#the deviant's war

[onebluebookworm]

30 Days of Literary Pride - June 10

The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America - Eric Cervini

#30 days of literary pride #30 days of literary pride 2022 #the deviant's war #eric cervini

[thebookbin]

The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs the United States of America

Eric Cervini

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Genre: nonfiction, queer theory Year: 2020

I just finished The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs the United States of America, a nonfiction account of Frank Kameny, Harvard educated astronomer and gay rights activist.

This book is such an important read. The focus of this book is strictly regarding the legal battle of the queer community in the 50s and 60s, and it really did teach me a lot about my own history, even as an avid history reader.

Kameny was fired from the US government for being gay in the middle of the space race—a time when astronomers were sorely needed and it shaped his entire life. All he wanted was to work in the field in which he earned his doctorate, but that opportunity was denied him most his life, which he spent penniless. He taught himself law and spent the next four decades suing the government on behalf of himself and any other queer person he could help, with the end goal of allowing homosexuals, or homophiles as they called themselves at the time, clearance to work for the government.

Frank founded the Mattachine Society, one of the first activist groups for the homosexual community. (It’s so hard to talk about this because the language they used to describe themselves then, we would take issue with but they would absolutely despise the word queer, which I wholeheartedly love).

As someone who is interested in law and government, I liked the framing of this book, although I wouldn’t recommend it to the beginner of queer history. The point of this book is to strictly focus on the law, and Frank is one vehicle to do that as a founder of the Mattachine Society and an early member of the NCACLU. But it is not an entire picture of the queer history: Frank’s focus was firmly focused on himself and his own goals: working for the government. Although he supported the civil rights movement, and learned lessons from the black activists who had more experience than him, the concept of queer people of color clearly eluded Frank.

This book is clearly meant to be a juxtaposition to the queer theory a lot of people are familiar with: the trans women of color who started the movement. Frank’s idea of changing the minds of the public was entirely different: he required dress codes and numbered their signs and they had to stand in order.

The few snippets of lesbian history are also a delight and I drank them up so readily. The book is written entirely from first person accounts, citing letters, legal documents, newspapers, and magazines. My absolute favorite part was reading Frank’s notes from when he represented 4 lesbian women suspected of being homosexuals from their WAC (military) superiors and they were able to keep their jobs.

I think this is an important book, but not for the baby gay historian. For someone who doesn’t know a lot, and I’ve seen in other reviews people complain about it’s focus on Frank as a white Jew, but I think the framing of this specific book as a history of the legal battles of the queer community is so important—but not even close to the whole picture, and as important as Frank’s work was, he wasn’t nearly as impactful as other historical figures. This book is such an invigorating mix of queer theory, civil rights, women’s rights and lesbian history, politics and space that I was enthralled for the entire book.

Make sure you check out Eric Cervini's website, or sign up for the Queer History 101 newsletter for some of the most insightful academic queer history delivered directly to your inbox.

storygraph | bookshop.org | local houston

★★★★★ would recommend for people interested in the subject, but not anyone new to queer history. 

#book review #the deviant's war #eric cervini #queer theory #nonfiction #frank kameny #queer history #a good read #tw: sexism #featured #2020 #five stars #queer #farrar straus and giroux #macmillan

[gamelpar]

"why have i been activated"

i get the impression that the shadow clones wouldn't be the type to question their "activation" for a mission like that... unless... this one is a bit... deviant from the rest... and how crosshair said in his case he was too defective to become one... but tech was the one who said "we are more deviant than defective"...

#perhapss... tech was more... deviant than outright... defective #hes alive hes alive hes alive hes alive he has to be #tbb spoilers #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #cx 2 #the bad batch #star wars #wisdom of gamelpar

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Astronomy Fiction

How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby (Contemporary MG) The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum (Speculative YA Romance) The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (YA Sci-Fi Romance) Shoot the Moon by Isa Arsén (Historical Fiction) The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (Historical Romance) Bonus: While less about Astronomy itself, Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers stars a PhD in…

View On WordPress

#Eliot Schrefer #Eric Cervini #Honey Girl #How to Become a Planet #Isa Arsen #K. Ancrum #Morgan Rogers #Nicole Melleby #Shoot the Moon #The Darkness Outside Us #The Deviant&039;s War #The Lady&039;s Guide to Celestial Mechanics #The Weight of the Stars

