1 years* +ey to this discussion is the argument that sexual practices on the Fdo1n lo1H significantly contribute to a rise in ,4V infections 1ithin blacA communities* (artin (analansan succinctly summari3es the contradictory arguments about the Fdo1n lo1H in the

":/ follo1ing 1ay: FDften they RblacA men on the Fdo1n lo1HS are seen to be !estiges of tradition, lagging behind in the march to1ard sexual and gender cosmopolitanism* At best, they are !ictims of cultural norms in need of education and rescue* At 1orst, they are both internally homophobic, self%hating imposters getting the best of both 1orldsH ?##@* (analansanBs obser!ation points to1ards the ongoing debate about the difficulties of reconciling 2ueer and blacA identities and the !arious explanations for these difficulties, the most prominent of 1hich tend to emphasi3e the existence of homophobia in blacA and other non%1hite communities* Dne of the problematic implications of explanations structured around homophobia is that one supposedly cannot be both blacA and gay and that blacA men 1ho ha!e same%sex partners need to pri!ilege racial identifications o!er others or fear exclusion from the blacA community* As 4 explained in Chapter ", the idea that one needs to choose bet1een oneBs racial and sexual identifications is an o!erly general assessment that assumes race and sexuality are separable and separate, rather than al1ays%already intert1ined, discourses* D!erall, debates about the Fdo1n lo1H posit blacA menBs sexual practices as important problem that needs to be addressed and sol!ed because it puts female partners at risA of ,4V* The 1ays in 1hich the Fdo1n lo1H is embedded in larger discourses about the intersection of race and sexuality is often left out of these debates* 4t is easy to see ho1 the cultural discourse surrounding the Fdo1n lo1H is !ery different from the celebratory reception of 8acA and )nnisB allegedly tragic romance* 4n this context, Richard &itt comments on the interpretation of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain as tragic romance, remarAing specifically on the filmBs reception, in 1hich 8acA

":: and )nnisB unfaithfulness to their 1i!es is, for the most part, regarded 1ith sympathy, and not 1ith Cudgment* ,e argues that it is the charactersB 1hiteness and their temporal and spacial remoteness that sa!es them from recei!ing the same condemnation that blacA men on the Fdo1n lo1H ha!e recei!ed in recent years* Dne might interCect and remarA that these are t1o historically different situations that re2uire different responses, especially because 8acA and )nnisB affair taAes place before the identification of ,4VPA4DS* ,o1e!er, &ittBs comparison of t1o O4rah sho1s de!oted to the subCect, one featuring 1hite married men 1ho identify as gay and one featuring blacA men 1ho ha!e sex 1ith men on Fdo1n lo1H demonstrates that it is not so much a historically different situation, but rather racial difference, that maAes the incisi!e difference in interpretation here ?/<<% /<$@* 9hile the sho1 focusing on 1hite couples is framed 1ithin a discourse of sympathy and of critici3ing especially rural homophobia, the sho1 addressing the do1n lo1 condemns infidelity and shifts the focus of sympathy a1ay from blacA men* &itt does not address the continuous disarticulation of race and sexuality in American culture, a disarticulation that has contributed to the association of 1hiteness 1ith gay male sexuality and of blacAness 1ith heterosexuality* .oing e!en beyond that, 4 argue that 1e can see this dichotomy ?of 8acA and )nnis becoming sympathetic !ia their 1hiteness and blacA men on the do1n lo1 being critici3ed due to their racial identification@ as another outcome of the screening processes accompanying the discourse of 2ueer !isibility in the "##0s* During the "#E0s, 1hite bisexual men 1ere one of the risA groups routinely identified 1ith the spread of A4DS* As 4 explained in Chapter /, they 1ere often blamed for spreading ,4VPA4DS to the

":O FgeneralH population of heterosexual Americans because they had sex 1ith both ?gay@ men and ?straight@ 1omen* The causal linAages bet1een the sexual practices of bisexual men and the spread of ,4V are ob!iously reducti!e and biasedM yet, they ser!ed as a blueprint for many stories about A4DS and the FgeneralH population during the "#E0s* After the disarticulation of 2ueer sexuality and 2ueer identity in the early "##0s, A4DS fades into the bacAground of cultural con!ersations about sexuality, at least regarding 1hite gay and lesbian Americans* A4DS is increasingly connected to blacAness ?A4DS in Africa, the do1n lo1@ or to promiscuity ?1hich, as &itt sho1s, has been raciali3ed, /<;@* This shiftLseparating A4DS from its almost immediate connection to 1hite bisexual men to blacA men on the Fdo1n lo1H or populations outside the -nited StatesLallo1s for the emergence of the sympathetic 1hite bisexual married man 1ho suffers from continuing homophobia and cannot be Fout*H The portrayal of 8acA and )nnis fits into these discursi!e shifts and illustrates ho1 important 1hiteness is to the sympathetic depiction and reception of their relationship*

FThatBs Kot )!en Dn the (ap:H Bo(s %on2t Cr( As 4 mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, Bo(s %on2t Cr( narrates the last fe1 1eeAs of transgendered 'randon TeenaBs life, focusing on his brief relationship 1ith 7ana Tisdell* 4n contrast to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, Bo(s %on2t Cry is based on Ftrue e!entsH surrounding the murder of 'randon Teena in alls City, KebrasAa, in "##:* Similarly to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, screening processes in!ol!ing race and sexuality in Bo(s %on2t Cr( relate to space and time in fraught and complex 1ays*

":< (ost academic analyses and popular re!ie1s focus solely on the representation of transgender identity in Bo(s %on2t Cr(, ignoring ho1 a screening of race facilitates Bo(s %on2t Cr(Bs narrati!e focus on 'randonBs transgender identity*:0 Dn the rare occasion that analyses address the significance of race, they usually only debate the absence of &hilip De Vine, 1ho, in the historical e!ents upon 1hich the film is based, 1as a blacA, straight man 1ho 1as murdered alongside 'randon Teena and 7isa 7ambert*:" 'ut the screening of race in Bo(s %on2t Cr( goes beyond this absence* 4n fact, 4 suggest that race isnBt absent from Bo(s %on2t Cr( at all* Rather, racial meanings haunt the film* Raciali3ed discourses, such as the alien%ness and alienation that characteri3es both the KebrasAa landscape and the characters, are mobili3ed in order to facilitate the narrati!e and our identification 1ith 'randon* 9hile, unliAe the !ague FpastnessH pre!iously discussed, Bo(s %on2t Cr( is narrati!ely connected to a specific time and place, namely alls City, KebrasAa in "##:, the filmBs mise%en%scene and its use of other formal strategies nonetheless foster a sense of being outside of a historically specific time and space* As Christina Dando puts it, F4t Rthe landscape in the filmS is !irtually timeless* There is also a sense of both place and placelessness* 9hile the landscape is distincti!ely &lains, it could be described as no1hereH ?"00@* 9e often thinA of something that is FtimelessH as something that transcends its o1n historical context so that it 1ill continue to ha!e meaning because it encapsulates some core cultural meaning* Qet in Bo(s %on2t Cr(, the FtimelessH KebrasAa

:0

:"

See, for example, Da!id AnsenBs re!ie1 F9alA 7iAe a (an, TalA 7iAe a (anHin 9e+s+ee0, (ichael ,* +leinschrodtBs FB'oysB Director SeeAs -nderstanding for Tragic VictimH in the ,imes-/ica(une, and 8ohn +eenanBs F&ortrayals 4lluminate BDonBt CryBH in the Omaha World &erald, 8ennifer 'rodyBs F'oy3 Do Cry: Screening ,istoryBs 9hite 7iesH is a good example of such an analysis*

":$ landscape is e!acuated of context and meaningM it becomes a Fno1hereH that is left untethered and disconnected* 4ts alien 2ualities are underlined in the film by sped%up editing se2uences 1ith the aid of time%lapse photography that blur lights against the night sAy, by shots of nearly monstrous, lit%up factories, and by imagery of re!ol!ing o!erhead po1er lines*:/ This unfamiliar landscape is not the heartland of picAet fences and family !alues* Rather, the portrayal of the alien and alienating KebrasAa landscape is positioned as a criti2ue of the heartland that underlines the fear of difference in rural spaces* -ltimately, ho1e!er, this criti2ue dra1s on its o1n stereotypical representations of rural America to cement the distance bet1een KebrasAa as space Fout thereH that does not relate to Fus*H 4n addition to the use of time%lapse photography and other formal strategies, the alienation of alls City also occurs on a narrati!e le!el* 9here Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs narrati!e anchored 8acA and )nnisB li!es in the American past, Bo(s %on2t Cr(Bs narrati!e firmly anchors alls City as a space that is remote and distant in an almost other1ordly 1ay* As 'randonBs cousin 7oni puts it, FThatBs not e!en on the map*H 4n the con!ersations that 7oni and 'randon ha!e throughout the film, 7oni again and again underlines that alls City is a place 1here 'randon doesnBt belong, and that is a dangerous en!ironment for anyone 1ho falls outside the norm* 7oni thus marAs alls City as a homophobic,
:/

The alien 2ualities of the KebrasAa landscape also recall a different context altogether, namely the intrusion of a foreigner, of an Fillegal alienH into the American state* The discourse of illegal aliens is most immediately connected to the relationship bet1een (exico and the -*S*, and is characteri3ed by a long history of racial conflict* 9hile it is certainly easy to imagine 'randon as the Fillegal alienH that intrudes into a territory 1here he doesnBt belongLand is !iolently punished for itLthe larger context of race is e!acuated from the alienness and alienation that per!ades Bo(s %on2t Cr(Bs diegesis* The border%crossings 'randon undertaAes are firmly located and constrained 1ithin the discourse of gender and sexuality, 1hich eclipses the 1ays in 1hich Bo(s %on2t Cr( borro1s from discourses of race and raciali3ation in order to tell a story about 'randonBs transgender identity*

":; !iolent to1n that rightfully doesnBt sho1 up on any maps* 9hen 'randon sho1s him a picture of 7ana, the girl 'randon is in lo!e 1ith, 7oni remarAs that she is attracti!e Fif you liAe 1hite trash*H 7oni articulates 1hat the mise%en%scene has already hinted at, namely that the people 1ho li!e in alls City are, in the 1ords of 7isa ,enderson, Ftrapped by limited options in a limited place, by duplicity, by histories of !iolence and a lacA of autonomyH ?:0"@* 'y calling upon and naming the residents of alls City F1hite trash,H 7oni once more underlines the distance bet1een FthemH and FusH for the !ie1er* ,o1e!er, 1hat disappears from !ie1 through this labeling is that F1hite trashH has been raciali3ed in contradictory 1ays* 8ohn ,artigan argues that Finstances of the name B1hite trashB register racial pollutions: moments 1hen decorum of the 1hite racial order has been breached or compromised or, perhaps more important, 1here the imaginary boundary bet1een 1hiteness and blacAness is underminedH ?""<@* The label F1hite trashH functions as a means of distancing a group of poor 1hites from normati!e 1hiteness, on the one hand, and as a 1ay of policing the boundaries of normati!e 1hiteness, on the other hand* re2uently, F1hite trashH is connected to particular social and geographic locationsLa discusi!e strategy that limits the potential for disrupting racial boundaries to specific and often remote and rural spaces* 9hile Bo(s %on2t Cry relies on the distance created by this label, the films also e!ades a confrontation 1ith the underlying raciali3ation of F1hite trashHM the racial and class dimensions of F1hite trashH in alls City remain unexplored, blending into a bacAdrop that supposedly signals homophobia and !iolence and not much else* As such, the explicit e!ocation of F1hite trashH 1orAs in conCunction 1ith the alien landscape of alls City to underline the idea that it is only

":E Fthose peopleH in alls City 1ho could be responsible for such a brutal crime as the rape and murder of 'randon Teena* Another abCect aspect of 1hite identity also did not maAe it into the film* )!idence that one of 'randonBs murderers 1as associated 1ith a 1hite supremacy group is not part of Bo(s %on2t Cr(Bs diegesis* Conse2uently, the possibility that the murder of 'randon, &hilip, and 7isa goes beyond a hatred of 'randonBs gender transgressions is lost in Bo(s %on2t Cr(* The possibility that these murders are imbricated in a much more complex refusal of difference articulated in the transgendered body of 'randon and the raciali3ed body of &hilip does not ha!e a place in the narrati!e or mise%en%scene* The continuous disarticulation of this intersectionality is also e!ident in director +imberly &ierceBs explanation for 1hy she decided against the inclusion of De VineBs murder: it seemed too FtangentialH to her* The impression that race 1as tangential to 'randonBs story arises out of the notion that race and sexuality can be separated, and, particularly in this case, that 'randonBs murder 1as not connected to De VineBs* 'y marAing De VineBs death as tangential, it is relegated to a matter of being Bin the 1rong place at the 1rong timeB, 1hich could be said of many instances of racially moti!ated !iolence, but denies the 1ay in 1hich spaces and times are saturated 1ith racial meanings in the first place* (uch liAe Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, Bo(s %on2t Cr( engages in the continuing refusal to acAno1ledge the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and sexuality* 'ut 1hat is perhaps most interesting about this narrati!e positioning of alls City is that 7oni, the character 1ho informs us of alls City as a Fno1hereH populated by F1hite trash,H is a 1hite, gay man himself* 9hat do 1e maAe of the fact that 7oni situates

":# alls City and its residents for usG (oreo!er, ho1 do 1e read 7oniBs continuous challenges to 'randonBs transgender identityG or example, 1hen 'randon asAs 7oni 1hy people threaten him after he flirts 1ith a girl at roller rinA, 7oni replies, F'ecause youBre not a boy***1hy donBt you admit that youBre a dyAe*H 7oni thus occupies a curious position: on the one hand, he li!es in a trailer in rural KebrasAa, 1hich might align him 1ith the same class position as the residents of alls City, but on the other hand, he clearly reCects the alienation that comes 1ith being labeled as F1hite trashH and 1ith the 2ueerness of 'randonBs transgender identification* At the same time that he is the one 1ho marAs alls City as stereotypical rural to1n, his o1n positioning breaAs up the supposed uniformity of space in Bo(s %on2t Cr(: his gender, sexual, and class identifications slot into much more normati!e places than those of the remaining characters* 4ndeed, he embodies the Aind of 2ueer !isibility that has emerged as the norm: gay and of an unremarAable that is, an unmarAed class and 1hiteness* 4t is perhaps not surprising that he is the one 1ho claims the authority to categori3e those around him and 1ho asAs the Ainds of 2uestions that the spectator might about 1hy 'randon 1ould choose to remain in an en!ironment that is hostile and offers no perspecti!e for the future* 4n asAing these 2uestions, 7oni not only locates himself outside of alls City but situates alls City as a site of 1hite trash and 2ueerness in opposition to a much more normati!e gay culture* 4n so doing, he disa!o1s his o1n location in a rural, poor area and characteri3es himself as normati!ely 1hite precisely !ia his gay identity* The audienceBs identification 1ith 'randon thus emerges out of the tension bet1een reCecting 7oniBs efforts of putting do1n 'randonBs desire to create a ne1 identity and life for himself

"O0 ?crucial components of the American dream and especially of 1est1ard expansion, after all@ and recogni3ing that the F1hite trashH en!ironment of alls City doomed 'randonBs efforts from the start*::

Conclusion 7ocating the e!ents depicted in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( outside of space and time not only facilitates the celebration of these mo!ies as part of the Fgay #0sH but allo1s a 1illful ignorance of the raciali3ed and 2ueer landscapes and times that maAe the Ainds of 2ueer !isibility portrayed in these films possible in the first placeM as such, celebratory accounts of the filmsB significance and breaAthrough 2ualities are further examples of ho1 the screening of race and of unruly elements of 2ueerness is crucial to the discourse of 2ueer !isibility as it has emerged since the early "##0s* 'oth
::

At this point, at least a brief note on (atthe1 ShepardBs murder and subse2uent tele!isual renditions of his life is necessary* 4n discussions of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and of Bo(s %on2t Cr(, the name (atthe1 Shepard comes up fre2uently* Dn the one hand, it maAes sense to mention him, as he li!ed and died in 7aramie, 9yoming, the same state in 1hich Bro0e1ac0 Mountain taAes place* (oreo!er, his death is attributed to anti%2ueer !iolence, much liAe the murders of 8acA T1ist and 'randon Teena* 'ut this is 1here the similarities to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, at least in terms of the fictional retellings of ShepardBs life and murder, end* 4n contrast to Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, the !arious renditions of (atthe1 ShepardBs life and murder are clearly located in the here and no1: 1hile ne1spaper reports of ShepardBs murder initially depicted 7aramie as a homophobic place Fout there,H subse2uent fictional depictions, especially ,he Laramie /roAect ?(oises +aufman, /00/@ resist that depiction and seeA to locate 7aramie at the heart of America, simultaneously suggesting that homophobic murder can happen any1here and that Fhate is not a 7aramie !alue,H thus refusing the stereotype of the homophobic, rural 9estern to1n* Additionally, (atthe1 Shepard has become a proCection surface for acti!ism in support of including sexual orientation in hate crimes legislation, especially on a federal le!el* ,is story is thus explicitly tied to political debates that 1ere taAing place at the time of his murder and of the release of ,he Laramie /roAect, and sympathy 1ith (atthe1 Shepard has been used to rally acti!ists and politicians in support of ne1 hate crimes legislation* 4n all of this, Shepard has almost completely disappeared: ,he Laramie /roAect is about 7aramieBs struggle 1ith the aftermath of the murder, and ,he Matthe+ She4ard Stor( ?Roger Spottis1oode, /00/@, a film made for tele!ision, deals 1ith ShepardBs parentsB search for meaning after their sonBs murder* 9hile Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( focuses on 8acA, )nnis, and 'randon, the !arious fictional accounts about (atthe1 Shepard screen out (atthe1 nearly completelyM he only appears in accounts other people gi!e about him* Dne has to 1onder if it is this absence that allo1s ,he Laramie /roAect and ,he Matthe+ She4ard Stor( to be so directly linAed to a FrealH space and time: (atthe1Bs 2ueerness is safely located off%screen and can no longer touch the audience*

