Books
WORDS: BEN KELLY
HOMINTERN: HOW GAY CULTURE LIBERATED THE MODERN WORLD
GREGORY WOODS/YALE UNIVERISTY PRESS
‘Homintern’ was the old-fashioned term for the conspiracy theory that gay men controlled key positions in various arts industries – the ‘gay mafia’ as it were. In this major new work, Gregory Woods explores “the international presentation of lesbian and gay men in modern life,” whether that can be surmised as being for the positive, or the negative.
All the usual old tales are here; notably the lasting effect of Oscar Wilde’s trial, which raised awareness of homosexuality for both the scandalised masses, and the countless gay people around Europe, who continued to learn of themselves through his legend for decades. Outside of this there are interesting chapters on homosexuality within the Russian and Swedish ballets, the melting pot in Paris at the end of the WWII, and the generational clash of Noel