When Brooklyn Was Queer

Posted on 19 July 2017 by Hugh Ryan

The groundbreaking, never before told story of Brooklyn s vibrant and forgotten queer history, from the mid 1850s up to the present day When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story Not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history a great forgetting.Ryan is here to unearth that history for the first time, and show how the formation of Brooklyn is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created the Brooklyn we know today Folks like Ella Wesner and Florence Hines, the most famous drag kings of the late 1800s E Trondle, a transgender man whose arrest in Brooklyn captured headlines for weeks in 1913 Hamilton Easter Field, whose art commune in Brooklyn Heights nurtured Hart Crane and John Dos Passos Mabel Hampton, a black lesbian who worked as a dancer at Coney Island in the 1920s Gustave Beekman, the Brooklyn brothel owner at the center of a WWII gay Nazi spy scandal and Josiah Marvel, a curator at the Brooklyn Museum who helped create a first of its kind treatment program for gay men arrested for public sex in the 1950s Through their stories, WBWQ brings Brooklyn s queer past to life. Best Read Books When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan – kino-fada.fr When Brooklyn Was Queer is a fascinating read in which the author delves deep into the history of same sex relationships and gender identity Whilst this is in itself is not a unique undertaking, author Hugh Ryan goes a step further, tying threads of the past to a central location Brooklyn, New York From its identity as a waterfront harbor, filled with sailors and businessmen, through its transformation into a city full of queer spaces, Ryan shares stories of the individuals who contributed to When Brooklyn Was Queer is a fascinating read in which the author delves deep into the history of same sex relationships and gender identity Whilst this is in itself is not a unique undertaking, author Hugh Ryan goes a step further, tying threads of the past to a central location Brooklyn, New York From its identity as a waterfront harbor, filled with sailors and businessmen, through its transformation into a city full of queer spaces, Ryan shares stories of the individuals who contributed to the emergence of queer Brooklyn He also explores how that r...I didn t just enjoy this book, but I ll confess I was enraptured No, that s too strong a word Truth be told I never in my life paid attention to Queer folk If I knew someone who was gay before I hit the age of 30, then I didn t know I never paid attention to that It s not that I ignored it, I just never realized Don t get me wrong, because I knew people were gay, I had just never consciously come across it But, I moved to Montana in my early to mid 30 s, and I noticed finally that I I didn t just enjoy this book, but I ll confess I was enraptured No, that s too strong a word Truth be told I never in my life paid attention to Queer folk If I knew someone who was gay before I hit the age of 30, then I didn t know I never paid attention to that It s not that I ignored it, I just never realized Don t get me wrong, because I knew people were gay, I had just never consciously come across it But, I moved to Montana in my early to mid 30 s, and I noticed finally that I not only worked with, but had become best friends with men and women who were gay I ve always prided myself in being open to everyone Yet, ho...Queer history is difficult to navigate Often hidden and without personal identifying terms, LGBTQIA individuals from the 1960s and prior have maneuvered as afterthoughts in broader narratives Yet, as author Hugh Ryan proves, meticulous research can bring these pre Stonewall stories back into view.When Brooklyn Was Queer manages to fill a gap in historical research while maintaining an engrossing narrative Ryan identifies the Brooklyn waterfront as the true beginning of the gay identity with Queer history is difficult to navigate Often hidden and without personal identifying terms, LGBTQIA individuals from the 1960s and prior have maneuvered as afterthoughts in broader narratives Yet, as author Hugh Ryan proves, meticulous research can bring these pre Stonewall stories back into view.When Brooklyn Was Queer manages to fill a gap in historical research while maintaining an engrossing narrative Ryan identifies the Brooklyn waterfront as the true beginning of the gay identity with Walt Whitman and the publication of Leaves of Grass At the same time, Brooklyn was evolving as a port, becoming a center for not only sailors and factory workers, but sex workers, performance artists, and a host of other groups With such a confine...I had never read something like this before yes cities and the queer culture did merge in books and I have read parts of it, but nothing like this book I honestly also believe that every city s culture needs to be talked about through the people who live on its margins, and maybe that s why this book hit a nerve the way it did When Brooklyn Was Queer A History by Hugh Ryan is the kind of book we all need to read, irrespective of orientation and labels The story begins in 1855 with the publ I had never read something like this before yes cities and the queer culture did merge in books and I have read parts of it, but nothing like this book I honestly also believe that every city s culture needs to be talked about through the people who live on its margins, and maybe that s why this book hit a nerve the way it did When Brooklyn Was Queer A History by Hugh Ryan is the kind of book we all need to read, irrespective of orientation and labels The story begins in 1855 with