[amalthiaph]

Teeny weeny confession: I actually skipped The Bad Batch at first but now that I've seen it, I'm absolutely feral about it to the point that I wanna ride *blaster shot*

#muchi #i wanna ride muchi #and definitely not a certain genetically deviant soldier #lies #the bad batch #clone force 99 #sw tbb #tbb #star wars

[balu8]

Mike Maihack: Tea Time on Dagobah

#mike maihack #fan art #star wars #obi-wan #yoda #source deviant art

[bloodstainsonthefloor]

i am in desperate need of queer history book recs about the 1960s

(help im hyperfixating on gay washington in the 60s)

#currently reading the deviant’s war #any pre 60s books would be sick too #honestly 70s and 80s too #ive started looking into aids books #im just currently focused on 60s gay washington (?) #books #bookblr #book recs wanted #queer #queer history #gay #gay history #history #lgbt #i dont know what to tag this- #help :( #mikey’s stuff

[softquietsteadylove]

Would you write something funny that involves a certain amount of nudity?

Like Kingo and Ikaris joining Gil in the bathhouse, sliding into the water, closing their eyes, enjoying the hot water. So they don't notice Thena silently emerging from the water. She scares Kingo and Ikaris out of their trance with a dry joke about their manhood and embarrassing them to death.

Gil just wiggles his eyebrows. 🖤✨

"What a day," Kingo lamented as he left the steam rooms for the actual baths.

"Aye," Ikaris murmured alongside him. The fight had been a little rough, but after the fight, they had both been on watch. And watch along the borders of Kievan-Rus was much colder - and felt much longer - than it had in the Guptan Empire, or back in China.

There was already a wide back and set of arms sprawled out along the frontmost wall of the bath, facing the back of the room. The size of them was undeniably that of the Strongest Eternal.

"Gil, you beat us here," Kingo greeted in a light tone.

He shifted in the water, just barely turning his head to look back at them. "Oh, uh, hey guys."

"Were you not expectin' guests?" Ikaris chuckled as they stepped into the steamy room.

"No, it's just that-"

A second figure emerged from previously being completely concealed by Gilgamesh. A head of blonde hair lifted from off his chest, Thena looking at them with critical eyes, "hello."

"Shit!" Kingo yelped.

"Fuck's sake, Thena!" Ikaris roared, both angrier and the more embarrassed out of the two.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes at them, settling against her chosen seat in Gil's lap again. "I do not care for your maidenly shyness, nor your manhoods."

"Gil!" Kingo hissed, still trying to cover himself for modesty's sake, "you can't warn a guy?!"

Gil shrugged, though, pulling his arms off the wall and wrapping them around Thena. "You know this is our spot."

"Un-fuckin'-believable," Ikaris growled, still letting his anger create a cover for his threatened pride. He turned to march away, "I'm a married man, eh? I don't think you'd find it so funny if Sersi and I were in here and you walked in...like this!"

Thena was unbothered by her brother's taunting, "like Sersi would look? My worry would be for your pride alone, Ikaris."

"Go easy on him, Solnyshkuh," Gil soothed, attempting to keep his amusement about the whole situation to himself, for his brothers' sakes.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Come on, tiger, walk it off," Kingo placated Ikaris, pulling him back to the steam rooms. "We can use one of the other bath rooms."

"Indeed," Thena encouraged, if only to get one last growl out of her ruffled brother.

Gil gave her hip a little pinch before resuming his task of running his hand over her back. "I'm sure you wouldn't like it if someone were to catch me in that situation."

"You would have nothing to feel ashamed of," Thena purred back to him, encouraging the Strongest Eternal to blush a vibrant and endearing red. "I know what is mine, as do they."

Gil changed tactics, tipping her chin up, "and what if the human bath attendants were to catch me?"

Thena's glare was cold and immediate, "has this happened?"

"No, you know I only come in here with you," he chuckled, satisfied that she had some sense of propriety about at least his state of dress (or undress). "I'm just saying..."

Thena sighed, rolling her eyes, "fine. I'll tell them I didn't see anything."

"Did you?"

"No," she scrunched up her nose, disgusted at the very thought. "I was behind you the whole time. I have no interest in whatever they think they have to offer."

Gil shifted them slightly, moving her from her side on his lap to sitting with her back flat against his chest. He linked their hands together on either side of them. "Then why the crack at Ikaris?"