"O" Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( rely on the same screening processes that accompany other FbreaAthroughH media texts of the "##0s and early /000s, such as, in terms of films, /hiladel4hia, ,ransamerica, and Mil0, in terms of TV, Will3)race, 'ueer As *ol0, and Brothers 3 Sisters: Specifically, these texts rely on 1hiteness as proCection surface for rendering 2ueerness !isible, 1hile simultaneously screening out of the significance of race and of those aspects of 2ueer identities and sexualities that defy categori3ation* 4n the specific case of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(, the screening of race and 2ueerness 1orAs in conCunction 1ith genre and mise%en%scene to encapsulate the filmsB diegeses in a distant place and time* 4n other 1ords, these films primarily situate 2ueer li!es and identities outside of time and space through temporal and spatial dislocationsM these dislocations are anchored in screenings of race and 2ueerness rather than located in historically specific times and places* 9hereas popular re!ie1s situate both Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr( as breaAthrough mo!ies that critically engage 2ueer li!es and identities, 4 argue that the filmsB engagement ?and lacA of engagement@ 1ith race, sexuality, space and time render the representations of 2ueer desires and identities non%threatening to both the norms of ,olly1ood cinema and of American society* The follo1ing chapter continues my exploration of the mainstream mediaBs une!en engagement 1ith screenings of race and 2ueer sexualities* Via a comparison of .llen 1ith Brothers 3 Sisters, 4 argue that 2ueer !isibility on tele!ision in the early /000s dra1s gay identities into a proCect of maintaining 1hite domesticity and pri!acy*

C,A&T)R O +e!in and Scotty .et (arried ?And ,ardly Anyone is 9atching@: Queer Visibility, &ri!acy, and the 'oundaries of )!eryday 7ife on Tele!ision 9hen )llen Degeneres and her character )llen (organ came out in April "##;, the coming%out episode 1as the culmination of a media fren3y that had been going on for months*:O As Ste!en Capsuto obser!es, FThe )llen contro!ersy became the ne1s story that no one could escape* 4t 1as e!ery1hereH ?:EE@* 9hen +e!in 9alAer and Scotty 9andell got married on Brothers 3 Sisters in (ay /00E, the episode recei!ed little more than a ya1n in response* Ko extensi!e press co!erage or ,ime Maga5ine co!ers accompanied this 1edding, and no one really cared that 7uAe (c arlane ?the actor 1ho plays Scotty@ had come out a month earlier*:< 4n one of the fe1 re!ie1s discussing the 1edding, (atthe1 .ilbert muses that, in contrast to the FbrouhahaH surrounding )llenBs coming out, Fon the day of +e!in and ScottyBs nuptials, 1hich arri!es after much on% screen maAing out by the couple, there seems to be only TiVo%setting and shoulder shruggingH ?np@* All in all, +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding in the season t1o finale of
:O

:<

or the saAe of con!enience, 4 1ill refer to the double coming out of )llen (organ and )llen Degeneres as F)llenBs coming outH for the remainder of the chapter* 'lurring the lines bet1een the star and the character 1as !ery much a part of this double coming out, and acted as an attempt to lend an air of authenticity to )llenBs tele!isual coming out* As 7ynne 8oyrich obser!es, F'y ha!ing )llen De.eneres come out of the closet Cust shortly before )llen (organ did, tele!ision assures us that 1e can recogni3e homosexuality through and through 1hen 1e see it, that it canBt be faAedLdespite the competing corollary admission that this conflated )llenBsB sexuality had been faAed until this pointH ?/<@* (c arlane came out in an inter!ie1 1ith the )lo1e and Mail, a Canadian ne1spaper, in April of /00E* See Chelin, &amela* FA Commitment to ,imself*H

"O/

"O: Brothers 3 Sisters 1as an utterly mundane e!ent* 9hat happened in the ten years bet1een .llen and Brothers 3 Sisters that explains the difference in receptionG The ans1er sounds simple, but comprises complex discursi!e shifts: bet1een "##; and /00E, 2ueerness became a normal part of the mainstream media landscape* Dne might consider this de!elopment as sign of the tele!ision industryBs and the audienceBs increasing embrace of 2ueer !isibility in the form of gay and lesbian characters* 4n other 1ords, the absence of frantic media co!erage of +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding could indicate that 1e ha!e gotten used to seeing 2ueer characters as part of our tele!ision programming and ha!e come to consider their presence as normal* ,o1e!er, it is precisely the apparently mundane 2ualities of +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding that need further in!estigation as something other than a marA of progressi!e de!elopments* The 1ays in 1hich their 1eddingLand their relationship in generalLblend apparently seamlessly into the diegesis of Brothers 3 Sisters and into TV programming in general re!eal much about the further normali3ation of 2ueer media !isibility and its function in regulating 1ho can count him% or herself as part of the American nation in the early /000s* This chapter traces the !arious processes that allo1ed for this normali3ationLas such, 4 in!estigate +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding as part of a larger shift in tele!isual renditions of 2ueer !isibility* Specifically, the incorporation of openly gay characters into TVBs e!erydayness constitutes a mo!e beyond the solidification of 1hiteness as proCection surface for 2ueer !isibility ?1hich, as pre!iously detailed, had occurred earlier in the "##0s@ and to1ards homonationalism ?1hich becomes particularly pronounced after the e!ents of #P""@*

"OO

The Story of )llen, 'ill, and (onica, or, the ?TV@ Closet 4s Kot or Queers Dnly 4t 1ould be an understatement to say that )llenBs coming out has been a focal point of scholarly analyses de!oted to exploring the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s*:$ (uch liAe the mainstream pressBs endless commentary on )llenBs coming out, scholars ha!e also pro!ided abundant analyses of 1hat many ha!e come to regard as yet another turning point in the history of 2ueer media !isibility* Tempting as it may be to di!ide this history into Fbefore )llenH and Fafter )llen,H declaring )llenBs coming out a FfirstH re2uires much clarification and moments of deliberate forgetfulness* After all, )llen 1as not the first lesbian character on tele!isionM rather, she 1as the first lesbian character to come out on a prime%time net1orA program* As Anna (cCarthy remarAs, F4n Aeeping 1ith the characteristics of coming out as a speech act, the episode had Bnothing to do 1ith the ac2uisition of ne1 informationBM rather, it 1as a largely ceremonial first, an occasion 1e 1ere all supposed to remember as the moment 1hen 2ueer li!es finally became part of mainstream tele!isionH ?<#O@* 9ithin the discourse of
:$

Almost e!ery scholarly analysis of .7'T media images of the "##0s at least mentions )llenBs coming out in passing* The more substantial analyses include: 'ecAer, Ron* F.ay (aterial and &rime%Time Ket1orA Tele!ision in the "##0s*H 4n: )a( ,- and Straight AmericaM Capsuto, Ste!en* FThe )llen (organ Story ?or ,o1 to 9in a Toaster D!en@: Tele!ision: "##O%"##E,H 4n: Alternate Channels: ,he 7ncensored Stor( o )a( and Les1ian Images on Radio and ,elevisionM Cragin, 'ecca* F7esbians and Serial TV: )llen inds ,er 4nner Adult*H in 4n: +eller, 8ames R* and 7eslie Stratyner* ,he 9e+ 'ueer Aesthetic on ,elevision: .ssa(s on Recent /rogrammingB Didi, ,erman* FB4Bm .ayB: Declarations, Desire, and Coming Dut Dn &rime%Time Tele!isionHM Do1, 'onnie 8* F.llen, Tele!ision, and the &olitics of .ay and 7esbian VisibilityHM .ross, 7arry* F,olly1oodBs .ay Kineties*H 4n: 74 rom Invisi1ilit(M ,ubert, Susan 8* F9hatBs 9rong 9ith This &ictureGHM (oore, Candace* FResisting, Reiterating, and Dancing Through: The S1inging Closet Doors of )llen De.eneresG Tele!ised &ersonalities*H 4n: 'eirne, Rebbeca ?ed@* ,elevising 'ueer Women: A ReaderM Streitmatter, Rodger* F)llen: Coming Dut, Dn Screen and Dff*H 4n: *rom C/ervertsC to C*a1 *iveC: ,he Media2s Changing %e4iction o )a( Men and Les1iansM Tropiano, Stephen* FBKot That ThereBs Anything 9rong 9ith 4tB: ,omosexuality and Tele!ision Comedy*H 4n: ,he /rime ,ime Closet: A &istor( o )a(s and Les1ians on ,-M 9alters, Su3anna* FDossier on )llen*H 4n: All the RageM Qesca!age, +aren and 8onathan Alexander* F9hat Do Qou Call a 7esbian 9hoBs Dnly Slept 1ith (enG Ans1er: )llen (organ* Deconstructing the 7esbian 4dentities of )llen (organ and )llen De.eneres*H

"O< 2ueer !isibility, )llenBs coming out thus plays a similar function to the Stone1all Riots, the early days of the A4DS crisis, and the successes of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(: it is a carefully constructed moment that has become significant because 1e chose to besto1 an originary 2uality upon it* (any scholarly debates about )llenBs coming out turn a focused lens on the construction of this originary moment, foregrounding its significance to media portrayals of 2ueer identities* Analyses that tie .llen to other media e!ents that challenged Americans to confront their ideas about sexuality, most notably the affair bet1een 'ill Clinton and (onica 7e1insAy, are surprisingly rare ?7ynne 8oyrichBs essay F)pistemology of the ConsoleH is one example that does maAe connections among )llen, 'ill, and (onica@* 4n other 1ords, most scholarly examinations of )llenBs coming out explore the months of media co!erage leading up the coming out episode in "##; and analy3e the cancellation of .llen a season later* or example, Ste!en Capsuto, Susan 8* ,ubert, and 7arry .ross pro!ide in%depth descriptions of the press co!erage and the production discourse that surrounded .llen bet1een "##$ and "##E* Su3anna 9alters picAs apart FThe &uppy )pisodeH ?the episode in 1hich )llen (organ comes out@ and re!eals its heteronormati!e underpinnings* Adopting a more comparati!e approach, 'ecca Cragin analy3es )llen (organBs character in the context of tele!isual lesbian representation, and Didi ,erman discusses .llen in relation to the 'ritish TV program Bad )irls* 9hile all these essays pro!ide important insights into the immediate cultural, production, and reception context of )llenBs coming out, they do not situate it in a more broadly concei!ed discourse of 2ueer !isibility, i*e* one that goes beyond a discussion of

"O$ the potential progressi!e !alue of this media e!ent and that situates it in a broader context that taAes, for example, the structures of tele!ision as a medium or the reliance on raciali3ed discourses in the facilitation of 2ueer !isibility into account* 'ut it is exactly such a broad conceptuali3ation that is necessary to understand ho1 )llenBs coming out relates to the affair bet1een &resident 'ill Clinton and former 9hite ,ouse intern (onica 7e1insAy and that underlines the importance of considering the connections bet1een both e!ents* The details of and fallout from the affair bet1een Clinton and 7e1insAy dominated ne1s headlines for much of "##E* Starting on 8anuary /", "##E, rumors about the affair unfold in the mainstream media, follo1ed by ClintonBs admission of the affair on August ";, "##E, and the ,ouse of Representati!esB !ote in fa!or of impeaching the president on December "#, "##E for perCury during his grand Cury testimony about his relationship 1ith (onica 7e1insAy* 4n the relentless pursuit of details about the affair, something became clear rather 2uicAly: there 1as something rather 2ueer about 'ill and (onicaBs relationship* As Debbie Kathan puts it: Those folAs Rin the mainstream mediaS dominated the yada%yada about the &residentUs adulterous immorality and his BexploitationB of a poor intern, but fe1 1ere franA enough to admit 1hat 1as really bothering them: that the sex bet1een 'ill and (onica 1asnUt Cust extramarital, it 1as also oral% genital and oral%anal* That, according to the moth%eaten Bcrimes against natureB la1s, is barely one step from%horrorsT%sodomy* ?/0@ The disco!ery that the American president, a figure 1ho embodies the ideals of the

"O; nation, might stray off the heteronormati!e path caused anxiety in some ?+enneth Starr comes to mind@ and inspiration in others ?a ho1%to instructional !ideo tape called Bend Over, Bo( riend, 1hich 1as targeted at heterosexual couples, became a best seller that year@*:; The fundamental logic that dro!e both the media fren3y surrounding )llenBs coming out and the ClintonP7e1insAy affair is the open secret* 4n both cases, 2uestions such as Fis she***GH and Fdid they***GH, and the deferral of definiti!e ans1ers to these 2uestions, dro!e the press fren3y in e!er tighter circles around the near%certainty of Ano1ing that yes, )llen is FreallyH a lesbian and yes, 'ill and (onica FreallyH had sex* This gi!e%and%taAe of pro!iding and 1ithholding Ano1ledge is central to 1hat (ichel oucault has called the spiral of po1er and pleasure: FThe pleasure that comes of exercising a po1er that 2uestions, monitors, 1atches, spies, searches out, palpates, brings to lightM and on the other hand, the pleasure that Aindles at ha!ing to e!ade that po1erH ?,he &istor( o Se6ualit(, O<@* 4t is precisely the pleasurable limbo bet1een almost% Ano1ing and refusing to confirm that saturated the intense media co!erage in response to hints about )llenBs coming out and rumors about a relationship bet1een 'ill Clinton and (onica 7e1insAy* 'ut 1hat is most significant for understanding ho1 the story of )llen, 'ill, and (onica relates to 2ueer media !isibilities is that this dance around 1hat 1e can Ano1 and ho1 1e Ano1 1hat 1e Ano1 about sexuality, especially 2ueer sexuality, is
:;

+enneth Starr 1as the 4ndependent Counsel for a range of in!estigations relating to &resident Clinton, including the legal aspects of the Clinton%7e1insAy affair* ,he Starr Re4ort: ,he Inde4endent Counsel2s Com4lete Re4ort to Congress on the Investigation o /resident Clinton became infamous due to its lengthy and detailed descriptions of the sexual acts in 1hich Clinton and 7e1insAy engaged* or an analysis of the Starr Report, see Ann C!etAo!ichBs FSexualityBs Archi!e: The )!idence of the Starr Report*H or more on the popularity of Bend Over, Bo( riend, see Debbie KathanBs FSodomy for the (asses*H

"OE central to the structure of tele!ision as a medium* As 7ynne 8oyrich has argued, F4ndeed, tele!ision is a crucial site for the exploration of the logic of the closet not only because of its central role in establishing ?and suspending@ Ano1ledge in postmodern culture but also because -S tele!ision itself is located at the intersection of many of the same conceptual di!isions that Sedg1icA describedH ?/:@* 4n other 1ords, tele!ision both transmits 1ays of Ano1ing ?2ueer@ sexuality !ia its narrati!es and !ia its position at the intersection of !arious cultural discourses* The most significant of those discourses that TV negotiates is the border bet1een public and pri!ate, 1hich tele!ision continuously narrates for us as it Fconstructs Ano1ledges identified both as secret ?domestically recei!ed@ and shared ?defined as part of a collecti!e national culture@H ?/:@* The construction of Ano1ledges that are both secret and shared is a theme that 1inds its 1ay through the story of )llen, 'ill, and (onica, and later, through +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding* or example, in FThe &uppy )pisode,H )llen announces her lesbian identity publicly at an airport by accidentally speaAing into a microphone hooAed up to the terminalBs announcement system* During the ClintonP7e1insAy affair, one of the persistent 2uestions in TV ne1s co!erage 1as 1hether or not the pri!ate life of a president impacts his public duties and 1hether or not a president e!en has a truly pri!ate life* 4n contrast to these articulations and 2uestions of publicity, Scotty and +e!in get married in the pri!acy of +e!inBs motherBs home* 9hile the latter is perhaps not that surprising considering TVBs domestic focus, the pri!ate marriage of +e!in and Scotty taAes on another meaning 1hen one asAs 1ho has access to that Aind of pri!acy, and 1ho can choose to Aeep their personal affairs pri!ate and 1ho

"O# cannot ?a 2uestion 4 1ill in!estigate in more depth later on in this chapter@* As this brief o!er!ie1 sho1s, the publicPpri!ate dynamic at the center of the story of )llen, 'ill, and (onica and of +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding directly relates to 1hat 7ynne 8oyrich has called the Fepistemology of the consoleH ?named after Sedg1icABs concept of the Fepistemology of the closetH@* 4n turn, these tele!isual e!ents also offer an opportunity to in!estigate ho1 tele!isual epistemology structures the interdependence of 2ueer !isibility and hegemonic 1hiteness* The o!erlapping e!ents of )llenBs coming out and of the ClintonP7e1insAy affair challenged tele!isionBs epistemological structures e!en as it also reaffirmed them* or example, the sexually explicit subCect matter that fre2uently surfaced in the reporting of the ClintonP7e1insAy affair and of ClintonBs impeachment incited 1hat oucault tems a Frepressi!e hypothesisH scenario: 1hile commentators constantly declared that certain explicit details about 'ill and (onicaBs affair couldnBt be articulated on tele!ision, there 1as ne!ertheless an endless incitement to discourse about those details ?re!ealed, of course, in a !eiled and conse2uently seemingly tantali3ing fashion@ ?8oyrich, /OM Torres, "0O@* .llen engaged in a comparable dynamic of un!eiling and e!asion* The constant stream of hints and allusions to )llenBs soon%to%be%official lesbianism on and off the sho1 bet1een the fall of "##$ and the spring of "##; 1ere so self%a1are that they exemplified and narrated tele!isionBs epistemology ?8oyrich, ::@* or example, the opening scene of the "##$%; season of .llen taAes place in )llenBs bathroom, 1here she sings the famous 9est Side Story lyrics F4 feel pretty P 4 feel 1itty P 4 feel pretty and 1itty and X heyTH, confounding !ie1er expectations to hear the 1ord FgayH at the last moment 1hen no

