Customer Reviews

One-Handed Histories: The Eroto-Politics of Gay Male Video Pornography (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies)

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Already dated when it was published in 1995, this engaging book would benefit from a new edition. Pornography, almost by definition, goes stale quickly, and too many of Burger's examples have disappeared into obscurity just as the performers themselves have either retired or passed away. In addition, some of the trends and sub genres he cites have either become passe or commonplace while new ones have emerged.

Burger's study began as a thesis, and unfortunately, he bogs down and relies too much on the accouterments of academic writing-especially something bizarre and ill-suited from anthropology called the Popular Memory Group-as if theory serves to validate Burger's own interpretations. He doesn't need theory, his discussion rings true without it, and he would have done well to rely only upon his own keen powers of observation and analysis. Stripped of its false-note academic paraphernalia and given more current examples, this book could be some sort of minor classic. It goes a long way toward explaining and demystifying both pornography and gay men's involvement with it without in any way de-eroticizing the video fantasies themselves.

Despite its flaws, this is a lively little book that tackles many matters of great interest to gay men and gay culture.

Burger offers fresh insight on the social and cultural ramifications of gay male pornography, describing how the videos reflect and influence the eras in which they are made -- from the "closeted" early days of gay erotica, through the wild 70s and early 80s, and on through the post-AIDS period. Though he takes a scholarly approach to his subject matter, the book is in no way pretentious. Burger's writing style is very accessible and often humorous. Hense, you don't have to be an expert to appreciate what he has to say.

Burger exhibits considerable knowledge of his subject matter as he explores the social and cultural ramifications of gay male pornography. This book is informative and interesting without being preachy. Though it is a scholarly book, it is written in a very accesible -- and often humorous -- style. You don't have to be a gay porn expert to appreciate Burger's fresh, original ideas.

What a terrible book. He's crazy. He thinks that gay porn is going to change the way society views gay men. He thinks that porn has all this super ultra cultural significance. And he goes to elaborate, fancy worded reasonings which completely baffled me.

Porn is nothing more than visual pleasure for sexual purposes whether self gratifying or with a partner. I don't see a huge political motivation behind it, and that any life changing opinion or radical societal acceptance of it will occur ever in the existence of this world as we know it. He believes all history needs to be rewritten to tell the real story. It's only a white man's world.

That turned me off right from the start, but even going through the book, I still couldn't figure him out.

It's visual pleasure, pure and simple, to get your rocks off. Just like a guy. Women react with the emotions, men act through their penises. Rocket science not necessary.

This book really TELLS you how to have sex, even when neither of the two people having the sex has a vagina. Even if all you have is TWO PENISES, you can still manage to have GREAT SEX! I love two-penised sex, and as someone who has two-penised sex on a regular basis, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! You'll never think about two penises in quite the same way, I guarantee it!