Gays in the military. Lesbian parents taking their kids to school. Gay and lesbian couples getting married. Everywhere you turn gay and lesbian Americans are in the news and more often than not, at the center of some controversy, some debate about tolerance and civil rights, where anger and hatred rule the day. What's amazing is how gays and lesbians continue to survive without losing their self-respect, their courage, or most surprisingly, their sense of humor. Out, Loud, & Laughing features fifteen of today's funniest gay and lesbian humorists, from stand up comics like Kate Clinton and Frank Maya, to the performance work of the Pomo Afro Homos (Postmodern African-American Homosexuals) and Marga Gomez, to the queer Addison and Steele of the 1990s, Frank DeCaro and David Sedaris. In many ways, gay and lesbian humor is no different from heterosexual comedy, but the material does raise a few eyebrows: the insufferable Jesse Helms, the military ban ("be all you can be ...but in private"), living up to the Lesbian Chic, the trauma of gay male dating rituals, body piercing ("sometimes a fashion statement is a cry for help"), coming out to parents ("Mom, would you please pass the potatoes to a homosexual"), and so much more. By rejecting stereotypes and playing with differences, gay and lesbian humor not only entertains, but educates by disarming ignorancc and fear and the homophobia they engender. To that end, a portion of all proceeds from this book will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the organization that, among other projects, initiated and promoted the "red ribbon" campaign for AIDS awareness. Hilarious and socially minded, Out, Loud, & Laughing will leave you laughing out loud and wanting more.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Humor can be a saving grace. As national controversy swirls around such gay and lesbian issues as the military ban and domestic partner rights, comedy provides a means of coping as well as the perspective afforded by a good belly laugh. Fifteen gay and lesbian humorists contribute stand-up routines, performance works, and essays to this anthology, and gays in the military, dating rituals, and coming out to one's parents are prominent among the subjects they consider ripe for comedy. Though uneven, the collection has its gems, such as Emmett Foster's performance piece "Nelson Volunteers," a tragicomic portrait of a fortysomething gay man seeking meaningful companionship in his outwardly enviable life. Good, too, is Marga Gomez's vignette on the legalization of same-sex marriage, thanks to squibs like "My girlfriend and I want the right . . . but we don't want to get married. We're queer, not crazy." Whitney Scott
From the Publisher
Gays in the military. Lesbian parents taking their kids to school. Gay and lesbian couples getting married. Everywhere you turn gay and lesbian Americans are in the news and more often than not, at the center of some controversy, some debate about tolerance and civil rights, where anger and hatred rule the day. What's amazing is how gays and lesbians continue to survive without losing their self-respect, their courage, or most surprisingly, their sense of humor. Out, Loud, & Laughing features fifteen of today's funniest gay and lesbian humorists, from stand up comics like Kate Clinton and Frank Maya, to the performance work of the Pomo Afro Homos (Postmodern African-American Homosexuals) and Marga Gomez, to the queer Addison and Steele of the 1990s, Frank DeCaro and David Sedaris. In many ways, gay and lesbian humor is no different from heterosexual comedy, but the material does raise a few eyebrows: the insufferable Jesse Helms, the military ban ("be all you can be ...but in private"), living up to the Lesbian Chic, the trauma of gay male dating rituals, body piercing ("sometimes a fashion statement is a cry for help"), coming out to parents ("Mom, would you please pass the potatoes to a homosexual"), and so much more. By rejecting stereotypes and playing with differences, gay and lesbian humor not only entertains, but educates by disarming ignorancc and fear and the homophobia they engender. To that end, a portion of all proceeds from this book will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the organization that, among other projects, initiated and promoted the "red ribbon" campaign for AIDS awareness. Hilarious and socially minded, Out, Loud, & Laughing will leave you laughing out loud and wanting more.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
There are some funny moments.,
By
This review is from: Out, Loud, & Laughing: A Collection of Gay & Lesbian Humor (Paperback)
I just finished reading this collection of humorous writings. While some of the pieces were written to be read, the vignettes from stand-up comedy do not always work as well as one imagines that they might in a club. Some of the pieces already feel a bit dated (the compilation is just from 1995). However, David Sedaris' writing is great fun. Of course, the format allows the reader to pick up and put down the book between very short "chapters"; a benefit for such light comedy. Overall, a quick read, not too heady, a bit silly, albeit a bit dry.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
50-50 funny and not-funny,
By A Customer
This review is from: Out, Loud, & Laughing: A Collection of Gay & Lesbian Humor (Paperback)
I agree with the editorial reviewer who said this compilation is uneven. Some of these pieces are just plain *not funny* -- bland humor, worn jokes. But some of the pieces ARE funny -- with some gay-specific humor (which isn't to say only gay people get it, just that it's topical) and some more general humorous looks at life. On balance I'd say it's about 50-50 funny and not. It's something you can skim through and get a few laughs out of in the course of a day. The flat-out essays work best; the scripts of stand-up shticks and performance art don't translate well to the page.
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