"<0 running 1ater emerges from the tap* This tension bet1een an unspoAen yet shared Ano1ledge illuminates both the dynamic of the open secret and of tele!isual epistemology* Considering that the tele!isual closet isnBt for 2ueers onlyLas 8oyrich demonstrated most clearlyL1hy is this connection among )llen, 'ill, and (onica raised so rarelyG As 4 ha!e emphasi3ed throughout the preceding chapters, it is important to remember that, in regard to 2ueer media !isibilities, the closet functions as a screen, and that this screen most fre2uently becomes embodied in the 1hiteness of the characters 1hose sexuality is under negotiation* 9hat role does 1hiteness, and discourses of race in general, play in the story of )llen, 'ill, and (onicaG The short ans1er is, a rather large one for each case* ,o1e!er, the deployments of 1hiteness that are mobili3ed in the discourse of 2ueer !isibility in )llenBs coming out and in the ClintonP7e1inAsy affair are marAedly differentLin )llenBs case, her normati!e 1hiteness allo1ed race to become the allegedly in!isible proCection surface upon 1hich her coming out 1as proCectedM it only became !isible ?and thus problematic@ 1hen the sho1 tried to explore her e!eryday life as a lesbian beyond the moment of coming out ?more on )llen and her 1hiteness in the next section@* 4n the case of 'ill Clinton, his 1hiteness ne!er 2uite fit the normati!e mold, and an exploration of ho1 his racial and sexual identity has consistently been rendered Fde!iantH !ia a connection to his F1hite trashH origins re!eals much about 1hy his affair 1ith (onica 7e1insAy turned into a percei!ed threat to the nation itself ?(c)lya, "<E@* Specifically, it is the idea of the president engaging in 2ueer acts that maAes the Clinton%

"<" 7e1insAy affair so threatening: after all, if the president does it, 1hy shouldnBt the rest of America, tooG 4n order to 1ard off such conclusions, both the mainstream press and the team around +enneth Starr constructed 'ill Clinton as a man 1ho !iolates the norms of 1hite masculinity and 1ho had indulged in excessi!e beha!ior throughout his life ?(c)lya, "<#@* As 8onathan Alter puts it in an opinion piece for 9e+s+ee0, F)!eryone in ClintonBs immediate family suffered from some Aind of compulsi!e disorder or addictionH ?:"@* 'y marAing 'ill Clinton as a thoroughly 2ueer figure, he stands apart from the nation, rather than standing in for the nation* 4t is the percei!ed difference bet1een ho1 )llen and ho1 'ill Clinton relate to 2ueer sexualities, 1hiteness, and the nation that maAes these t1o e!ents seem to so different despite their similar underlying logic of the closet* urthermore, it is the resolution of these differences !ia the mo!e to1ard homonationalism that pa!es the 1ay for the allegedly mundane nature of +e!in and ScottyBs relationship on Brothers 3 Sisters* 4n order to understand ho1 this shift tooA place, 4 no1 taAe a closer looA at ho1 )llenBs lesbian identity challenged the boundaries of tele!isual e!eryday life*

A F.ay Rosa &arAsHG .llenBs Struggle 1ith )!eryday 7ife:E FThe &uppy )pisodeH 1as a huge ratings success ?'ecAer, "$$@* Subse2uent episodes, some of 1hich dealt 1ith )llenBs exploration of her ne1ly FoutH status and some of 1hich didnBt explicitly engage her lesbian identity at all, did not recei!e high

:E

4n her discussion of .llenBs continuous use of analogies of race and sexualityLspecifically, the sho1Bs strategy to portray being gay as being analogous to being a person of colorLAnna (cCarthy concludes that Fthe producers affirmed a model of public !isibility through 1hich De.eneres could characteri3e herself as a gay Rosa &arAsH ?$0<@*

"</ ratings ?'ecAer, ";0@* At the end of season fi!e, a year after )llen came out, the program 1as canceled* There are many different theories for 1hy !ie1ers lost interest in .llen and for the net1orABs decision to cancel the sho1, many of 1hich re!ol!e around the idea that )llen 1as Ftoo gayH or Fnot gay in the right 1ays*H Aligning herself 1ith the first explanation, Su3anna 9alters, for example, argues that .llen had ultimately become too centered on Fgay life*H 9alters herself applauds the program for engaging 1ith subCects such as lesbian parenting ?since the 1oman 1hom )llen dates has a daughter@ and the adCustments that )llenBs parents go through to reconcile the FoldH ?presumably straight@ )llen 1ith the Fne1H ?lesbian@ )llen ?EE, #/@* 4t is those praise1orthy plots, 9alter explains, that triggered Fdouble standards and heterosexual uneaseH among producers and net1orA executi!es and that ultimately led to .llen2s cancellation ?#O@* 4n contrast, Ste!en Capsuto in!estigates the production discourse surrounding )llenBs last season in his 2uest for an explanation* ,e concludes that the reason for the cancellation does not stem from the sho1Bs engagement 1ith )llenBs lesbian identity, but rather from the increasing difference in the net1orABs and the producersB !ision for the program* These differences caused the program to lose a clear directionLduring one 1eeABs episode, )llen 1ould be fully immersed in 1hat 9alters called Fgay life,H and in the next episode, )llen 1ould stumble into a situation reminiscent of the pre%coming%out episodes* 9eary of net1orA policing of 1hat plots could and could not air on the sho1, not to mention the addition of a FTV%"OH rating to some episodes, the sho1 increasingly tried to Fpro!e a point rather than to entertainH ?Capsuto, O0/@* 4n the end, Capsuto argues, Fthe sho1 1as simply no longer funny enough to sur!i!eH ?O0:@* inally, 7ynne 8oyrich demonstrates ho1 both

"<: positions, i*e* that )llen had become Ftoo gayH or 1as not gay in the Fright 1ay,H fold into the o!erall logic of tele!ision: FThe 2uestions, then, o!er 1hatBs too gay or not gay enough, 1hatBs Bfunny that 1ayB or 1hatBs simply 2ueer * * * re!ealed once again that the door of the closet can s1ing both 1ays, that sexual Ano1ingness remains a fault line for Ano1ing TVH ?:E@* &ut differently, the struggle o!er .llenBs last season speaAs not only to the 2uestion of ho1 to incorporate a lesbian character into a sitcom, but opens up a broader !ie1 of ho1 discourses of 2ueer !isibility intersect 1ith the fundamental structures of tele!ision as a medium* 4t is this intersection of 2ueerness and tele!isuality that Anna (cCarthy pursues in her analysis of .llenBs last season* Rather than attempting to explain 1hether or not the sho1 suffered from a heteronormati!e bacAlash or to estimate ho1 much good the program did for 2ueer media !isibility, (cCarthy argues that the post%coming%out episodes of )llen speaA most directly to the 1ays in 1hich 2ueerness and tele!ision form mesh or donBt mesh ?<#$@* The one thing that becomes most apparent in the attempts to negotiate )llenBs lesbian identity 1ithin the confines of the traditional sitcom is that, 1hile her coming out as one% time e!ent did not disrupt tele!isual seriality, her ongoing 2ueer presence, and its function as central narrati!e element, !ery much 1ent against then%established sitcom seriality ?<#;@* (cCarthy succinctly summari3es this contradiction: FQueer TV, in short, could maAe history as e!ent tele!ision but not as 1hat 1e might call Bune!entfulB tele!isionH ?ibid@* rom this point of !ie1, the main problem 1ith the last season of .llen 1as not 1hether or not )llen 1as Ftoo gay,H but that 2ueerness and tele!isual e!erydayness didnBt cohere into an ongoing narrati!e* This is perhaps not a surprise

"<O considering that 2ueer !isibility on tele!ision 1as still something remarAable in "##;* &ut differently, the 1ays in 1hich 2ueerness 1as rendered !isible on TV relied on plots and characters that stood out in one 1ay or another from the rest of the diegesis* 4n )a( ,- and Straight America, Ron 'ecAer offers a detailed description and analysis of gay and lesbian characters and storylines that appeared on tele!ision bet1een "#E# and /00/* The most noticeable 1ay in 1hich gay characters stood out from their straight counterparts 1as the lacA of intimate relationships* 'ecAer anchors tele!isionBs hesitant pursuit of this subCect matter in the contro!ersies o!er a "#E# episode of thirt(something that depicted t1o men sitting next to each other in bed* The episode effecti!ely disappeared from tele!ision as it 1as ne!er sho1n again, not e!en in reruns ?'ecAer, ":E@* As 4 explained in Chapter /, the disarticulation of sexuality and identity 1as a crucial precondition to the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s* As this explosion tooA shape, gay characters appeared on TV 1ith increasing fre2uency, but most often in the same types of storylines in 1hich they had appeared since the "#;0s Las !ictims of homophobic !iolence, as participants in mistaAen identity plots ?in 1hich a straight character 1ill be mistaAen for gay due to or in the presence of a gay character@, or as initiators or recipients of straight charactersB experimentation 1ith same%sex attraction ?so that the number of lesbian Aisses during Fs1eepsH periods gre1 throughout the "##0s to the point 1here it has become a cliche@* 4n addition, the inclusion of an openly gay and lesbian supporting character could lend an edge to an other1ise not particularly note1orthy program: Fincluding a gay neighbor, a lesbian sister, or some 2ueer plot t1ist 1as not only possible but lucrati!e for those net1orAs and producers

"<< anxious to differentiate their product in a saturated marAet of *riends and Sein eld imitatorsH ?'ecAer, "<E@* )!en the successful sitcom Will3)race, 1hich premiered only a fe1 months after .llen 1ent off the air, relies on 9illBs and 8acABs gay identities as focal points of plots and CoAesLin fact, they need to stand out in order for the sho1 to succeed* 4f 9ill and 8acABs gayness 1ere unremarAable, there 1ould be no difference bet1een Will3)race and the many other sitcoms re!ol!ing around a male and female lead character ?and, conse2uently, the program 1ould probably not ha!e been the success that it 1as@* The clash bet1een 2ueerness and serial tele!isionBs emphasis on e!eryday life has much to do 1ith homonormati!e discourses emerging during the "##0s* 9hile the increasing prominence of homonormati!ity after the A4DS crisis of the "#E0s allo1ed for the proliferation of gay and lesbian characters and issues in the media, the accompanying normali3ation of 2ueer li!es and identities on and off the screen had not FprogressedH far enough to resol!e all contradictions, especially 1hen it came to integrating 2ueer subCects Lboth in the form of 2ueer American citi3ens or in narrati!es told about themLinto the nation* Considering that )llen, 1ith her 1hite, middle%class, house%and%business%o1ning, and romance%seeAing existence fits the demands of homonormati!ity, one 1ould expect her to fit into the norms of tele!ision as 1ell* Qet, her lesbian identity maAes her tele!isually stand out* This points to one of the cracAs in the discourse of homonormati!ityM namely, that, despite fulfilling the core demands of heteronormati!ity, i*e* adherence to gender, class and lifestyle norms, there is still something 2ueer here that creates difference ?and distance@ bet1een homo% and heteronormati!ity* Throughout the

"<$ "##0s, this difference became particularly apparent in discourses around ci!il rights, especially regarding the presence of openly gay and lesbian Americans in the -*S* military and the ad!ocacy for the legali3ation of gay marriage* Despite the increasing !isibility of gay and lesbian subCects during the "##0s, brought about by the media and political ad!ocacy, the alignment of 2ueerness and e!eryday life remained filled 1ith friction* 9hile gay and lesbian rights acti!ists and some media scholars consider this friction as an impediment that needs to be resol!ed so that gay and lesbian Americans can blend into e!eryday life both off and on screen, other acti!ists and scholars ha!e insisted that it is precisely those 2ueer elements that one should stri!e to preser!e as crucial differences not in terms of exclusion, but rather as building blocAs for rethinAing social norms and social structures in general* Aligning herself 1ith the latter position, (cCarthy points out that, in those moments 1hen )llenBs lesbian identity clashes 1ith TV seriality, 2ueer possibilities open up* 4nstead of regarding the une!en moments of the last season as contributing to )llenBs Ffailure,H one can consider them as instances that allo1 the emergence of 2uestions about the tele!isual structures that allo1 or prohibit 2ueer media !isibilities ?<#$@* ,o1e!er, these 2uestions only reach so far, and they do not reach far enough to facilitate a critical engagement 1ith the role that race plays in discourses of 2ueer !isibility* Despite the fact that references to race appear 1ith increasing fre2uency during the last season of .llen, the importance of 1hiteness%as%screen for the rendition of 2ueer media !isibility remains unremarAable yet again* 4nstead of engaging 1ith the intert1ined nature of race and sexuality, .llen continues the proCect of portraying those categories as

"<; comparable, but separate, discourses* (cCarthy discusses this representational strategy in t1o 1ays* irst, she demonstrates ho1 proclamations of Fad!ancesH in tele!isionBs portrayal of 2ueer characters, on the model of Fad!ancementH of non%1hite subCects, functions as self%reflexi!e commentary on the progression of the history of tele!ision* 4n a self%congratulatory 1ay, FliAe raceH approaches to 2ueer !isibility suggest that o!er time, tele!ision has become increasingly inclusi!e, so that after accepting non%1hite characters into the fold of tele!isuality, 1e can no1 include gay and lesbian characters in TV programming as 1ell* Second, (cCarthy considers this comparati!e strategy as e!idence for the limited 1ays in 1hich .llen discussed the challenges of 2ueer li!es* 9hile episodes addressed singular moments of homophobia, often in 1ays that liAened them to racial discrimination, these storylines did not confront more insidious forms of 1hat (cCarthy calls Foppressi!e straight beha!iorH that happens in a repetiti!e or systemic fashion ?$0;@* 4 1ant to go one step further and underline that 1hat stands out most clearly are the 1ays in 1hich the parallels bet1een being gay and being a person of color attempt to deflect attention a1ay from the particular raciali3ed 2ueer !isibility .llen dra1s onM namely, the one that relies on 1hiteness%as%screen* 4f the une!enness of .llenBs last season opens up 2uestions about the relationship bet1een 2ueerness and tele!isual serialityLand the representation of 2ueerness on TV in generalLthen these ruptures might also allo1 the crucial importance of 1hiteness to emerge as something noticeable* This becomes particularly possible in the contradiction bet1een the 1ay class and racial elements of )llenBs identity allo1s her to appear as Fthe girl next doorHLas a stand%in for

"<E the a!erage AmericanLand the 1ay in 1hich her sexual identity continuously marAs her as different* The fre2uent parallels that .llen dra1s bet1een race and sexuality thus simultaneously allo1 the sho1 to perpetuate the idea of tele!isual history as progressi!e and to deflect attention a1ay from the continued importance of raciali3ed discourses to tele!isual representations* (oreo!er, it dra1s attention a1ay from the fact that 1hile 1hiteness has long been one of the Aey factors that determined 1ho 1as and 1as not allo1ed symbolic inclusion into the nation, it is not enough to grant access to the nation e!en if one li!es up to the demands of homonormati!ity* )!en in the "##0s, complete access to an FunremarAableH e!eryday existence is thus denied to 2ueers on and off% screen aliAe* Despite moments of rupture, the linAs among )llenBs lesbian identity, her 1hiteness, and the 1ays she fits into the e!eryday life of tele!ision and of the nation remain safely ensconced behind the closet%as%screen* 9hile tele!ision in "##; 1as able to manage coming out as a one%time e!ent, the continuous process of coming out, and its continuous challenge to the heteronormati!e fabric of e!eryday life, pro!ed too much* The last episode of .llen inserts )llen into many tele!isual Ffirsts,H such as the first discussion and portrayal of pregnancy on TV during I Love Luc(, but does not offer a narration of her coming out* 4t seems, as (cCarthy suggests, as if the episode implies that a full integration of 2ueerness into tele!isual history can only happen at some future point ?$0#@* This future has already come and gone in /00E, 1hen +e!in and Scotty get married*

