Hello Sailor!: The hidden history of gay life at sea (Hardcover)

by Jo Stanley (Author), Paul Baker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"What this fascinating book is really about is not 'gay life at sea' in general, but the gay ghettos on many liners and cruiseships during the fifties and sixties." George Melly, The Mail on Sunday "...this path breaking book tells the hidden story of passion and liberation at sea. This is a vital addition to the understanding of gay and sea history." Publishing News "...candid confessions cause the narrative to leap into life." Independent on Sunday. "...a fascinating account." Gay Times "...Hello Sailor! transcends its niche as a piece of gay history and, instead, becomes something that has resonances for all readers, whether gay, straight or something in between." The Observer '...an eminently readable, often amusing and original book...' Journal of Contemporary History, Vol 41, No 1

Product Description
When gays had to be closeted, ships were the only places where homosexual men could not only be out but also camp. And on some liners to the sun and the New World, queens and butches had a ball. They sashayed and minced their way across the world's oceans. Never before has the story been told of the masses. These are the thousands of queer seafarers, mainly stewards, who sometimes even outnumbered the straight men in the catering departments of ships that were household names and the pride of the British fleet. Hello Sailor! uniquely shows what it was like to be queer at sea at a time when land meant straightness.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Longman (June 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582772141
• ISBN-13: 978-0582772144
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #839,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gay Liberation at Seas on Ships, January 6, 2008

By	Former Clergyman "Ron" (Virginia's Shenandoah Valley) - See all my reviews

The book is a great review of "gay life at sea" on Cruise and Merchant Marine ships, not the Royal or US Navies (where such a wealth of gay information will never be available) It is a great resource book for studying gay life in a time when the population spent more time at sea rather than the quick weekend trips on the present day giant ships where one never has to leave his cabin for entertainment.

On the cruise ship gay men were free to be gay long before the coming of gay lib. Moreover, the ships provided an ideal venue for would be entertainment stars or the proud drag queen.

I particularly liked the information about gay life on the Merchant Marine ships where a gay man who could not serve in his country's navy could serve on commercial ships. There the attitude toward gay men was relaxed and accommodating. My favorite line: "If the ship is not tied to the peer, what you do sexually is not queer." It was an attitude straight men, both married and single, practiced.