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When Brooklyn Was Queer
When Brooklyn Was Queer | Hugh Ryan
20 posts | 9 read | 33 to read
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review
psalva
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Pickpick

An excellent recapturing of a section of NY queer history that is largely forgotten or glossed over. While some stories, particularly those of white men who were artists or authors, are more known, Ryan does a good job capturing some stories of lesser known figures where possible. ⬇️

psalva I really appreciated learning about the changes in culture as well as perceptions of sexuality/gender throughout the years. Also, the information about the upsetting decline of vibrant Brooklyn queer life after WWII was brilliantly explained and made me so angry. Nonetheless, I‘m grateful to leave the book having a long list of people who I want to read more about. I feel like that in itself is a gift. 8mo
Cuilin Sounds great. Does it mention the George Hotel? 8mo
psalva @Cuilin It does! The hotel is brought up several times as a popular cruising spot and an important location for naval officers and well-off enlisted members of the navy :) It‘s also brought up in the context of people who lived near it in the Heights. 8mo
Cuilin @psalva Thanks for responding. I read up about the hotel as it‘s now my daughter‘s student housing. We love history. It is in a beautiful part of Brooklyn. I think she‘d like this book. 8mo
psalva @Cuilin Wow that is super cool! I love learning the history surrounding places I‘ve lived. That‘s so neat that it‘s still a place in use. I hope she enjoys it if she gets to it. 8mo
22 likes2 stack adds5 comments
blurb
psalva
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It‘s one of those “the movers still haven‘t delivered our stuff after almost a month, cats woke us up at 5:00 am, it‘s hot, I‘m grumpy” kind of days. I‘ve got an afternoon coffee and a really great book so I‘m appreciative of that at least. This book has made me think a lot about my interest in becoming an archivist. Records of all kinds can be crucial in gaining nuanced understanding of history, especially in underrepresented groups. ⬇️

psalva The author has put to use court records, oral history interviews, and internal records of “morality police” organizations and it‘s been so interesting to see what interpretations of queer history he has been able to come up with. 8mo
15 likes1 comment
quote
psalva
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Starting the tagged this morning:
“Researching Brooklyn‘s queer history is a bit like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole: just when I think I know where it‘s going to pop up, it fakes me out. A queer moment in time flourishes briefly, glows brightly, fades, and is forgotten. The further back you go, it seems, the briefer the shine…Some days, it feels as if I‘m trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final picture will look like.”

review
Megabooks
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Pickpick

An informative look at queer life in Brooklyn from Whitman to the 1960s. It was interesting to learn how queerness was seen through the years and how that affected the scene in Brooklyn. I hadn‘t ever though about homosexuality and transgenderism being categorized differently in Victorian times. Ryan mainly examines the lives of entertainers, authors, and military members, giving as complete examples as possible of gay, lesbian, and trans folks.

Cinfhen I bought this awhile ago on Kindle - did you do audio?? 3y
Cinfhen Love the graphics 💕💕💕 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I did do audio. I think I got it at an audible sale. The narration was enjoyable. 3y
See All 7 Comments
Megabooks @Cinfhen it is a great cover! 3y
Hollie I loved this book! My students said the audio was fantastic. 3y
Megabooks @Hollie for me, it‘s always cool to learn about something I hadn‘t even thought of before - in this case, how queer Brooklyn was different from queer Manhattan. I just never give much thought to the character of the different boroughs. Glad you enjoyed it too!! 3y
Hollie @Megabooks me, too. I love Brooklyn/NYC history and this one had so much to love. His writing is really approachable and the research is excellent. My students unanimously loved it 3y
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review
Hollie
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I loved this book and so did my students. They thought it was amazing. One of them, though, who works in a tiny town‘s grain elevator, found his copy in his work‘s trash can. His boss had thrown it away and said to keep that “communist bullshit in the trash.” What an ass. WBWQ is funny, moving, touching, and full of fun info on Brooklyn‘s queer history. It‘s a really approachable non-fic read and my students tell me the audio is fantastic.

mom2bugnbee Wait, what? 3y
Hollie @mom2bugnbee right? The town is super conservative and the boss is like 80, but no reason to take a kid‘s homework and throw it in the trash. Not sure where the whole communism thing came in, either. 3y
mom2bugnbee I guess that if you're queer you must be a Communist? Or if you're a Communist you must be queer? Asinine. 3y
Hollie @mom2bugnbee we couldn‘t figure it out either. 3y
36 likes2 stack adds4 comments
blurb
Hollie
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Here are my top five nonfiction books I read this year (of 28). When Brooklyn was Queer was #1- the others are in no particular order.

27 likes1 stack add
blurb
Hollie
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The tagged book is one that I recently read (and loved) on my kindle, but had to have as a hardcover, too. I‘m using it for LGBTQ World History in the spring, so I want to highlight it up. The Stone Wall Reader is another I‘ll use for that class‘ prep and came in just in time for #pridemonth.