"<# Brothers 3 Sisters: 8ust Another 9hite TV amilyG or the past three years, Brothers 3 Sisters, an A'C drama re!ol!ing around the 9alAer family from &asadena, CA, has blended seamlessly into the tele!ision landscape* Despite A'CBs enthusiastic description of the sho1 as Fcompelling one%hour drama seriesH that allo1s !ie1ers to experience Fthe complicated ma3e of American li!es todayH by follo1ing the li!es of Ffi!e enmeshed and some1hat damaged adult siblings and their strong, but de!oted, mother Kora 9alAer,H there is nothing truly ne1 or remarAable about the sho1Bs characters or narrati!es ?Yhttp:PPabc*go*comPprimetimePbrothersandsistersPindexGpnWaboutZ@* Kot e!en the presence of openly gay la1yer +e!in 9alAer ?played by (atthe1 Rhys@ as second%oldest of the siblings elicits critical interest* The 9alAers are Cust another 1hite, upper middle class TV family 1ho experience moments of crisis on a 1eeAly basis* The initial re!ie1s of the program ranged from luAe1arm endorsements to biting dismissals, and they didnBt address +e!inBs presence as openly gay character at all* Dorothy Rabino1it3 of the Wall Street =ournal characteri3ed Brothers 3 Sisters as Finstantaneously seducti!e finished productH 1hile the Washington /ostBs Tom Shales concluded that FThe sho1, premiering on A'C tomorro1 night, aches 1ith sensiti!ity, throbs 1ith sensiti!ity, and reeAs of sensiti!ity*H 4ndeed, the programBs initial conflict, 1hich pitches conser!ati!e +itty 9alAer ?played by Calista locAhart@ against the rest of the family, all of 1hom are liberal, soon fi33les out into a Fblood is thicAer than 1aterH truce that only breaAs up for con!eniently placed storylines ?such as +ittyBs support of Robert (cCallister, one of CaliforniaBs Republican senators and +ittyBs e!entual

"$0 husband@* Dther storylines engaging presumably sensiti!e political issues, such as youngest sibling 8ustin 9alAerBs drug abuse after a tour in 4ra2, play out in similarly predictable 1ays and donBt shaAe up either tele!isual form or 9alAer family unity* Despite the hesitant critical reception of Brothers 3 SisterBs pilot episode, A'C has certainly profited from the sho1 o!er the past three seasons* 4t consistently deli!ers good ratings, especially in the co!eted demographic of "E%O#%year%olds, leading to the sho1Bs early rene1al for a fourth season in the spring of /00# ?Stanley, np@* Additionally, the incorporation of three openly gay regular characters in Brothers 3 Sisters has contributed to A'CBs reputation of being a Fgay%friendlyH net1orA among some media outlets ?in addition to +e!in, the other t1o gay characters are Scotty and Saul 9alAer, +e!inBs uncle, 1ho comes out to the family in the episode in 1hich +e!in and Scotty get married@* or example, in a co!er story on +e!in 9alAer and on actor (atthe1 Rhys for the Advocate, Dennis ,ensley obser!ed that F7ast year, 1hile 1e 1ere getting used to a 1orld 1ithout Will3)race, 'ueer as *ol0, and Si6 *eet 7nder, and the number of scripted gay characters 1as at a "0%year lo1, A'C ga!e us something 1eB!e said 1e al1ays 1anted: a gay series regular on a net1orA sho1 1hose romantic and sexual life is gi!en the same treatment as e!eryone elseBsH ?np@* Dther critics 1ere less enthused about the FsamenessH a1arded to gay tele!ision characters on A'CBs sho1s: FA'C became a Aind of ha!en for gay characters 1ho 1ere as addled % and ultimately dull % as their straight counterparts* ?7ooA no further than B'rothers [ Sisters*B@,H 9esley (orris of the Boston )lo1e pointed out ?np@* 4n a 1ay, (orris and ,ensley are both right in their assessment* 9hile ,ensleyBs remarA leans to1ards the o!erly optimistic, as +e!inBs lo!e

"$" life is portrayed in much less explicit 1ays than the intimate encounters in 1hich his heterosexual siblings engage, +e!in and Scotty are certainly treated as Fthe sameH as the straight couples 1ithin the diegesis of the sho1, at least by members of the 9alAer family ?1hether or not they are all e2ually dull is a matter of personal opinion, of course@* D!erall, the differing standards net1orA tele!ision applies to the intimate aspects of same%sex and of heterosexual romance are rather noticeable on Brothers 3 Sisters, Fgay% friendlyH net1orA or not* A'C has also come under fire for the 1ays in 1hich the net1orA has handled the storylines of 2ueer characters on programs such as 7gl( Bett( and )re(2s Anatom( during the /00E%0# season* 9hile the exit of (T transsexual character Alexis (eade on 7gl( Bett( 1as most liAely due to actress Rebecca RomiCnBs pregnancy ?and t1o other 2ueer characters, (arA St* 8ames and 8ustin Suare3, continue to thri!e on the sho1@, the abrupt ending to the lesbian romance bet1een characters Callie Torres ?Sara Ramire3@ and )rica ,ahn ?'rooAe Smith@ on )re(2s Anatom( led to much speculation among fans and media critics that their relationship had become too FsteamyH for A'CBs liAing* 4ndeed, after a season%long arc that allo1ed Callie and )ricaBs friendship to turn into romance at a slo1 pace, their relationship apparently ends after a fi!e%minute disagreement about an issue unrelated to their personal li!es* )rica 1alAs to her car and is ne!er seen on the sho1 again* 9hile Shonda Rhimes, one of )re(2s Anatom(Bs executi!e producers, explained that Callie and )ricaBs story had run its course, both fans and media critics speculated that the net1orA had put pressure onto the sho1Bs producers to return to safe, heterosexual 1aters*:# The contro!ersy around )re(2s Anatom( indicates that 1hile +e!in and Scotty
:#

Regarding the contro!ersy surrounding the end of Callie and )ricaBs relationship and the firing of

"$/ might blend into Brothers 3 SistersB diegesis, the management of 2ueer !isibility on other A'C programs doesnBt run 2uite as smoothly* Aside from a passionate /00; )mmy acceptance speech that lead actress Sally ield deli!ered about the 1ar in 4ra2, Brothers 3 Sisters has not attracted any contro!ersy* Considering the sho1Bs traditional narrati!e focus, this is not surprising* 9hile Brothers 3 Sisters liAes to taAe on current politics from time to time ?as in 8ustin 9alAerBs deployment to 4ra2 or Robert (cCallisterBs run for the Republican presidential nomination@, the real narrati!e motor of the sho1Bs narrati!e arcs are the secrets that slo1ly surface in the 1aAe of family patriarch 9illiam 9alAerBs death in the first episode* D!er the course of the sho1Bs existing three seasons, !ie1ers disco!er that he mismanaged the family business, DCai oods, lea!ing it teetering on the edge of banAruptcyM that he had a decades%long affair 1ith ,olly ,arper, 1ho fights her 1ay into DCai !ia 9illiamBs 1illM and that he had an illegitimate child, Ryan ?1ho appears on the sho1 during season three after the !ie1er has already met Rebecca, ,ollyBs daughter, 1ho e!eryone belie!es to be 9illiamBs illegitimate daughter until a DKA test at the end of season t1o re!eals the truth, namely, that she is not a FrealH 9alAer@* 9hile one might expect the !ie1er to be enthralled by the continuous presence of open secrets on the sho1, the utter predictability of these secrets depri!es them of their epistemological pull: F4tBs all so horribly, punishingly familiar,H declares Tom Shales in his re!ie1 for the Washington /ost ?np@* 'ut as 4 mentioned earlier, it is this familiarity of narrati!es and
'rooAe Smith, see, for example, de (oraes, 7isa* FB.reyBsB 7esbian Doc ails the BChemistryB Test,H (ariAar, Sheila* F9hy Did B.reyBsB .et Rid of .ay RomanceGH, (cKamara, (ary* FCriticBs KotebooA: B.reyBs Anatomy,B 'lasted for 'rooAe Smith iring, is 'ehind the .ay Character 7earning Cur!e,H (ito!itch, (att* F)re(2s Actress JReally, Really ShocAedJ by Duster from Sho1,H and 9allenstein, Andre1* F9hy Did B.reyBs AnatomyB Cut 7esbian Dr* ,ahnGH*

"$: characters that demands further in!estigation* The bland !eneer of 1hite, upper middle% class hetero% and homonormati!ity that co!ers Brothers 3 SistersB diegesis sho1s definite cracAs and cannot completely screen out the raciali3ed underpinnings that support it* 4n fact, the 9alAersB in!ol!ement in the California citrus industry linAs Brothers 3 Sisters to longstanding historical narrati!es of racial conflict and their erasure in popular culture* Brothers 3 Sisters constantly reminds its !ie1ers that the 9alAers are a close%Anit family* 4ndeed, the diegesis rarely expands beyond familial boundaries* Kearly e!erything in the 9alAer siblingsB li!es re!ol!es around other family members or the family business, DCai oods, 1hich gro1s, processes, and ships a range of fruit* 4n typical TV fashion, there isnBt much of a separation bet1een family and 1orA li!esLmost members of the 9alAer family are 1orAing or ha!e 1orAed for DCai oods, and the program maAes it clear more than once that the business and the family are inseparable* A crisis at DCai effects e!eryone on a deeply personal le!el, not only because the familyBs 1ealth is tied to the 1ell%being of the company, but because the familyBs unity and their history is also tangled up in it* This deep intert1inement is most clearly symboli3ed in the family ranch, 1hich is located in the DCai orchards* 9hile the family resides in &asadena, family members !isit the ranch at !arious points throughout the series and fre2uently express fondness for the land that surrounds the ranch*O0 or example, in episode "x0;, +e!in tells Scotty that he lost his !irginity Fboth timesH 1hile staying in DCai for the summer: F irst to this girl, Sarah .imble* The second one a summer later to this guy, this total studM e!eryone in DCai 1as in lo!e 1ith him*H Dther family members also tie important milestones in their li!es to the family ranchLDCai thus becomes a cornerstone
O0

DCai is the smallest to1n in Ventura County, CA ?http:PP111*ci*oCai*ca*usP@*

"$O in their personal and familial identities* Despite the central importance of DCai oods to the construction of the 9alAersB family identity, the !ie1er learns next to nothing about the origins or the day%to%day business of the company* 9hile this is unsurprising ?considering that the company mainly ser!es as 1ay of generating familial conflicts, and thus storylines@, it ne!ertheless glosses o!er the screening of race that is in effect here* DCai oods maAes the 9alAers 1ho they are in more 1ays than oneLit supports their family unity, but it also ensures their class and race status* The tidbits that emerge about the history of DCai oods firmly tie the company to the history of Southern CaliforniaBs citrus industry* 9hile the to1n of DCai is not directly located in 1hat (att .arcia and others ha!e referred to as the Fcitrus belt,H 1hich comprises the San .abriel and San 'ernandino Valleys, the founding of DCai oods in "#/$ and its primary business focus on gro1ing, pacAing, and distributing fruit establish a connection bet1een the 9alAersB family history and the citrus beltBs agricultural history ?.arcia, "#@*O" The California citrus industry boomed bet1een the late "Eth century and the "#$0s, attracting farmers from the (id1est and agricultural laborers from (exico and from among the gro1ing number of Asian American immigrants* The accumulated 1ealth in the citrus industry significantly contributed to the economic de!elopment of the greater 7os Angeles region during the first half of the t1entieth century, a factor that is often o!erlooAed today ?.arcia, /@* 4n the early part of the t1entieth century, 1hite citrus farmers tooA pride in creating a ne1 community based on agrarian ideals 1hile
O"

To be more precise, .arcia obser!es that the citrus belt Fstretched sixty miles east1ard from &asadena, through the San .abriel and San 'ernandino Valley, to the to1n of Ri!ersideH ?"#@*

"$< disa!o1ing the labor of (exican and Asian Americans that sustained the profits and li!elihood of farmers ?.arcia, O$@* To1ns that de!eloped around the citrus industry 1ere largely segregated, and the 1orA a!ailable on citrus farms 1as racially segmented, 1ith the lo1est%paying Cobs going to non%1hite 1orAers ?.arcia, ;;@* -ltimately, in the "#;0s, the citrus industry entered into a decline that e!entually led to the near%complete disappearance of orchards in the citrus belt* Qet, e!en though the citrus industry isnBt as dominant in the greater 7os Angeles area as it 1as in the first half of the t1entieth century, it has left its marA on patterns of residential settlement and on labor structures ?.arcia, /$0@* Although Brothers 3 Sisters is set in present%day California, the programBs representation of DCai oods e!oAes the feel of a traditional pre%"#;0s citrus company in that it still engages mainly in the business of gro1ing, pacAing, and selling fruit ?Tommy 9alAer e!entually lea!es DCai to found a 1inery called 9alAer 7anding@* Apparently, the 9alAer family did not gi!e in to the temptation of selling their land 1hen the citrus industry 1ent into decline* (oreo!er, the 1hite1ashed 1orld of DCai and of the 9alAersB social circle is both reminiscent of the segregated 1orld of the early citrus industry and a reflection of the continuing self%segregation of housing in the 7A* area* Despite of DCaiBs historical lineage as part of the citrus industry, this history ne!er enters into the denotati!e representation of DCai oods* The only traces of this history appear in the form of old ad!ertisements that hang in Sarah 9alAerBs office or in brief comments, such as SarahBs Foh god, not a labor disputeH in response to issues arising 1hen DCai ood tries to expand its business into China*

"$$ The e!asion of history here recalls the engagement 1ith history 4 discussed in Chapter :* There are ob!ious parallels bet1een the simultaneous reliance on and disa!o1al of histories of racial conflict in Brothers 3 Sisters, on the one hand, and in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, on the other hand* 'oth texts screen out race 1hile at the same time depending on it to construct narrati!es of 1hite romance and family life* The significance of CaliforniaBs raciali3ed history is screened out of Brothers 3 Sisters to maAe 1ay for a normati!e story about a 1hite upper class familyM in Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, raciali3ed discourses of the 9est are screened out to construct a romance about t1o 1hite co1boys* And yet, these raciliali3ed histories persistently linger at the edge of the frame* Similar to the symbolic meaning of the 9est to Bro0e1ac0 MountainBs diegesis, the mythology of the citrus industry is an important component of Brothers 3 SistersB depiction of 1hite 1ealth* As .arcia explains, F9hile 1heat, cotton, and grapes ha!e had their images tarnished by re!elations of labor exploitation, gro1er !igilance, and absentee landlords, citrus has usually escaped such criticism* )!en today, the image of oranges a !ision of prosperity in abundanceH ?";@* 4n many 1ays, then, this image of citrus fruit as symbols of abundance in America di!erts attention a1ay from the racial tension bet1een (exican laborers and Anglo lando1ners that shaped the citrus industry* Considering this symbolism, perhaps it is no surprise at all that the 9alAers o1n a fruit company* DCai oods pro!ides a shorthand for 1ealth 1ithout e!oAing an immediate association of racial and class tension, and thus it becomes a supposedly blanA slate that functions as setting for family conflicts* The aim of my brief digression into CaliforniaBs agricultural history is not to

"$; lament tele!isionBs continuing misrepresentation of said history, but rather to dra1 attention to the 1ays in 1hich sho1s liAe Brothers 3 Sisters contribute to 1ays of deliberate forgetting of racial conflict in fa!or of embracing 1hite1ashed historical symbols, such as the !intage fruit ads in SarahBs office* (ore importantly, the representation of DCai oods as a business that appears de!oid of a particular history and that only has meaning as a core part of the 9alAersB collecti!e identity is part the scaffolding that upholds 1hiteness as screen for the type of 2ueer !isibility inhabited by +e!in and Scotty, 1hich is also de!oid of linAs to raciali3ed discourses such as the ones emerging around gay marriage* As 4 1ill demonstrate, +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding, far from disrupting the family unit ?as opponents of gay marriage might argue@, ser!es to unite the 9alAers in a time of crisis* (oreo!er, +e!in and ScottyBs 2ueer identities shore up the discourse of 1hiteness on 1hich Brothers 3 SistersB diegesis crucially depends* Dra1ing 2ueer identities ?specifically, in this case, gay male identities@ into the maintenance of hegemonic 1hiteness is a salient feature of the type of homonationalism that came into full force during the 1ar on terror in 1hich the American go!ernment has engaged since the attacAs on #P""* As 4 argued in Chapter ", 1hiteness and 2ueer !isibility ha!e become interdependent in ne1 and insidious 1ays in the past eight years* Simultaneous to the emergence of 1hiteness as a proCection surface for a specific type of 2ueer !isibility, 2ueer subCects, identities, and !isibilities are called upon to uphold and reproduce the centrality of 1hiteness to imagining the America nation* Specifically, as 8asbir &uar explains, the heteronormati!e demands of the nation are temporarily suspended to

"$E 1elcome pre!iously excluded 2ueer subCects 1ho fulfill certain class, lifestyle, and racial norms ?,errorist Assem1lages, :/@* This inclusion in turn allo1s the -*S* to appear as a democratic and multicultural nation and to portray itself in contrast to nations that are seen as oppressi!e and !iolently homophobic ?most significantly, those nations that the -*S* faces in its so%called 1ar on terror@* Those simultaneous shifts represent 1hat &uar refers to as Fhomonationalism*H 4n this context, the multicultural facade put forth in Brothers 3 Sisters, 1hich declares the 9alAers to be an Fa!erageH American family that does not FseeH racial or sexual difference, taAes on greater meaning than that of Cust another sho1 that blends into the tele!ision schedule* Through a close analysis of F&rior Commitments,H the episode in 1hich +e!in and Scotty get married, 4 unpacA the implications of Brothers 3 SistersB diegetic encouragement to turn a blind eye to the programBs complicit participation in a cultural logic that dri!es e!er%finer lines of di!ision bet1een those 1ho can and cannot be part of the nation*

F,oly (antrimonyHO/ 4n classic season finale fashion, the 9alAer family is in turmoil at the beginning of F&rior CommitmentsH: DCai, due to a failed export deal 1ith a Chinese company, is on the brinA of banAruptcyM +ittyBs continuing struggles to get pregnant seem to hit a bricA 1all 1hen another round of 4V pro!es unsuccessfulM and Rebecca deals 1ith the conse2uences of disco!ering !ia DKA testing that she is not a FrealH 9alAer after all* +e!in and Scotty themsel!es ha!e finally left some relationship troubles behind and
O/

