Customer Reviews

The Attack Queers: Liberal Society and the Gay Right

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This book is a must-read by anyone concerned with the direction of the gay equal rights movement. Goldstein uses this book to take to task the small number of right-wing gay and lesbian "public intellectuals" who are given a platform far out of proportion to their numbers (after all, a solid 75% of gay men and lesbians have liberal political inclinations and vote Democratic or Green)

The usual subjects are roasted -- the pustulant Andrew Sullivan, shrill Norah Vincent, clueless Tammy Bruce, George Bush apologist Rich Taefel and stuffy Bruce Bawer...but this book is more then shooting fish in a barrel. Goldstein also analyzes the reason that the "powers that be" have given these conservative gays louspeakers to bleat out their criticism of liberal politics -- which ironically are the only politics which coupld have advanced equality and social acceptance to the point where conservative gays can even speak out!

If you have any interest in gay politics or progressive issues in America, this book is a must-read.

Initally appearing to defy all odds, GLBT conservatives have become the media darlings of the 21st century precisley because the far right can use them as 'cover' for their own bias and hatred.

What little mobility and 'freedom' these talking heads exist is only allowed under the precise circumstances dictated by their homophobic 'handlers' (although given the authoritarian pull of the right, 'owners'--and all of the resulting connotations---might be a better descriptor term) thus making their attacks a misdirected outburst of frustration and stress.

Like the female anti-feminists of the 1970's, they secretly realize their 'crazy liberal' counterparts are infact completely correct with assessment of existing social structure, but are honestly torn between publicly vocalizing this click and the realization they REALLY will not be able to claim membership in the status quo upon this afformentioned disclosure.

For years, I used to feel sorry for conservative 'out group' members, whom I tended to write off as confused or dim, but now I really feel for them having learned just how vunerable and frightened they actually are. This empathy remains tempered by realization their unchecked version of 'good' public policy is a world nobody should live in.

If you wanted to conpare this book to a feature in the Goldstein-edited Village Voice, it would have to be Michael Musto's gossip column rather than the more thoughful social/political analysis of people like Nat Hentoff.

Sadly, there's a lot of bitchy personal attacks and parlour psychologising (which will guarantee plenty of attention in the gay press), but little serious engagement with ideas. More disturbingly, there are also frequent mis-quotations, dubious paraphrases, and assertions that are just not supported by actually reading the people he assails for badthink.

The only "attack queer"on offer in this book is Goldstein himself. This is another volume (one among many) for people looking to have their existing prejudices confirmed, but it adds nothing to rational debate.

If you wanted to conpare this book to a feature in the Goldstein-edited Village Voice, it would have to be Michael Musto's gossip column rather than the more thoughful social/political analysis of people like Nat Hentoff.

Sadly, there's a lot of bitchy personal attacks and parlour psychologising (which will guarantee plenty of attention in the gay press), but little serious engagement with ideas. The only "attack queer"on offer in this book is Goldstein himself.

This is another volume for people looking to have their existing prejudices confirmed, but it adds nothing to rational debate.