"To rattle him," Thena answered plainly and honestly. "And because I just know he has nothing on you."

Gil nuzzled her hair out of his way to kiss behind her ear. "Why is this so amusing to you, but you get all shy when you wanna crawl into bed with me?"

Thena denied his question the dignity of an answer.

He felt her squirm a little, though, and leaned so he could brush his lips against her cheek. "We all have our things."

"You are too kind," she sighed, deciding they were done with the topic of her propensity for cuddling and her inability to suggest it herself.

"Even to you?"

"Even to me," she cooed, settling in his arms again.

Gilgamesh's correction was warm and immediate, "never."

#Thenamesh Rus AU #I have decided to call this one #because the Eternals #would have been such a rocking series #the Deviants don't have to look particularly realistic after all #every season could be a different historical setting #we could have had so much #my brother in christ #we have been rOBBED #and anyway this is part of my headcanon universe #now a fully borne AU I guess #in which Thena serves as the chief war advisor to St. Olga of Kiev #and she and Gil like to cuddle in the bath house #because she's so cold all the time #the past entries have been tagged accordingly so go for it

[thedoorsofmyheart]

I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t one of the huge life changing art pieces that got me interested in digital art, concept art, and story boarding; the ability to convey such emotion and story in a single piece - *chefs kiss - BREATHTAKING! This one is absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful and a favorite of mine.

#favorites #art inspires art #andy park #alice x zhang #marvel #concept art #story boarding #digital art #procreate art #photoshop #deviant art #Pinterest #wanda vision #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #vision #infinity war #love and loss #heartbreak #beauty #love #break my heart why don’t you #break my heart break it a thousand times #art #not mine #can’t remember the exact artist for this one so sorry if I miss credit

[tundrakatiebean]

Reading this book about the gay legal movement in Washington DC in the 50s/60s is just proving something I already knew even harder: none of the arguments are new. They’re all the same and the only thing that’s changed is the occasional term, sometimes not even that. We’re always perverts and degenerates and deranged and unnatural. It doesn’t matter how carefully we apply logic or legal arguments or respectability - we’re always an evil permeating society and damaging women and children in some mumble mumble way.

#I’m so fucking tired dude #studying history is just seeing the same cycles over and over #Katie is rambling 2k23 #Katie does new media 2k23 #the book is called the deviant’s war in case anyone else wants a look #it’s a good book and I’m learning a lot but buuuuuuh it’s A Lot

[slav-every-day]

#any history book recs? #not like textbooks ofc god no #I just finished The Deviants War by Eric Cervini #(only took me like 4-5 months) #and I’m looking for another read #slav #slav every day #voltron

[skrimshaw]

Get ready for 10,000 excerpt posts everybody

#I have been meaning to read braiding sweetgrass but got the other one out of impulse. we’ll see how it goes ! #braiding sweetgrass #the deviants war #personal

[derpymidnight]

cadet clone force 99 collecting droid parts (wrecker as medals and tech as parts for the droid he's making) and the kaminoans going absolutely batshit crazy that this squad of defective clones keeps stealing droid parts no matter how many times they confiscate them (hint: crosshair sneaks them)

#collecting droid parts and abberant behavior etc etc #crosshair steals them back to piss the kaminoans off btw #theyre already deviant and have extra training to even them out #and hunters desperately trying to wrangle his brothers so they dont get even *more* training #corralling gremlins basically #sigh. being the oldest is such grueling work. #clone force 99 #clone youth brigade #wrecker tbb #tech tbb #crosshair tbb #ct 9904 #hunter tbb #kaminoans #kamino cloning facility #star wars the clone wars #star wars the bad batch #sw #tcw #derpymidnight #tbb headcanons #sw headcanons

[bokatan77]

Ahsoka Tano by j2Artist

#star wars #ahsoka #ahsoka tano #j2Artist #deviant art

[gay-otlc]

(vibrating) i am interested in queer history a normal amount

#finally around to reading the deviants war! #i'm only like fifty pages in and it's almost 400 but shh #reading tehse would be easier if i didn't insist on taking notes as i went #oh well. it's still interesting #sappho rambles

[teamtano]

Ahsoka Tano by j2Artist

#star wars #ahsoka #ahsoka tano #deviant art #j2Artist