During F&rior Commitments,H the episode in 1hich +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding taAes place, 8ustin 9alAer refers to his brotherBs impending marriage as Fholy mantrimony*H

"$# o!ercome ScottyBs parentsB homophobic reaction to their impending 1edding* 'y the end of the episode, all those troubles are ?at least momentarily@ forgotten and the Coy o!er the 1edding smooths o!er any familial rifts ?such as +ittyBs and RobertBs Republican !alues that maAe them nominally opposed to gay marriage as legal institution@* D!erall, the episode underlines once more that 9alAer family unity 1ill e!entually triumph o!er any ad!ersity* 4ndeed, it is the 2uestions of 1ho does and 1ho does not belong to the family, and 1ho has access to the pri!ate, domestic 1orld of the 9alAers ?and, by implication, that of the Fa!erageH 1hite American family@ that is under intense negotiation in this episode* +e!in and ScottyBs decision to get married is a spontaneous one, originally brought about by concerns o!er ScottyBs lacA of health insurance* After Scotty gets inCured at 1orA, +e!in suggests that they register as domestic partners so that Scotty can be part of +e!inBs health care benefits* Scotty rebuffs +e!inBs offer by explaining that he 1ants his 1edding to be FspecialH and that being FpracticalH is not enough of a reason to become domestic partners since domestic partnership Fis it, our only legal option,H as Scotty emphasi3es ?/x"O, FDouble Kegati!eH@*O: +e!in explains that he isnBt sure if he 1ill e!er be ready Ffor thatHLthe Ffor thatH presumably being a 1edding based on romantic lo!e and commitment* 'ut only an episode later, after an emotional con!ersation 1ith his uncle Saul, during 1hich Saul comes out to +e!in, he is indeed ready to propose to Scotty in the FproperH romantic 1ay* (ost importantly, +e!in
O:

At the time the episode 1as 1ritten and aired, gay marriage had not yet been legali3ed in the state of California* The California Supreme CourtBs decision of (ay "<, /00E that led to the legali3ation of gay marriage 1ent into effect on 8une"$, /00E ?Yhttp:PP111*courtinfo*ca*go!PpresscenterPne1sreleasesPKR:"%0E*&D Z@* &roposition E, a ballot initiati!e that passed on Ko!ember <, /00E, added an amendment to CaliforniaBs constitution that once again rendered gay marriage illegal*

";0 explains that he is grateful for being able to come home to a person liAe Scotty and that he 1ants to form a family 1ith him* Scotty happily accepts +e!inBs proposal, and they decide to get married the follo1ing Saturday ?F1hy 1aitGH is the reason +e!in gi!es to his surprised mother Kora after telling her the ne1s@* Kora immediately insists that the 1edding should be held at her houseLa site of many important 9alAer family e!ents, including numerous family dinners* The extended 9alAer family is present for the ceremony, 1hich taAes place in the la!ishly decorated li!ing room* +itty officiates at the 1edding and gi!es a brief speech about ho1 sometimes the impossible can indeed become possible, 1hich the !ie1er is encouraged to understand as a comment on both the possibility of gay marriage and on +itty and RobertBs desire to ha!e children* 9hen it turns out that +e!in and Scotty forgot to bring rings to the ceremony, +e!inBs brothers immediately donate their 1edding rings so that the ceremony can continue and +e!in and Scotty can exchange !o1s* The 1edding concludes 1ith a Aiss, much cheering, and a family meal* F&rior CommitmentsH highlights a salient feature of Brothers 3 SistersB diegesis: a near%fetishistic preoccupation 1ith domestic spaces, especially the home of Kora 9alAer* A focus on interior, domestic spaces is, of course, a prominent feature of tele!ision in general, both in terms of narrati!e and of production ?it is cheaper to film on sets than outdoors or on location@* Qet, the intense and narro1 focus on the 9alAer family on Brothers 3 Sisters ele!ates the attention paid to pri!ate, familial spaces to ne1 tele!isual heights* The characters rarely !enture beyond their boundariesLmost scenes taAe place at charactersB homes or at DCai, 1hich in itself is a familial space due its central

";" importance to the 9alAersB collecti!e identity* +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding in the li!ing room of KoraBs home reinforces the importance of domestic space in t1o related 1ays: first, their 1edding ser!es as moment of unity during a time of crisis* The 1edding allo1s the 9alAers to congregate at KoraBs home to seeA refuge from the ongoing crises in their li!es, and e!en partially to resol!e them* The domestic functions in a classic tele!isual 1ay here: it is the ans1er to all problems* Secondly, a traditional notion of pri!acy, 1ith an emphasis on domesticity, is deployed more specifically to articulate a particular form of gay inclusion in the domestic sphere* .ay inclusion !ia the concept of Fpri!acyH has played an important role in both the La+rence v: ,e6as ?/00:@ decision that lifted the ban on sodomy and thus legali3ed consensual same%sex relationships in all states, and in the subse2uent ad!ocacy in fa!or of legali3ing gay marriage* 4n order to understand ho1 the intense attention paid to domestic spaces on Brothers 3 Sisters 1orAs as part of a push for homonationalism, 4 1ant to taAe a step bacA and looA at the significance of the La+rence v ,e6as decision and the media co!erage around gay marriage in more detail to tease out connections among 1hiteness, pri!acy, and domesticity* The Supreme CourtBs decision in La+rence v: ,e6as rendered the remaining state bans on sodomy unconstitutional and o!erturned the courtBs "#E$ decision in Bo+ers v: &ard+ic0, 1hich had affirmed state bans on sodomy* D!erall, this decision has been hailed as a maCor !ictory for gay and lesbian ci!il rights and as a sign that 2ueer Americans are one step closer to being e2uals to straight Americans under la1* As Daniel .ordon explains, the maCor difference bet1een the Bo+ers and the La+rence decision is

";/ the CourtBs focus: in 'o1ers, the Cudges 1ere preoccupied 1ith the legal dimensions of regulating sexual acts ?including sodomy@, 1hereas in La+rence, the debate centered on intimacy 1ithin the pri!ate sphere ?<@* Considering the cultural context 1ithin 1hich these decisions tooA place, the shift in focus is unsurprising* The A4DS crisis had dominated public debate about gay menBs sexuality in "#E$, 1hen the court deliberated Bo+ers v: &ard+ic0* (oreo!er, as 4 discussed in Chapter /, anal sex 1as often constructed as the originary site of A4DS and as the sexual act that threatened the health and stability of the nation ?1hich 1as figured as embodied in the Fstraight maCorityH that appeared to be in constant danger of becoming infected 1ith ,4V@* Deciding 1hether or not the state should ha!e a right to regulate consensual sex bet1een adults thus tooA on a particularly urgent dimension in "#E$, especially since the sexual act in 2uestion 1as portrayed as the origin of the health crisis threatening the nation* 'y /00:, the A4DS crisis had largely disappeared from public discourse* urthermore, the proliferation of homonormati!e images and !alues, along 1ith the disarticulation of sexuality and identity in 2ueer media !isibility, had brought concerns about domesticity and consumption to the forefront of debates relating to the gay and lesbian community* A focus on intimacy and pri!acy in the La+rence decision responded to the homonormati!e concerns and debates that had gathered momentum throughout the "##0s and early /000s* The Supreme CourtBs decisions in both the Bo+ers and La+rence cases thus linA into 1ider cultural discourses about the 1ays in 1hich 2ueerness relates to American culture* 4ndeed, the decision to legali3e consensual same%sex acts 1ithin the pri!ate,

";: domestic sphere underlines the necessary disappearance of 2ueer sexuality from public !ie1, a mandate that 1as also a precondition for the so%called explosion of gay media !isibility during the "##0s* The concession that the state should not interfere 1ith same% sex acts that happen in pri!ate is therefore implicitly balanced by a condemnation of similar acts in public* This particular understanding of pri!acy the Court put forth in La+rence is more traditional than the one de!eloped in other recent decisions, 1hich had extended a notion of pri!acy beyond actual domestic spaces ?&uar, ,errorist Assem1lages, ""E@* The reinscription of pri!acy as a physical domestic space conse2unently becomes an underlying re2uirement for the legali3ation of same%sex sexuality* 4n a 1ay, then, the ruling in La+rence, 1hich is fre2uently percei!ed as liberatory, actually continues to restrict 2ueer practices due to assumptions about pri!acy and domesticity* (oreo!er, it raises the 2uestion of 1ho has access to the Aind of pri!acy that the Court outlined and pri!ileged in La+rence* As 8asbir &uar points out, FLa+rence% .arner can offer protection only to those 1ho inhabit the fantasy of, and can marA and tra!erse across, bounded notions of public and pri!ateH ?,errorist Assem1lages, "/<@* The possibility to decide 1hich areas of life to Aeep pri!ate, and the option to ha!e access to a pri!ate, domestic space, is a pri!ilege that is not accorded to all residents of the -nited States* This pri!ilege depends crucially on race, class, and citi3enship status*OO &articularly the perception of pri!ate domestic space as something that exists outside of the stateBs reach and that functions separately from the public sphere has strong racial

OO

Connections among property, pri!acy, race, sexuality, and citi3enship ha!e longstanding histories and are in fact central to the 1ays in 1hich legal and symbolic access to the nation has been policedM see, for example, 4an * ,aney 7ope3B White 1( La+: ,he Legal Construction o Race and 7isa 7o1eBs Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural /olitics*

";O underpinnings* eminists of color ha!e long critici3ed this perception as illusionary* They ha!e pointed out that, 1hile the opposition of FpublicH and Fpri!ateH might seem to hold true for 1hite men and 1omen, it does not necessarily apply to minorities 1ho often experience closer state scrutiny of their Fpri!ateH li!es ?&uar, ,errorist Assem1lages, "/O@* &uar builds on this notion and discusses the status of non%citi3ens in American detention facilities, thereby highlighting the importance of citi3enship in addition to race and class status in determining 1hat Aind of access -*S* residents ha!e to pri!acy and to inclusion into the nation* or example, she describes the arrests of (uslim men made in the 1aAe of the &atriot Act of /00" as instances in 1hich families are torn apart 1ithout legal recourse to resist the arrest and subse2uent detention of family members* +no1ledge of 1here or 1hy their relati!es ha!e been taAen a1ay remains sparse or is not a!ailable at all ?&uar, ,errorist Assem1lages, "O$@* These cases, &uar argues, sho1 that Fthe intimate is a protected space of citi3enshipH ?ibid@* ,er analysis also demonstrates that among non%-*S* citi3ens, heterosexuality is no longer sufficient to access the pri!ileges, including pri!acy, afforded by adherence to heteronormati!ity* Access to and command of the type of pri!acy that remains free of state inter!ention ?or one that maintains the illusion of freedom from inter!ention@ is thus an important aspect of 1hite pri!ilege* 4t is important to Aeep in mind that F1hitenessH in this case extends beyond pre!ious constructions of racial difference* As &uar explains, the type of normati!e 1hiteness that includes access to pri!acy Fis not strictly limited to 1hite subCects, though it is bound to multiculturalism as defined and deployed by 1hitenessH ?,errorist Assem1lages, :"@* The La+rence decision is instructi!e regarding

";< this deployment of multiculturalism: after all, one of the defendants, Tyron .arner, is a blacA man* )!en though sodomy la1s ha!e historically been used to police interracial couples in particular, racial difference does not prominently figure in either the CourtBs opinion or the celebratory discourse in response to La+rence*O< Tyron .arnerBs blacA identity is screened out of the significance of 7a1renceM his name does not e!en appear in the shorthand 7a1rence !* ,e6as under 1hich this decision 1ill be remembered* )!en if inad!ertently, the La+rence decision thus reaffirms 1hiteness as central to the 1ays in 1hich 2ueerness becomes !isible in American culture* Via the La+rence decision, the Supreme Court adopts a homonormati!e stance and inscribes it into legal precedence* This inscription is another instance of homonationalism: by extending the right to engage in certain 2ueer sexual acts in pri!ate, 2ueer subCects are both 1elcomed into the nation and asAed to support its normati!e race and class structures* Rather than being excluded from the nation, 2ueer Americans are dra1n into the proCect of maintaining a certain idea of the nation* 9hile the particular alignment of 2ueerness, homonormati!ity, and inclusion into the nation that forms homonationalism comes into sharper relief during the 1ar on terror, it is a process that has been in the maAing for a long time* or example, CaliforniaBs domestic partnership la1s, adopted in "###, include a shared residency re2uirement*O$ Same%sex couples 1ho 1ant to register as domestic partners need to pro!e that they li!e togetherLa re2uirement that heterosexual couples do not ha!e to fulfill 1hen they
O<

O$

The use of sodomy la1s to regulate interracial relationships and sexual encounters stretches all the 1ay bacA to the turn of the t1entieth century* See Kayan ShahBs F'et1een BDriental Depra!ityB and BKatural DegeneratesB: Spatial 'orderlands and the (aAing of Drdinary Americans*H According to CaliforniaBs amily Code section /#;%/#;*<, the first re2uirement that applicants for domestic partnership ha!e to fulfill is the follo1ing: F'oth persons ha!e a common residenceH ?http:PP111*leginfo*ca*go!Pcgi%binPdisplaycodeGsectionWfam[groupW0000"%0"000[fileW/#;%/#;*<@*

";$ register for marriage* The shared residency re2uirement thus underlines particular norms of pri!acy and domesticity ?purported signals of long%term partnership@ for the legal inclusion of same%sex couples into state benefits* As 4 argued in Chapter /, an emphasis on monogamy and domesticity as important aspects of gay male relationships already emerged in the media discourses of the "#E0s, 1hen it became a 1ay of differentiating Fgood gaysH ?i*e* those 1ho 1ould not spread ,4V to the so%called general population@ and Fbad gaysH ?i*e* those 1hose sexual practices supposedly put the nation Fat risAH of ,4V@* The disarticulation of sexuality and identity in 2ueer media !isibility during the "##0s builds on that* Via the consolidation of 1hiteness as screen for 2ueer !isibilities, this traCectory e!entually merges into a homonationalist discourse* 'roadening the context of homonationalism beyond the 1ar on terror allo1s a recognition of ho1 2ueer media !isibility structured around ideals of domesticity and pri!acy has been dra1n into definitions of race, sexuality, and the nation for the past three decades* 4n the 1aAe of the 7a1rence decision, those in the mainstream media seemed to agree that gay marriage 1ould be the top priority and next legal battle for gay and lesbian ci!il rights* or example, the co!er of 9e+s+ee0 the 1eeA after the 7a1rence decision depicts a 1hite gay couple under the headline F4s .ay (arriage KextGH ?8uly ;, /00:@* A focus on domesticity and pri!acy is front and center of 9e+s+ee02s co!erage of the Supreme CourtBs decision* F4t 1as a homey scene* Standing in their 1arm Aitchen on a 1interBs day in /00", 8ulie and ,illary .oodridge, a couple for "$ years, played the old 'eatles song BAll Qou Keed 4s 7o!eB for their young daughter, Annie:H this is ho1 the co!er story claiming that La+rence v: ,e6as ine!itably leads to a fight for gay marriage

";; begins ?.egax et al, np@* The opening paragraph continues by detailing ho1 AnnieBs parents did not initially ha!e a response to their daughterBs insistence that, if they really lo!ed one another, they 1ould get married* Spurred on by their daughterBs obser!ation, 8ulie and ,illary tried to obtain a marriage license in (assachusetts in /00", but 1ere denied ?as gay marriage 1as only legali3ed in (assachusetts in /00;@*O; The paragraph concludes 1ith the obser!ation that Flast 1eeA ,illary and 8ulieLand e!ery gay person 1ho 1ants to be married or adopt a child or hold a Cob or recei!e a go!ernment benefit or simply enCoy the right to be respectedLrecei!ed a tremendous boost from the highest court in the landH ?.egax et al, np@* The article goes on to describe the details of the 7a1rence decision and ho1 it 1ould shape the F1arH o!er gay marriage* 4n addition to mainstream media co!erage, the La+rence opinion itself anticipates attempts to use the decision in the legal fight for gay marriage* 8ustice DBConnor emphasi3es in her concurring opinion that defending FtraditionalH definitions of marriage 1ould Custify state inter!ention in and regulation of gay relationships ?,unter, /0:@* rom her point of !ie1, should a gay marriage case come before the Court, the decision 1ould most liAely uphold a differentiation of marriage bet1een same%sex and heterosexual partners as constitutional* 8ustice Scalia, in his dissenting opinion, disagrees, and asserts that the 7a1rence decision opens up the potential of legali3ing gay marriage !ia a Supreme Court case* The possibilities enabled by the 7a1rence ruling, he argues, 1ould entail a se!ere Fdisruption of the current social orderH ?.ordon, ":@* ScaliaBs dissenting opinion, 1hich, in large parts, reads liAe a treatise on the percei!ed threat of
O;

8ulie and ,illary .oodridge 1ere the plaintiffs in the (assachusetts Supreme 8udicial Court case that led to the legali3ation of gay marriage in the state ?)oodridge v: %e4artment o /u1lic &ealth, ;#E K*e* /D #O", /00:@*