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Hollie
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Doing a little afternoon reading with my new library candle from Etsy. ♥️

37 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Hollie
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“A sign on the front door read ‘men are admitted, but not welcome.‘” 😂 love it.

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NotCool
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“I look forward to having a future where we also have a past, and I look forward to creating it with you .”

blurb
readtheworld
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Happy Pride Month! Rough Draft has a great selection of LGBTQ books to celebrate — including fiction, memoir, history, and kid lit. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈

#worldpride #pridemonth #celebratepride #bookstore #roughdraftny #booktable

PS @Litsy is there any way to add a bookstore without creating a new LibraryThing account?

Litsy Currently, Litsy bookstores are tied to LibraryThing's Local database, so you do have to be a member of LT to do that. If you drop us a line (litsy@librarything.com) with a link to the bookstore website or details, we can usually create a LT Local entry for you, too. -Loranne 5y
readtheworld @Litsy thanks, Loranne! 5y
64 likes2 stack adds2 comments
blurb
strandbookstore
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Your June literary horoscopes are here! ♊🔮♋ To see which books we recommend for your zodiac, tap the link: https://www.strandbooks.com/strand-blog#/entry/entry225-june-...

review
suzisteffen
Pickpick

Loved this #history of a borough where, even when we didn‘t know it, queer folks made lives and communities. My only regret was that it ended before Stonewall (which was, of course, in Manhattan) & didn‘t get into queer life in Brooklyn today. But great info and fascinating characters populate this history, which tells of poets, sex workers, carny “freaks,” Coney Island, both World Wars ... and Robert Moses. Brooklyn! 💪🏽🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 & 5⭐️.

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suzisteffen
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The full quote: “Although they may seem only slightly related, fears about ‘race mixing‘ and queer people were intimately connected, flip sides of the same eugenic coin.”

Uhhh has anything changed?

blurb
suzisteffen
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#weekendreads
📚Still very much enjoying Hugh Ryan‘s WHEN BROOKLYN WAS QUEER - it‘s super fascinating about how our modern understanding of sexuality came about - and also Isabel Wilkerson‘s towering THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS. (& some short stories, & a science book or two).
📚📚 I don‘t have a fave, but I like 🤔
📚📚📚 Not counting the ones in this post, 🦉😍😂

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suzisteffen
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“Scratch that straight surface, however, and Brooklyn‘s queer history comes pouring out, full of poets, sailors, undercover cops dressed as sailors, brothels, sideshows, communes, rough trade, Nazi spies , trans men, dancers, machinists, pathbreakers, mythmakers, and more.” 😍🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🏳️‍🌈 #history

15 likes1 stack add
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suzisteffen
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Funny story: I preordered this book last May on Kobo. Then the university bookstore that I had connected to Kobo stopped selling books (only sportswear and textbooks now 😡) and I tried to change the bookstore designation on Kobo, but THEY WOULD NOT DO IT, so I had to get another Kobo account to connect to Powell‘s, w/ another email address, & they transferred my 📚. When this one dropped, I KNEW I had bought it on Kobo but I COULD NOT FIND IT. ⬇️

suzisteffen I searched and searched today and looked on all of my ebook sites and Libro.fm, and then I looked at my Gmail and like YES I GOT AN EMAIL FROM KOBO! Of course it‘s on the FORMER account. Kobo customer service continues to be about as bad as it can be, but IDC, I have my ebook. (I also have it as a print book! Lol.) Time to start! 5y
Weaponxgirl That sounds hellish but this book looks awesome. It‘s been on my radar too. 5y
suzisteffen @Weaponxgirl Dealing with Kobo customer service was ... let‘s say I have a lot of screenshots. This part was just funny. (I want to get it on audio too because I know the author read it himself.) 5y
15 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
broughtyoubooks
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Pickpick

Ryan doesn't fall into the trap of just saying 'but they weren't gay back then'. We are given a better outline of why our modern terminology isn't sufficient. 'Gay' identities are centred, but also considers instances of trans identities and how these were blurred by concepts of inversion and the like - through military and naval life and their interactions with class and geography, the queer writer/poet/artists and entertainers of the periods.

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review
strandbookstore
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Pickpick

REQUIRED QUEER READING! ✨Today‘s #staffpick is When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan, from main floor manager Billy M.
🌈🌈🌈⠀
“A refreshing read. Unlike other queer histories, Ryan does not focus solely on the gay white male experience. We're shown stories that span the sexuality spectrum; proving that feelings, actions, & identities existed long before we could name them & in some cases were more widely accepted (or ignored) than they are today.“

51 likes7 stack adds
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suzisteffen
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GOT MY #BOOKMAIL TODAY and so so so excited! #LGBTQIA #brooklyn #history 🏳️‍🌈😍❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖💖💖

13 likes3 stack adds