Hitting Hard: Michelangelo Signorile on George W. Bush, Mary Cheney, Gay Marriage, Tom Cruise, the Christian Right and Sexual Hypocrisy in America (Paperback)

~ (Author) "YES, IT WAS THE year of the antigay Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and endless media debates about how and whether to recognize gay and..." (more)
Key Phrases: bareback sex, gay public figures, gay marriage amendment, New York Times, United States, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known as the columnist who invented the practice of "outing"—exposing closeted public figures whose actions damage the gay community—Signorile pursues controversy with verve and pizzazz in this briskly penned collection of essays and columns, many of which originally appeared in Out or the Advocate. Memorable pieces describe same-sex couples in the South; the difficulties of the gay rights movement in Italy; the eventful lives of "good buddy" (gay male) truckers; and the tough-minded high school student in Fayetteville, Ark., who found support first from his family, and then from GLSTN, a national organization that helps protect gay people in schools. Other, more polemical, pieces raised hackles on first publication. In the late 1990s, Signorile denounced a trend toward "barebacking" (intentionally unprotected sex) and, later, he caught gay conservative Andrew Sullivan soliciting such sex through the Internet. Signorile attacks the new pope for his explicitly anti-gay stance, parses mixed reactions to the coming-out of former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, and warns repeatedly that AIDS and HIV are by no means problems solved. Less consequential politically, but equally important to Signorile's persona, are his writings on gay celebrities: two columns on Rosie O'Donnell show Signorile's swing from hostility to celebration as O'Donnell's stance toward her own sexuality changed. (Sept.)
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Product Description

For over two decades, Michelangelo Signorile has been among the most outspoken and controversial critics of American politics and culture. As a gay activist and journalist, he earned acclaim as the father of the "outing" phenomenon. Today, he remains one of the most widely read and talked about gay muckrakers. In Hitting Hard (Signorile’s first new book since his national bestseller, Outing Yourself), the author tackles the most heated topics of debate among gay people and the political left.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786716193
• ISBN-13: 978-0786716197
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,057,799 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars National treasure, August 30, 2005

By	Richard Miller (Paris France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once again, Michele Signorile has put out a collection of articles that express -- clearly, elegantly, wittily and pertinently -- the best thinking on gay issues being thought today. With Larry Kramer and a few others, he has been the voice of sane homosexuality for quite some time, saying things that should long ago not have needed to be said -- but wow! the attention span does seem to get shorter every day. I hope, therefore, that he will continue to say them as often and as copiously as he deems necessary, and for many years to come. I most seriously urge every gay man in America (and elsewhere too) to read him and to LISTEN. He really knows what he is talking about --and there are truly not many men around these days, in any sphere, about whom one can say the same! I do not know him, but I love him. He is a national treasure. Long may he flourish. I eagerly await his every article and his next book.
Richard Miller

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Signorile does it again., February 24, 2006

By	Ward J. Mahowald (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a great deal of admiration and respect for this man. I think he is intellectually honest and pulls no punches. Always enjoy his take on topics and people he writes about.