";E FhomosexualityH to the American nation, outlines in detail ho1 the legal precedent established in La+rence could lead to a further broadening of gay and lesbian ci!il rights, including the right to marry* All of these issues are rele!ant to Brothers 3 Sisters* 4n the context of the La+rence decision, CaliforniaBs domestic partnership la1s, and mainstream media co!erage on the subCect of gay marriage, the intense focus on pri!acy and domesticity in the episode F&rior CommitmentsH almost appears as a prere2uisite for +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding* 4ndeed, it becomes difficult to imagine their 1edding taAing place any1here else than KoraBs home, the symbolic center of the 9alAer family* After all, supporting storylines that 1ea!e around the 1edding deal 1ith the definition of family and of domestic arrangements* +e!in and ScottyBs concerns blend in seamlessly 1ith the problems preoccupying the other 9alAer siblings as all of them face 2uestions of ho1 to define familial bonds and allegiances* (oreo!er, it is +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding that finally offers the possibility of resol!ing some of these conflictsLit thus becomes a catalyst for decisions about the 9alAersB family unity and, by implication, about access to 1hite, domestic spaces* A brief discussion of the supporting plots re!ol!ing around +e!in, +itty, and Rebecca helps to illuminate these connections* 4nstead of ha!ing a bachelor party, +e!in decides to dri!e to Ari3ona to !isit ScottyBs parents in the hope of unra!elling their resistance to the 1edding* ScottyBs parents arenBt nearly as supporti!e of Scotty as the 9alAers are of +e!in, and, 1hile they claim to ha!e accepted ScottyBs gay identity, they do not agree 1ith his decision to get married* )!en after +e!in tries to reason 1ith the 9andells by telling them that

";# California la1 supports domestic partnerships, they refuse to attend the 1edding* Qet, for !ie1ers, the trip to Ari3ona reaffirms the legality of +e!in and ScottyBs commitment* The storyline underlines that +e!in and Scotty ha!e a right to be domestic partners under California la1, and that they inhabit the Aind of pri!acy that is the prere2uisite for accessing that legal right both literally, as they li!e together in +e!inBs loft, and in a more symbolic sense as they fulfill the homonormati!e re2uirements that allo1s them to be part of the nation* or +e!inBs sister +itty and for family friend Rebecca, the 1edding becomes a decisi!e moment for the reali3ation that families come in all shapes and si3es* Throughout the season, !ie1ers ha!e seen +ittyBs struggle to become pregnant and ha!e 1itnessed her insistence on ha!ing a biological child despite a miscarriage and !arious rounds of failed 4V * During the preparation for the 1edding, ho1e!er, +itty changes her mind about adoption: rather than considering it as a last resort, she reali3es it is simply a different 1ay of constituting a family* Rebecca has a similar reali3ation about 1hat maAes a family: she reali3es that she doesnBt ha!e to be 9illiam 9alAerBs biological child to be a 9alAer* Kora tells her that Fthere is more to family than DKAH and that Rebecca has become a part of the 9alAer family already* Sarah reaffirms that statement by obser!ing that F1eBre liAe the (afia, us 9alAersM once youBre in, you can ne!er get out*H (oreo!er, since Rebecca isnBt an actual relati!e of 8ustinBs, their foreshado1ed romance can finally begin in earnest ?since, during the season leading up the F&rior Commitments,H Rebecca and 8ustinBs friendship has taAen on an increasingly romantic dimension@* The relationship bet1een Rebecca and 8ustin e!entually leads to a marriage

"E0 proposal at the end of season three* D!erall, F&rior CommitmentsH suggests that biological ties arenBt the only family ties that matter, and that families can and do form in 1ays that are not based on biological Ainship* TaAen at face !alue, this is a 1elcome message as the reimagination of familial bonds is of central importance to 2ueer politics and its aim to reimagine social structures of e!eryday life* ,o1e!er, as it 1as articulated in Brothers 3 Sisters and other media texts, this apparent message of di!ersification is deeply embedded in homonational and other raciali3ed discourses and thus merely uses a !eneer of multiculturalism ultimately to uphold an ideal of 1hite domesticity* 9hile F&rior CommitmentsH offers multiple 1ays of reimagining 1hat a family could be, the episode still reaffirms familial domesticity as a norm of social organi3ation, and as a norm that 1ill persist under outside pressure* After all, +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding offers the 9alAers a moment of respite from their ongoing crises and it ser!es as an opportunity for finding a resolution for some of them, such as +ittyBs desire for a family and RebeccaBs anxiety of being excluded from the 9alAers* The episode, and Brothers 3 Sisters in general, represents this ne1 Fdi!erseH domesticity as exclusi!ely 1hite space* 9hene!er the 9alAer family expands, the ne1 family member turns out to be 1hite ?1hether !ia marriage or !ia the addition of pre!iously unAno1n siblings@* 'oth the introduction of suspected and actual illegitimate children of 9illiam 9alAer, Rebecca and Ryan, and the e!entual adoption of a baby girl by +itty and Robert preser!e the 9alAersB 1hite domesticity* At the same time, both storylines dra1 on historical and cinematic discourses of interracial relationships and

"E" families* Stories about the disco!ery of interracial children after a prominent 1hite manBs death ha!e circulated in the ne1s in the past decadeLThomas 8efferson and Strom Thurmon are perhaps the most 1ell%Ano1n examples*OE )!en in our current allegedly multicultural climate, these Ainds of disco!eries still pro!oAe anxiety about the crossing of racial lines ?and the re!elation that these lines are al1ays%already unstable@* 4n the context of !isual media, they also tie into the longstanding cinematic fascination 1ith mapping 1ays of FseeingH race* Susan Courtney argues that the miscegenation clause that 1as part of the ,olly1oood &roduction Code bet1een "#:0 and "#<$ had t1o maCor conse2uences: one, it established cinematic coding that taught spectators ho1 to FseeH race in ,olly1ood mo!ies, and t1o, it supported the idea that racial categories are self% e!ident ?"0O, "/O@* (oreo!er, Courtney outlines ho1 these 1ays of FseeingH and !isuali3ing race depended on the reinforcement of traditional gender norms, particularly after it became possible to sho1 interracial relationships on the screen ?/OE@* 4n Brothers 3 Sisters, these discourses about the crossing of racial lines and their !isuali3ation in the media only appear fleetingly* Regarding the appearance of illegitimate children, there is ne!er any doubt about their 1hiteness: the 9alAer siblingsB suspicion that they may not be their fatherBs only children begins 1ith the disco!ery of a photograph of a 1hite baby at the DCai family ranch and the siblingsB futile efforts to trace said picture to any of the Ano1n 9alAers* Their 2uest to disco!er their long%lost sibling leads to the introduction of Rebecca, 1ho e!eryone assumes to be 9illiamBs daughter
OE

Regarding 8efferson, see, for example, 7ucian +* Truscott 4VBs Ke1 QorA Times editorial FThe Reunion -pon a ,ill,H Annette .ordon%ReedBs booA ,homas =e erson and Sall( &emings: An American Controvers(, and &eter KicolaisenBs article FThomas 8efferson, Sally ,emings, and the Question of Race: An Dngoing Debate*H Regarding Thurmond, see, for example, +e!in R* 8ohnsonBs article FThe 7egacy of 8im Cro1: The )nduring Taboo of 'lacA%9hite RomanceH and )ssie (ae%9ashingtonBs booA %ear Senator: A Memoir o the %aughter o Strom ,hurmond*

"E/ until she taAes a DKA test* ,alf a season later, Ryan is introduced on the sho1, and he turns out to be 9illiam 9alAerBs actual illegitimate child* Throughout all of these rather con!oluted storylines, there is ne!er any doubt about Rebecca or RyanBs 1hite racial identity* There is a brief moment, ho1e!er, 1hen Brothers 3 Sisters !ery deliberately engages in racial anxieties, namely during a pre!ie1 for episode :x0;, FDo Qou 'elie!e in (agicGH* +itty and Robert are in the middle of an adoption, and the pre!ie1 pro!ides a sneaA peeA at their meeting 1ith the birth mother of their future child* The pre!ie1 pairs a shot of a 1oman 1ho is !isually signified as African American announcing, F4Bm Trisha, your birth momTH 1ith shocAed expressions on +itty and RobertBs faces* 9hile lingering on +itty and Robert, 1e hear Trisha say FSurpriseTH off%screen* The pre!ie1 clearly tries to suggest that +ittyBs and RobertBs shocA and surprise is triggered by TrishaBs non%1hite racial identity and by the implication that their child 1ill not be 1hite, either* This association is fueled by both the normati!e 1hiteness that suffuses Brothers 3 SistersB diegesis and by the raciali3ed history of ,olly1ood cinema* The former lea!es the !ie1er unprepared for the possibility that +itty and Robert might adopt a non%1hite child, and the latter pro!ides a pattern for understanding their surprise as anxious reaction o!er the prospect of an interracial adoption* Qet during the actual episode, the pre!ie1Bs raciali3ed suggestions turn out to be at least denotati!ely false: +itty and RobertBs shocAed expression is in response to learning that Trisha is a neuro%surgeon, and not a med student, as they had assumed* The dialogue e!en reassures us that +itty and Robert do not ha!e any race%based biases: FQou said ethnicity doesnBt matter,H Trisha asAs

"E: rhetorically, and then cheerfully goes on to explain that she is of +orean and African American descent, and that her babyBs father is 1hite* She concludes the o!er!ie1 of her family history by telling +itty and Robert that they are Fin for a surprise,H presumably regarding the 1ays in 1hich this multiracial ancestry 1ill manifest in a !isual 1ay* )!en though this scene is supposed to affirm that, as good multiculturalists, race doesnBt matter to +itty and Robert, there is an intense focus on racial lineage and the possibilities of FseeingH race that does rather the oppositeLit sho1s that racial difference, especially its !isual signification, still matters* 'oth the !eneer of multiculturalism and the defense of 1hite domesticity in the unfolding narrati!es of Rebecca and Ryan as illegitimate children and of +itty and RobertBs adoption depend on +e!in and ScottyBs relationshipLand specifically their 1eddingLas an important anchor* rom this point of !ie1, +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding does more than defend the 9alAersB family unity in a time of crisis* Rather, +e!in and ScottyBs commitment to homonormati!ity allo1s a defense of the 9alAersB 1hite, upper% class identity, and, more importantly, their uncontested right to pri!acy 1ithin the family home* 4n addition, the 1edding functions simultaneously as an out1ard sign of tele!isual and social progress ?by asserting that gays and lesbians ha!e the right to marry on TV and in real life under certain conditions@ and yet still as an impediment to that progress, as it reaffirms longstanding criteria, such as 1hiteness and heteronormati!ity, that regulate and restrict 1ho has access to ci!il rights, to pri!acy, and to symbolic inclusion in the nation* rom this point of !ie1, the decade that passed bet1een )llenBs coming out and +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding might be seen as both momentous and anti%climactic* 4n contrast to

"EO )llenBs struggles 1ith integrating lesbian identity into tele!isual e!erydayness, +e!in and ScottyBs 1edding not only blends seamlessly into the diegetic 1orld of Brothers 3 Sisters, but it becomes a site of primary importance for the reinforcement of tele!isual and social norms*

CDKC7-D4K. R)(AR+S 9hen 4 began my in!estigation of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility in recent American culture, my main focus rested on the 2uestions of ho1 and 1hy !isibility has become such an important concept to expressing 2ueerness in film and tele!ision* (y research has taAen me into directions 4 did not anticipate, but that turn out to be !ital to understanding in 1hat 1ays a preoccupation 1ith !isibility came to the forefront of 2ueer media representations* irst and foremost, there are the intricate connections bet1een 2ueer !isibility and 1hiteness, 1hich most clearly emerge by considering the closet as a screen* Kormati!e ideas of 1hiteness ser!e as proCection surface that, similar to the epistemology of the closet, screen different facets of 2ueer !isibility* Conse2uently, 1hiteness is intrinsically connected to prominent ideas of 1hat 2ueer media !isibility ought to looA liAe* At the same time, the significance of 1hiteness is do1nplayedLit appears as merely a bacAdrop to portrayals of 2ueer li!es and practices* (ore precisely, in many of the films and TV programs that ha!e been hailed as FbreaAthroughH moments, i*e* those that ha!e become most !isible to the popular American imagination as 2ueer media texts, 1hiteness acts as "E<

"E$ a screen upon 1hich particular notions of 2ueerness are proCected* rom the "#E0s on1ard, 2ueer media !isibility solidifies as denotati!e, gay and lesbian representations that correspond to 1hite homonormati!ity* )xamples of this pattern include /hiladel4hia, .llen, Will3)race, 'ueer as *ol0, Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, and Brothers3Sisters, all of 1hich had and ha!e significant popular appeal* 9hile the apparently seamless integration of 1hiteness and homonormati!e in gay and lesbian representations seem to o!ershado1 other possibilities, 2ueer media texts also contain moments that allo1 the recognition of the closet%as%screen at 1orA* As such, unscreening these moments forms the most important aspect of my research: throughout this dissertation, 4 foreground that multiple 2ueer modesLboth denotati!e and connotati!e, for exampleLemerge and persist simultaneously* 7iAe1ise, processes of racilia3ation can ne!er be completely screened out of 2ueer media texts* (y chapters in!estigate this connection bet1een 1hiteness and 2ueer !isibility across a 1ide field of e!ents, time periods, and places to foreground the closet%as%screenBs impact on debates surrounding race, sexuality, gender, citi3enship, acti!ism and e!eryday life in the -nited States* Tracing and unscreening 2ueer !isibility across different temporalities and spaces rendered aspects of 2ueerness !isible to me that 4 had not originally considered or anticipated* Among those aspects are the cycles of forgetting that enable FbreaAthroughH moments in 2ueer history and media !isibility, the deep connections bet1een 2ueer !isibility and ?imagined@ urban and rural landscapes, and the significance of silence in moments of coming out* ,istoriography, geography, and modes of speech are inter1o!en

"E; 1ith discourses of 1hiteness and 2ueer !isibility in 1ays that exceed a strictly media% based analysis* 4n these concluding remarAs, 4 1ant to bring these seemingly disparate threads together to once again underline the far reach of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility and its deep impact on American culture in the past O0 years* Additionally, they also open up the most exciting and urgent a!enues for future in!estigations of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* Across all four preceding chapters, my analyses highlight ho1 the significant FfirstsH in 2ueer history and in 2ueer media representations depend on simultaneous moments of deliberate forgetting* Among these FfirstsH is the celebration of the e!ents at the Stone1all 4nn in "#$# as the first gay riot, a notion that 1as carefully constructed during the )astern Regional Conference of ,omophile Drgani3ations in late "#$# and upheld by e!ents such as ACT -&Bs Stone1all /0 action in "#E#* (arAing Stone1all as the FfirstH riot not only obscures earlier sAirmishes bet1een gay acti!ists and the police, but also allo1s the emergence of a before%and%after story of gay liberationLa pattern that characteri3es the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* Similar stories 1ind around the &roduction Code, the A4DS crisis, and )llenBs coming out* All of these stories emphasi3e an opening up of ne1 possibilities and radical change* As such, they underline that the end of the &roduction Code enabled the denotati!e portrayal of gay and lesbian characters and subCect matters in ,olly1ood film, that the A4DS crisis forced mainstream America to acAno1ledge the gay and lesbian community, and that )llenBs coming out pa!ed the 1ay for the so%called explosion of gay !isibility on tele!ision* 9hile these are important de!elopments, they only represent half of the story, so%to%speaA* or example, e!en after

"EE the &roduction Code 1as lifted, the connotati!e registers that had been used to signify 2ueerness in ,olly1ood cinema continued to thri!e right alongside the ne1 denotati!e possibilities* 7iAe1ise, 1hile the A4DS crisis certainly prompted the circulation of reports on gay and lesbian 1ays of life, it also brought about a disarticulation of 2ueer identities and 2ueer sexualitiesLin other 1ords, the mainstream mediaBs acAno1ledgment of gays and lesbians critically depended on normali3ing 2ueerness* The ensuing explosion of gay !isibility, most !i!idly embodied in )llenBs coming out, further defined this normali3ation, pushing 2ueer media !isibility closer to homonormati!ity, and, after the e!ents of #P"", to homonationalism* 4ndeed, the 2uotidian existence of +e!in and Scotty on Brothers 3 Sisters, 1hich is so unremarAable that e!en their 1edding comes and goes 1ithout maAing a blip on the media radar, points to1ards the emergence of a homonationalist definition of 2ueer !isibility as its most authentic and desirable form* Along 1ith before%and%after stories, the specificities of space and time also emerge as crucial components of my in!estigation of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* 4ndeed, processes of normali3ation, 2ueerness, and race all are deeply connected to temporality and spatiality* As such, the history of A4DS in Ke1 QorA cannot be separated from the urban landscape of (anhattan* The normali3ation of 2ueer identities in the late "#E0s and early "##0s brought 1ith it the normali3ation of (anhattanBs geography: spaces once !isibly 2ueer, e*g* numerous bathhouses and gay clubs, 1ere shut do1n in the name of public health and rein!ented in a more Ffamily%friendlyH manner ?the o!erhaul of Times S2uare is certainly the most prominent example, but the ,udson piers also come to mind@*