the publication of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and ends in the 1960s when Brooklyn s queer identity declined, due to several factors You have to read this book only because the way Ryan unearths how there was a systematic erasure of the queer history of Brooklyn What must one remember then Who decides that What is at the core of peop... But nothing lasts forever, even silence. Hugh Ryan s spectacular book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, conjures the lipstick traces of queer history out of the cobblestone streets, wooden slats of Coney Island boardwalk, and the brothels, bars, and bohemias of the second city of the Empire Though today known for its large and vibrant queer community, Ryan skillfully restores Brooklyn s pre Stonewall history full as it is of poets, sex workers, carnies, and sailors Unlike most queer history bo But nothing lasts forever, even silence. Hugh Ryan s spectacular book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, conjures the lipstick traces of queer history out of the cobblestone streets, wooden slats of Coney Island boardwalk, and the brothels, bars, and bohemias of the second city of the Empire Though today known for its large and vibrant queer community, Ryan skillfully restores Brooklyn s pre Stonewall history full as it is of poets, sex workers, carnies, and sailors Unlike most queer history books, which suffer from an excessive focus on white gay cis men, Ryan pays particular attention to race, to queer women, and to people we would now call trans When Brooklyn Was Queer shows how the dramatic rise and fall of urban queer...ARC provided by St Martin s Press in exchange for a reviewRelease Date March 5, 2019Hugh Ryan s When Brooklyn Was Queer A History is a delicate but grand truth presented with great care.Although it s too early in the year to say, I m certain that this book is a highlight of my 2019 It s a new favorite If you re a loyal fiction reader who s interested in trying nonfiction, I suggest that you start with this book The way the author presented the facts he gathered wasn t overwhelming The expe ARC provided by St Martin s Press in exchange for a reviewRelease Date March 5, 2019Hugh Ryan s When Brooklyn Was Queer A History is a delicate but grand truth presented with great care.Although it s too early in the year to say, I m certain that this book is a highlight of my 2019 It s a new favorite If you re a loyal fiction reader who s interested in trying nonfiction, I suggest that you start with this book The way the author presented the facts he gathered wasn t overwhelming The experience of reading it was as smooth and familiar as revisiting your favorite novel.Unraveling a hundred and fifty years of Brooklyn s queer history, the stories were heartfelt, dangerous, and seductive I was hooked from page one and sobbing by the last I wis...In this meticulously researched and engagingly written non fiction monography, Ryan traces queer lives, experiences, and communities in Brooklyn from 1855 the year Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass until 1969 Ryan uses this focus to delve into a wide array of topics and themes, while always managing to hold all the threads together He analyzes how ideas around gender and sexuality changed, writes about the architectural, social, and economic changes in Brooklyn, and gives a history of In this meticulously researched and engagingly written non fiction monography, Ryan traces queer lives, experiences, and communities in Brooklyn from 1855 the year Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass until 1969 Ryan uses this focus to delve into a wide array of topics and themes, while always managing to hold all the threads together He analyzes how ideas around gender and sexuality changed, writes about the architectural, social, and economic changes in Brooklyn, and gives a history of performing arts and literature in this time period He portrays a wide array of individuals some famous, others not I found theseordinary lives especially fascinating Every page of this book is full of insights and interesting material I appreciated Ryan s precise analyses, never trying to easily put people into boxes but rather describes their lives and contexts in detail, noting open questions or things we might never know, and also showing awarenes... This is how When Brooklyn Was Queerbegan from a paradox Brooklyn has a vibrant queer present undoubtably, Brooklyn today is queer again and it s next door to one of the epicenters of queer history in the United States Were queers like vampires, incapable of crossing the East River, or what I was certain there was queer history in Brooklyn it was just a matter of finding it. Epilogue When people think of LGBT history in New York, they tend to think of Greenwich Village or Chelsea, but no This is how When Brooklyn Was Queerbegan from a paradox Brooklyn has a vibrant queer present undoubtably, Brooklyn today is queer again and it s next door to one of the epicenters of queer history in the United States Were queers like vampires, incapable of crossing the East River, or what I was certain there was queer history in Brooklyn it was just a matter of finding it. Epilogue When people think of LGBT history in New York, they tend to think of Greenwich Village or Chelsea, but not unless they re a scholar of Brooklyn Some of this has to do with the still present sense of queer history beginning with Stonewall despite the work of scholars like Chauncey , but there s an odd lack of physic...I learned so much So much Queer people are so cool and there is so much history we don t get taught.

English
19 July 2017

Hugh Ryan