"E# 4n addition to the real space of (anhattan, the imagined spaces of the 9est and the (id1est become crucial to the manifestations of 2ueerness in the films Bro0e1ac0 Mountain and Bo(s %on2t Cr(* 4n Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, longstanding cultural ideas of the American 9est frame the romance bet1een 8acA and )nnisLideas that screen out, among other things, the significance of race to imagined pastoral 9estern landscapes, including the idyllic 'roAebacA mountain* 9hile the idea of F2ueer co1boysH appears to disrupt established ideas of the 9est, homonormati!e ideals shape the gay romance at the center of the film and critically depend on the screening of race afforded by the mythic 9estern landscape* Similarly, Bo(s %on2t Cr( seems to expose homophobia in the rural (id1est* 'ut this exposure relies on 1idespread preconceptions of rural America, particularly of so%called 1hite trash culture* 9hile the film retells the e!ents surrounding the murder of transgendered 'randon Teena in a sympathetic 1ayLthe aspect of Bo(s %on2t Cr( that the mainstream press celebratedLboth narrati!e and diegesis e!ade an engagement 1ith its reliance on undifferentiated ideas of race and class* The last aspect that 1inds through my in!estigation of the discourse of 2ueer !isibility is the relationship bet1een speaAing out or remaining silent, 1hich is mapped onto the opposition of being !isible or out and being in!isible or in the closet* The insistent push to1ards more !isibility in the decades that 4 in!estigate marAs the decision not to be !isibly 2ueer as insufficient and e!en oppressi!e* 'eginning 1ith the gay liberation frontBs slogan FCome out, come out, 1here!er you are,H the mandate to be out and to speaA out has rendered silence undesirable* Qet again, the foregrounding of one particular form of 2ueer li!es and practices, in this case to be out, is embedded in

"#0 2uestions of racilia3ation and normali3ation* or example, non%1hite cultural traditions offer insights into ho1 not being !isibly 2ueer may open up spaces in 1hich 2ueer practices can thri!e* 4n these cases, silence cannot be e2uated 1ith an oppression* (oreo!er, cross%cultural comparisons allo1 the recognition that coming out is a predominantly 1hite American cultural concept that might not translate into other national contexts* The significance of silence also emerges in the context of A4DS* 9hile ACT -& stands behind the idea of S47)KC) W D)AT,, other aspects of the A4DS crisis of the "#E0s, for example the suggestion to mandate ,4V testing for specific parts of the population, point to1ards silence as a pri!ilege* 4n this context, both the need to speaA out about the de!astating conse2uences of ,4VPA4DS and the possibility to 1ithhold identification as 2ueer or as ,4V%positi!e become po1erful and contested cultural modes* After )llenBs coming out, the possibility of the co%existence of speech and silence d1indles, at least 1ithin the context of 2ueer media !isibility* The increasing embrace of gay and lesbian subCect matter in film and tele!ision maAe the refusal to come out not only undesirable, but tragic* 9ithin this frame1orA, mainstream re!ie1s read one of the maCor narrati!e arcs of Bro0e1ac0 Mountain, namely )nnisB refusal to embrace a settled life 1ith 8acA, as a sign of internali3ed homophobia 1hen it 1ould also be possible to read it as a refusal of homonormati!ity* 9ithin the contemporary context of failures and successes in gay marriage legislation, )nnis emerges as tragic figure 1ho 1ill not e!en lay claim to the limited possibilities afforded by his homophobic en!ironment* Dther possibilities do not emerge as readily because they are obscured by cultural discourses

"#" that fa!or homonormati!ity* The oscillation bet1een a homonormati!e outlooA emphasi3ing modes of 2ueer life and practices that align 1ith 1hiteness, producti!ity, and stability and a point of !ie1 that fa!ors multiplicity and uncertainty characteri3es the current moment of 2ueer !isibility* (y research negotiates bet1een these sides of the closet%as%screen: 4 trace out ho1 predominant modes of 2ueer !isibility ha!e come into being o!er the past forty years 1hile also demonstrating that alternati!e points of !ie1 can ne!er be completely screened out* TaAing the so%called explosion of gay !isibility during the "##0s as anchor, 4 ha!e de!eloped the concept of the closet%as%screen to tease out the crucial moments in the discourse of 2ueer !isibility* (y mode of in!estigation allo1s for a critical understanding of the conflicts surrounding homonormati!e and homonationalist paradigms of 2ueer !isibility* 4n examining a 1ide !ariety of media, time periods, and cultural contexts, my research has focused on clusters of meaning that might not seem to ha!e connections to 2ueer !isibility at first glance, but that, upon closer in!estigation, are suffused 1ith mechanisms, screens, and lenses that enable and regulate ho1 2ueerness manifests itself in American culture*

'4'74D.RA&,Q Alter, 8onathan* FClinton on the Couch*H 9e+s+ee0 ":":< ? ebruary /, "##E@: :"* Altman, 7a1rence +* FRare Cancer Seen in O" ,omosexuals*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?8uly :, "#E"@: A/0* %%%* FResearch Traces A4DS in $ of ; emale &artners*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?(ay "#, "#E:@* Alter, 8onathan* FSins of Dmission*H 9e+s+ee0 ?September /:, "#E<@: /<* Anderson, (arA Cronlund* Co+1o( Im4erialism and &oll(+ood *ilm* Ke1 QorA: &eter 7ang, /00;* Ansen, Da!id* F9alA 7iAe a (an, TalA 7iAe a (an*H 9e+s+ee0 ":O:"< ?Dctober "", "###@: E<* Armstrong, )li3abeth and Su3anna (* Crage* F(o!ements and (emory: The (aAing of the Stone1all (yth*H American Sociological Revie+ Vol*;" ?Dctober /00$@: ;/O% ;<"* 'arthes, Roland* SDE* "#;O* Trans* Richard (iller* Ke1 QorA: ,ill and 9ang, "##O* 'ecAer, Ron* F.ay (aterial and &rime%Time Ket1orA Tele!ision in the "##0s*H 4n: )a( ,- and Straight America ?Ke1 'runs1icA, K8: Rutgers -ni!ersity &ress, /00$@: ":$%"E#* %%%* F.uy 7o!e: A Queer Straight (asculinity for the &ost%Closet )raGH 4n: Da!is, .lyn "#/

"#: and .ary Keedham ?eds@* 'ueer ,-: ,heories, &istories, /olitics ?7ondon and Ke1 QorA: Routledge, /00#@: "/"%"O"* 'eirne, Rebecca Claire* F)mbattled Sex: Rise of the Right and Victory of the Queer in Queer as olA*H 4n: 8ames +eller and 7eslie Straytner* ,he 9e+ 'ueer Aesthetic on ,elevision: .ssa(s on Recent /rogramming ?8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00$@: O:%<#* 'ellanfante, .inia* FSunday Kights 1ith the Siblings*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?(ay #, /00E@: )"* 'enshoff, ,arry (* and Sean .riffin* 'ueer Images: A &istor( o )a( and Les1ian *ilm in America* 7anham, (D: Ro1man [ 7ittlefield, /00$* %%%* Monsters in the Closet: &omose6ualit( and &orror *ilm* (anchester: (anchester -ni!ersity &ress, "##;* 'erlant, 7auren* ,he 'ueen o American )oes to Washington Cit(: .ssa(s on Se6 and Citi5enshi4* Durham: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, "##;* 'erry, Chris* FThe Chinese Side of the (ountain*H *ilm 'uarterl( $0:: ?/00;@: :/%:;* 'ersani, 7eo* F4s the Rectum a .ra!eGH Octo1er Vol*O:: A4DS: Cultural AnalysisPCultural Acti!ism ?9inter "#E;@: "#;%///* 'ernstein, Rhonda* Attac0 o the Leading Ladies: )ender, Se6ualit(, and S4ectatorshi4 in Classic &orror Cinema* Ke1 QorA: Columbia -ni!ersity &ress, "##$* 'erube, Allan* F,o1 .ay Stays 9hite and 9hat +ind of 9hite 4t Stays*H 4n: 'irgit 'rander Rasmussen et al* ,he Ma0ing and 7nma0ing o Whiteness ?DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00"@: /:O%/$$*

"#O 'iddle, 9ayne and (argot Slade* FA 9ider RisA of A4DS eared*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?(ay //, "#E:@* Bo(s %on2t Cry* Directed by +imberly &ierce, "###* 'rady, (ary &at* FRa3ing Ari3ona*H 4n .6tinct Lands, ,em4oral )eogra4hies: Chicana Literature and the 7rgenc( o S4ace ?Durham, KC: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00/@: ":%OE* 'rod, ,arry* FTheyBre 'i Shepherds, Kot .ay Co1boys: The (isframing of 'roAebacA (ountain*H ,he =ournal o Men2s Studies "O:/ ?Spring /00$@: /</%/<:* 'rody, 8ennifer* F'oy3 Do Cry: Screening ,istoryBs 9hite 7ies*H Screen ?Spring /00/@: #"%#$* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain* Directed by Ang 7ee, /00<* Brothers 3 Sisters* Created by 8on Robin 'ait3* /00$%present* 'ucAley 8r*, 9illiam * F4dentify All Carriers*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?(arch "E, "#E$@: A/;* California amily Code Section /#;%/#;*<* Yhttp:PP111*leginfo*ca*go!Pcgi% binPdisplaycodeGsectionWfam[groupW0000"%0"000[fileW/#;%/#;*<Z Accessed 8une :0, /00#* Capsuto, Ste!en* FThe )llen (organ Story ?or ,o1 to 9in a Toaster D!en@: Tele!ision: "##O%"##E*H 4n: Alternate Channels: ,he 7ncensored Stor( o )a( and Les1ian Images on Radio and ,elevision ?Ke1 QorA: 'allantine 'ooAs, /000@: :;E%O0O* Carey, 8essica 7*9* F&erforming B7onesome Co1boyB and B8acA KastyB: The StarsB Kegotiation of Korms and Desires*H 4n: Stacy, 8im ?ed@* Reading Bro0e1ac0

"#< Mountain: .ssa(s on the Stor( and the *ilm ?8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00;@: ";E%"EE* Chelin, &amela* FA Commitment to ,imself*H ,he )lo1e and Mail ?April "<, /00E@: R"* ClarA, (att and (ariana .osnell* F-proar D!er A4DS Drugs,H 9e+s+ee0 ?April $, "#E;@: /O* Clo!er, 8oshua, and Christopher Kealon* FDonBt AsA, DonBt Tell (e*H *ilm 'uarterl( $0:: ?/00;@: $/%$;* Cooper, 'renda* F'oys DonBt Cry and emale (asculinity: Reclaiming a 7ife [ Dismantling the &olitics of Kormati!e ,eterosexuality*H Critical Studies in Media Communication "#:" ?(arch /00/@: OO%$:* Corliss, Richard, Amy 7ennard .oehner, Desa &hiladelphia, and Adam &itlucA* F,o1 the 9est 9as 9on D!er*H ,ime "$;:< ?8anuary :0, /00$@* Courtney, Susan* &oll(+ood *antasies o Miscegenation: S4ectacular 9arratives o )ender and Race, !"8F-!"#G* &rinceton, K8: &rinceton -ni!ersity &ress, /00<* Cragin, 'ecca* F7esbians and Serial TV: )llen inds ,er 4nner Adult*H 4n: +eller, 8ames R* and 7eslie Stratyner* ,he 9e+ 'ueer Aesthetic on ,elevision: .ssa(s on Recent /rogramming ?8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00$@: "#:%/0#* Crimp, Douglas* Melancholia and Moralism: .ssa(s on AI%S and 'ueer /olitics* Cambridge, (A: (4T &ress, /00/* Cunneen, 8oseph* F7o!e, Vengeance, and ,igh 7i!ing*H 9ational Catholic Re4orter ?8anuary /0, /00$@: ";* C!etAo!ich, Ann* FSexualityBs Archi!e: The )!idence of the Starr Report*H 4n: 'erlant,

"#$ 7auren and 7isa Duggan ?eds@* Our Monica, Ourselves: ,he Clinton A air and 9ational Interest ?Ke1 QorA: KQ- &ress, /00"@: /$E%/E<* Dando, Christina* FRange 9ars: The &lains rontier of 'oys DonBt Cry*H =ournal o Cultural )eogra4h( /::" ? allP9inter /00<@: #"%"":* DB)milio, 8ohn* FAfter Stone1all*H 4n: Ma0ing ,rou1le: .ssa(s on )a( &istor(, /olitics, and the 7niversit( ?Routledge: Ke1 QorA and 7ondon, "##/@: /:O%/;O* de (oraes, 7isa* FB.reyBsB 7esbian Doc ails the BChemistryB Test*H ,he Washington /ost ?Ko!ember ;, /00E@: C0;* Didi, ,erman* FB4Bm .ayB: Declarations, Desire, and Coming Dut Dn &rime%Time Tele!ision*H Se6ualities E:" ? ebruary /00<@: ;%/#* Doty, Alexander* *laming Classics: 'ueering the *ilm Canon* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, /000* %%%* Ma0ing ,hings /er ectl( 'ueer: Inter4reting Mass Culture* (inneapolis, -ni!ersity of (innesota &ress, "##:* Do1, 'onnie 8* F.llen, Tele!ision, and the &olitics of .ay and 7esbian Visibility*H Critical Studies in Media Communication "E:/ ?8une /00"@: "/:%"O"* Duggan, 7isa* FQueering the State*H 4n: Duggan, 7isa and Kan D* ,unt ?eds@* Se6 Wars: Se6ual %issent and /olitical Culture: ,enth Anniversar( .dition ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, /00$@: ";"%"E<* %%%* FThe Ke1 ,omonormati!ity: The Sexual &olitics of Keoliberalism*H 4n: Castrono!o, Russ and Dana D* Kelson ?eds@* Materiali5ing %emocrac(: ,o+ard a Revitali5ed Cultural /olitics ?Durham: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00/@: "#<%/"E*

"#; Dyer, Richard* FSeen to 'e 'elie!ed*H 4n: ,he Matter o Images: .ssa(s on Re4resenation ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##:@: </%;:* %%%* 9o+ ?ou See It* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##0* %%%* White* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##;* )delman, 7ee* FThe (irror and the TanA: BA4DS,B SubCecti!ity, and the Rhetoric of Acti!ism*H 4n: &omogra4hisis: .ssa(s in )a( Literar( and Cultural ,heor( ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##O@: #:%"/"* )pstein, Ste!en* Im4ure Science: AI%S, Activism, and the /olitics o >no+ledge* 'erAeley: -ni!ersity of California &ress, "##$* aderman, 7illian and Stuart Timmons* )a( L:A:: A &istor( o Se6ual Outla+s, /o+er /olitics, and Li4stic0 Les1ians* Ke1 QorA: 'asic 'ooAs, /00$* oster, (arA .uy* FDesire and the B'ig 'lacA CopB: Race and the &olitics of Sexual 4ntimacy in ,'DBs Si6 *eet 7nder*H 4n: +eller, 8ames R* and 7eslie Stratyner* ,he 9e+ 'ueer Aesthetic on ,elevision: .ssa(s on Recent /rogramming ?8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00$@: ##%"":* oucault, (ichel* "#;<* %isci4line and /unish: ,he Birth o the /rison* Trans* Alan Sheridan* Ke1 QorA: Vintage 'ooAs, "##<* %%%* ,he &istor( o Se6ualit(: An Introduction* "#;E* Trans* Robert ,urley* Ke1 QorA: Vintage 'ooAs, "##0* .arcia, (att* A World o ,heir O+n: Race, La1or, and Citrus in the Ma0ing o )reater Los Angeles, !"88-!"G8* Chapel ,ill and 7ondon: The -ni!ersity of Korth Carolina &ress, /00"*

"#E .egax, Trent T* et al* FThe 9ar D!er .ay (arriage*H 9e+s+ee0 "O/:" ?8uly ;, /00:@: :E% O$* .ilbert, (atthe1* FDysfunctional amily: 'rothers [ Sisters &romises Quality, 'ut Deli!ers Sanctimony and Schmalt3*H Boston )lo1e ?Dctober /E, /00;@: K:* %%%: F(erely 'elo!ed: Brother 3 Sisters -ses a Ci!il -nion to Dra1 Vie1ers* ,o1 Times ,a!e Changed*H Boston )lo1e ?(ay "", /00E@: K"* .ledhill, Christine* &ome is Where the &eart is: Studies in Melodrama and the Woman2s *ilm* 7ondon: 'ritish ilm 4nstitute, "#E;* .ordon, Daniel* F(oralism, the ear of Social Chaos: The Dissent in La+rence and the Antidotes of Vermont and Bro+n*H ,e6as =ournal o Civil Rights #:" ?9inter /00:@: "%/"* .ordon%Reed, Annette* ,homas =e erson and Sall( &emings: An American Controvers(* -ni!ersity of Virginia &ress, "##E* .ross, 7arry &* 74 *rom Invisi1ilit(: Les1ians, )a( Men, and the Media in America* Ke1 QorA: Columbia -ni!ersity &ress, /00"* .undman, Roy* F'roAebacA (ountain*H Cineaste :":/ ?Spring /00$@* .u3man, (anolo* )a( &egemon(DLatino &omose6ualities* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, /00$* .ro!er, 8an Vita* FA4DS: +ey1ords*H Octo1er Vol*O:: A4DS: Cultural AnalysisPCultural Acti!ism ?9inter "#E;@: ";%:0* ,alberstam, 8udith* In a 'ueer ,ime and /lace: ,ransgender Bodies, Su1cultural Lives* Ke1 QorA and 7ondon, /00<* ,anson, )llis*H4ntroduction: Dut TaAes*H 4n: Out ,a0es: .ssa(s on 'ueer ,heor( and

"## *ilm ?Durham: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, "###@: "%/:* ,aralo!ich, (ary 'eth* FSit%coms and Suburbs: &ositioning the "#<0s ,omemaAer*H 4n: /rivate Screenings: ,elevision and the *emale Consumer* )ds* 7ynn Spigl and Denise (ann ?(inneapolis: -ni!ersity of (innesota &ress, "##/@: """%"O"* ,enderson, 7isa* FThe Class Character of Bo(s %on2t Cr(:H Screen O/:: ?/00"@: /##%:0:* ,ensley, Dennis* FDh, 'rother*H Advocate 4ssue ##< ?Dctober /:, /00;@: OO%<0* ,ubert, Susan 8* F9hatBs 9rong 9ith This &ictureG The &olitics of )llenBs Coming Dut &arty*H =ournal o /o4ular Culture :::/ ? all "###@: :"%:$* ,unter, Kan D* F7a1rence !s Texas as 7a1 and Culture*H 4n: Duggan, 7isa, and Kan D* ,unter* Se6 Wars: Se6ual %issent and /olitical Culture* "0th Anni!ersary edition ?Ke1 QorA and 7ondon: Routledge, /00$@: "#;%/""* F,ysterical 'lindness*H Advocate, 4ssue #E: ?Dctober Oth, /00;@: $O* 8erome, Richard, Dli!er 8ones, Chad 7o!e and Sandra (ar2ue3* FDut on the Range*H /eo4le $<:O ?8anuary :0, /00$@* 8ohnson, Colin* FRural Space: Queer AmericaBs inal rontier*H Chronicle o &igher .ducation </:"# ?": 8anuary /00$@* 8ohnson, +e!in R* FThe 7egacy of 8im Cro1: The )nduring Taboo of 'lacA%9hite Romance*H Te6as La+ Revie+ HI:F J*e1ruar( K88#;: GF"-G##: =o(rich, L(nne: L,he .4istemology of the Console*H Critical In@uir( /;*: ?Spring /00"@: O:#%O$E* %%%* F)pistemology of the Console*H 4n: Da!is, .lyn, and .ary Keedham* 'ueer ,-: ,heories, &istories, /olitics ?Ke1 QorA and 7ondon: Routledge, /00#@: "<%OE*

/00 8udicial Counsel of California* FCalifornia Supreme Court Denies Rehearing and Stay in (arriage Cases*H 9e+s Release :" ?8une O, /00E@* +auffman, Stanley* FDut 9est*H ,he 9e+ Re4u1lic ?8anuary /$, /00$@: /0%/"* +ecA, 9illiam* F,olly1oodBs Closet Still Closed TightM )!en Today, 4t Can 'e RisAy or Actors 9ho Are .ay %% Dr &lay .ay on TV*H 7SA ,O%A? ?8anuary /00;@: D"* %%%* FTop This: A .ay CeremonyM +e!in, Scotty )xchange 9o1s on TVBs B'rothersBH 7SA ,O%A? ?(ay #, /00E@: )O* +eenan, 8ohn* F&ortrayals 4lluminate BDonBt CryB*H Omaha World &erald ? ebruary "#, /000@: $<* +eller, 8ames R* and 7eslie Stratnyer* ,he 9e+ 'ueer Aesthetic on ,elevision: .ssa(s on Recent /rogramming* 8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00$* +leinschrodt, (ichael* FB'oysB Director SeeAs -nderstanding for Tragic Victim*H ,imes/ica(une ? ebruary "E, /000@: 7/:* 7ancaster, Roger* F9hat A4DS is Doing to -s*H Christo4her Street, 4ssue ;< ?"#E:@: OE% <O* 7an3aratta, &hilip* FSur!i!ing A4DS*H Christo4her Street, 4ssue #: ?Dctober "#EO@* ,he Laramie /roAect* Directed by (oises +aufman, /00/* 7ope3, 4an * ,aney* White 1( La+: ,he Legal Construction o Race* Ke1 QorA and 7ondon: Ke1 QorA -ni!ersity &ress, "##$* 7o1e, 7isa* Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural /olitics* Durham, KC: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, "##$* (analansan 4V, (artin * FColoni3ing Time and Space: Race and Romance in Bro0e1ac0

/0" Mountain*H )L' "::" ?/00$@: #;%"00* (ariAar, Sheila* F9hy Did B.reyBsB .et Rid of .ay RomanceGH Ko!ember "0, /00E Yhttp:PPabcne1s*go*comP)ntertainmentPstoryGidW$/";$O/[pageW"Z* Accessed 8uly ", /00#* (ass, 7a1rence* FCancer Signs*H Christo4her Street ?SeptemberPDctober "#E"@: #%""* %%%* F-nderstanding the )pidemic*H Christo4her Street, 4ssue $/: /O% /$* ,he Matthe+ She4ard Stor(* Directed by Roger Spottis1oode, /00/* (c'ride, D1ight* F9hy 4 hate that 4 lo!ed Bro0e1ac0 Mountain:H )L' "::" ?/00$@: #<% #;* (cCarthy, Anna* F.llen: (aAing Queer Tele!ision ,istory*H )L' ;:O ?/00"@: <#:%$/0* (c)lya, (icAi* FTrashing the &residency: Race, Class, and the ClintonP7e1insAy Affair*H 4n: 'erlant, 7auren and 7isa Duggan ?eds@* Our Monica, Ourselves: ,he Clinton A air and 9ational Interest ?Ke1 QorA: KQ- &ress, /00"@: "<$%";O* (c.ary, (olly and 9asserman, red* Becoming -isi1le: An Illustrated &istor( o Les1ian and )a( li e in ,+entieth-Centur( America* Ke1 QorA: &enguin Studio, "##E* (cKamara, (ary* FCriticBs KotebooA: B.reyBs Anatomy,B 'lasted for 'rooAe Smith iring, is 'ehind the .ay Character 7earning Cur!e*H ; Ko!ember /00E* Yhttp:PPlatimesblogs*latimes*comPsho1tracAerP/00EP""Pgreys%anatomy%b*htmlZ* Accessed 8uly ", /00#* (embers of the -ltimate 'roAebacA orum* Be(ond Bro0e1ac0: ,he Im4act o a *ilm* 7i!ermore, CA: 9ingSpan &ress, /00;*

/0/ (eyer, Richard* FRocA ,udsonBs 'ody*H 4n: uss, Diana ?ed@* InsideDOut: Les1ian ,heories, )a( ,heories ?Ke1 QorA and 7ondon: Routledge, "##"@: /<#%/#"* Mil0* Directed by .us !an Sant, /00E* (iller, D*A* A /lace or 7s: .ssa(s on the Broad+a( Musical* Cambridge, (A: ,ar!ard -ni!ersity &ress, "##E* %%%* FAnal Ro4e*H 4n: InsideDOut: Les1ian ,heories, )a( ,heories* )d* Diana uss ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##"@: ""#%"O/* (ito!itch, (att* F)re(2s Actress JReally, Really ShocAedJ by Duster from Sho1*H TV .uide: Dur TaAe, : Ko!ember /00E* Yhttp:PP111*t!guide*comPKe1sP'rooAe% Smith%.reys%:</;$*aspxZ Accessed 8uly ", /00#* (oore, Candace* FResisting, Reiterating, and Dancing Through: The S1inging Closet Doors of )llen De.eneresG Tele!ised &ersonalities*H 4n: 'eirne, Rebbeca ?ed@* ,elevising 'ueer Women: A Reader ?Ke1 QorA: &algra!e (acmillan, /00E@: //% O:* (oore, &atricA* Be(ond Shame: Reclaiming the A1andoned &istor( o Radical )a( Se6ualit(* 'oston: 'eacon &ress, /00O* (orris, 9esley* F,o1 .ay is ThatG The .ap 'et1een ilms 7iAe \(ilAB and luff Such as \.ays .one 9ildTB is Vast, 9ith Ko 'ridge in Sight*H Boston )lo1e ?Ko!ember /:, /00E@: K":* (uno3, 8ose )steban* FDead 9hite: Kotes on the 9hiteness of the Ke1 Queer Cinema*H )L' O:" ?"##E@: "/;%":E* %%%* %isidenti ications: 'ueers o Color and the /er ormance o /olitics* (inneapolis:

/0: -ni!ersity of (innesota &ress, "###* Kathan, Debbie* FSodomy for the (asses*H ,he 9ation /$E:"O ?April "#, "###@: "$%//* Kicolaisen, &eter* FThomas 8efferson, Sally ,eming, and the Dngoing Question of Race*H =ournal o American Studies :;:" ?/00:@: ##%""#* Korman, (ichael* F,omosexuals Confronting a Time of Change*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes, ?8une "$, "#E:@: A"* Dfficial 9ebsite of the City of DCai, California* Yhttp:PP111*ci*oCai*ca*usPZ Accessed 8une <, /00#* Dmi, (ichael and ,o1ard 9inant* Racial *ormation in the 7nited States: *rom the !"#8s to the !""8s* Second edition* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##O* Dster1eil, Ara* FAng 7eeBs 7onesome Co1boys*H *ilm 'uarterl( $0:: ?/00;@: :E%O/* &acAard, Chris* 'ueer Co+1o(s: And Other .rotic Male *riendshi4s in 9ineteen Centur( American Literature* Ke1 QorA: &algra!e (acmillan, /00<* &atterson, )ric* On Bro0e1ac0 Mountain: Meditations A1out Masculinit(, *ear, and Love in the Stor( and the *ilm* 7anham, (D: 7exington 'ooAs, /00E* &atton, Cindy* Inventing AI%S* Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##0* &ere3, ,iram* F.ay Co1boys Close to ,ome: )nnis del (ar on the Q*T*H 4n: Stacy, 8im ?ed@* Reading Bro0e1ac0 Mountain: .ssa(s on the Stor( and the *ilm ?8efferson, KC: (c arland, /00;@: ;"%EE* &helan, Shane* Se6ual Strangers: )a(s, Les1ians, and the %ilemmas o Citi5enshi4* &hiladelphia: Temple -ni!ersity &ress, /00"* /hiladel4hia* Directed by 8onathan Demme, "##:*

/0O &itt, Richard K* FDo1nlo1 (ountainG DePStigmati3ing 'isexuality through &itying and &erCorati!e Discoures in (edia*H ,he =ournal o Men2s Studies "O:/ ?Spring /00$@: /<O%/<E* &roulx, Annie, 7arry (c(urty and Diana Dssana* Bro0e1ac0 Mountain: Stor( to Screenplay* Ke1 QorA: Scribner, /00<* &uar, 8asbir +* FTransnational Configurations of Desire: The Kation and 4ts 9hite Closets*H 4n: 'irgit 'rander Rasmussen et al* ,he Ma0ing and 7nma0ing o Whiteness ?DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00"@: "$;%"EO* %%%* F(apping -*S* ,omonormati!ities*H )ender, /lace, and Culture ":*" ? ebruary /00$@: $;%EE* %%%* ,errorist Assem1lages: &omonationalism in 'ueer ,imes* Durham, KC: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00;* &urnicA, 8oyce* FA4DS and the State: &olicy on Closing of 'athhouses Seen 'y (any to ,a!e a &olitical )lement*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?Dctober :0, "#E<@: 'O* %%%* FCity Closes 'ar re2uented by ,omosexuals, Citing Sexual Acti!ity 7inAed to A4DS*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?Ko!ember E, "#E<@: ':* Rabino1it3, Dorothy* F7o!e, 7ies and Secrets*H Wall Street =ournal % )astern )dition /OE:;0 ?September //, /00$@: 9<* Rich, Ruby '* FKe1 Queer Cinema*H 4n: Aaron, (ichele ?ed@* 9e+ 'ueer Cinema: A Critical Reader ?Ke1 'runs1icA, K*8*: Rutgers -ni!ersity &ress, /00O@: "<%/:* Ro3en, 7eah* F'roAebacA (ountain*H /eo4le $O:/O ?December "/, /00<@* Russo, Vito* ,he Celluloid Closet: &omose6ualit( in the Movies* Re!ised )dition* Ke1

/0< QorA: ,arper and Ro1, "#E;* Sado1nicA, Douglas* FA4DS and a Ke1 .ay .eneration: inding 7o!e and Commitment in a (arriage of Con!enience*H Advocate, 4ssue O:/ ?Dctober /#, "#E<@: E%#* Sedg1icA, )!e* F)pistemology of the Closet*H 4n: Abelo!e, ,enry, (ichele Aina 'arale and Da!id ,alperin ?eds@* ,he Les1ian and )a( Studies Reader ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, "##:@: O<%$/* Shepard, 'enCamin and Ronald ,ayduA ?eds@* *rom AC, 7/ to the W,O: 7r1an /rotest and Communit( Building in the .ra o )lo1ali5ation* 7ondon and Ke1 QorA: Verso, /00/* Shah, Kayan Shah* F'et1een BDriental Depra!ityB and BKatural DegeneratesB: Spatial 'orderlands and the (aAing of Drdinary Americans*H American 'uarterl(, <;:: ?September /00<@: ;0:%;/<* Shales, Tom* FA'CBs B'rothers [ SistersB: A Series So Sensiti!e 4t ,urts*H ,he Washington /ost ?September /:, /00$@: C"* Somer!ille, Siobhan '* 'ueering the Color Line: Race and the Invention o &omose6ualit( in American Culture* Durham: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /000* Stanley, Alessandra* FA Righty Among 7efties*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?// September /00$@: )"* The Starr Report: Referral to the -nited States ,ouse of Representati!es pursuant to Title /E, -nited States Code, ] <#<?c@, Submitted by the Dffice of the 4ndependent Counsel, September #, "##E* Yhttp:PPicreport*access*gpo*go!PreportP"co!er*htmZ* Accessed 8une #, /00#*

/0$ Streitmatter, Rodger* F)llen: Coming Dut, Dn Screen and Dff*H 4n: *rom C/ervertsC to C*a1 *iveC: ,he Media2s Changing %e4iction o )a( Men and Les1ians ?Ke1 QorA: Routledge, /00#@* Sulli!an, Andre1* F9hen &lagues )nd: Kotes on the T1ilight of an )pidemic*H 9e+ ?or0 ,imes Maga5ine ?Ko!ember "0, "##$@* FBThe .ay B#0sB: )ntertainment Comes Dut of the Closet*H .ntertainment Wee0l(, Kumber /#" ?September E, "##<@* FThe State of A4DS, /< Qears After the irst, Quiet (entions*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?8une <, /00$@* Torres, Sasha* FSex of a +ind: Dn .raphic 7anguage and the (odesty of Tele!ision Ke1s*H 4n: 'erlant, 7auren and 7isa Duggan ?eds@* Our Monica, Ourselves: ,he Clinton A air and 9ational Interest ?Ke1 QorA: KQ- &ress, /00"@: "0/%""$* ---: Blac0, White, and in Color: ,elevision and Blac0 Civil Rights* &rinceton, K8: &rinceton -ni!ersity &ress, /00:* ,ransamerica* Directed by Duncan TrucAer, /00<* Treichler, &aula* &o+ to &ave ,heor( in an .4idemic: Cultural Chronicles o AI%S* Durham: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, "###* Tropriano, Stephen* ,he /rimetime Closet: A &istor( o )a(s and Les1ians on ,-* Ke1 QorA: Applause 'ooAs, /00/* Truscott, 7ucian +* 4V* FThe Reunion -pon a ,ill*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?8uly "0, /00:@: A/:* Vary, Adam '* FThe 'roAebacA (ountain )ffect*H Advocate 4ssue #<; ? ebruary /,

/0; /00$@* 9allenstein, Andre1* F9hy Did B.reyBs AnatomyB Cut 7esbian Dr* ,ahnGH %a( to %a(, Kational &ublic Radio, "E Ko!ember /00E* Yhttp:PP111*npr*orgPtemplatesPstoryPstory*phpGstory4dW#;":E<#<Z Accessed 8uly ", /00#* 9alters, Su3anna* All the Rage: the Stor( o )a( -isi1ilit( in America* Chicago and 7ondon: -ni!ersity of Chicago &ress, /00"* 9arner, (ichael* FVones of &ri!acy*H 4n: 'utler, 8udith ?ed@* What2s Le t o ,heor(M 9e+ Wor0s on the /olitics o Literar( ,heor( ?7ondon: Routledge, /000@: ;<%"":* 9atney, Simon* FThe Spectacle of A4DS*H Octo1er Vol*O:: A4DS: Cultural AnalysisPCultural Acti!ism ?9inter "#E;@: ;"%E$* 9eiss, Andrea* -am4ires and -iolets: Les1ians in *ilm* Ke1 QorA: &enguin, "##/* 9ashington%9illiams, )ssie%(ae and 9illiam Stadiem* %ear Senator: A Memoir 1( the %aughter o Strom ,hurmond* Reagan 'ooAs, /00<* 9hite, &atricia* 7nInvited: Classical &oll(+ood Cinema and Les1ian Re4resenta1ilit(* 'loomington: 4ndiana -ni!ersity &ress, "###* 9illiams, 8ames S* FThe 7ost 'oys of 'altimore: 'eauty and Desire in the ,ood*H *ilm 'uarterly $/:/ ?9inter /00E%#@: <E%$:* 9ray, (att* 9ot 'uite White: White ,rash and the Boundaries o Whiteness* Durham and 7ondon: DuAe -ni!ersity &ress, /00$* %%%, and Annalee Ke1it3* White ,rash: Race and Class in America* Ke1 QorA and 7ondon: Routledge, "##;*

/0E F9hy (aAe A4DS 9orse Than 4t 4s*H ,he 9e+ ?or0 ,imes ?8une /#, "#E#@: A//* Qesca!age, +aren and 8onathan Alexander* F9hat Do Qou Call a 7esbian 9hoBs Dnly Slept 1ith (enG Ans1er: )llen (organ* Deconstructing the 7esbian 4dentities of )llen (organ and )llen De.eneres*H =ournal o Les1ian Studies ::: ?"###@: /"% :"*