Jonathan Ned Katz

I was originally drawn to this book by its title. History from the dominant identity (e.g. heterosexuality) is so often treated as the default and not examined in the same way as other identities (e.g. queer people) so I was curious what this would be about. As the title suggests, the author dives into heterosexuality, looking at the way it has been perceived in the past (including past meanings, including a meaning as a sexual "disorder") and sometimes comparing this to discussions about show more homosexuality.

The author notes in the preface how much easier it has become to access information about heterosexuality now than it was when he wrote it. Despite that, this still makes for an interesting read. I enjoyed the earlier chapters the most as the historical aspects were fascinating, including the way that heterosexuality was originally used as a way to distinguish people from the then "normal" and expected attitudes towards sex. I really enjoyed how use of the term and the history of being straight are intertwined with queer history as opposed to just being the unexplored default (which has its own interesting nuances) it is usually propped up against.

Although I did overall enjoy this work, I didn't always agree with some of the arguments being made, especially in the later chapters. They were still interesting to read of course, but I do wish some ideas had been expanded on to give more nuance/criticism. At times some of the lines of thinking were a little dismissive or simplified (even when one considers this limited to a western perspective) or just felt a bit uncomfortable. Although not badly intentioned, the "everyone's a bit bi" attitude of some of the arguments (some not by the author but these could have been criticised more, especially the quoted line about women choosing to become a lesbian and leaving husbands). I don't know how much of this stems from me being asexual (the existence of which is briefly alluded to but not included in discussions) and therefore not fitting on the gay-straight spectrum and not feeling like I fit into the blurring of homosexuality and heterosexuality - I remain an outlier. This is not a criticism of the author of course! Especially given the time it was written vs when asexuality started gaining traction. But sexuality is more complicated than it is sometimes depicted. show less

I feel I will always owe Ned Katz an enormous debt of gratitude for this early classic compendium on gay and lesbian history in the USA. First, he is both sincere and thorough in his feminism and determination to give lesbians equal representation and thoughtful analysis. Second, he might be said to have been the first to open my eyes to the full range of psychic terrors, traumas and horrors that constituted gay life in the USA from the 1940s to late 1960s. The testimonies of young men show more beaten within an inch of their lives with no recourse at law, education, family, or police; the lesbians dragged off to shock therapy and institutionalization; and, more so, the less dramatic but pervasive stories of silencing, violence, shaming, threat, marginalization, and multiple, insidious assault. We have not yet even come close to understanding the traumas and desolations of that period, nor the more fundamental forces that caused homophobia to erupt in a putatively democratic society that had just borne witness--however much at a remove--to the Holocaust. Thanks, Ned--you opened my young eyes to what my immediate gay ancestors had endured. show less

Eve Adams (born Chawa Zloczower, 1891-1943) experienced the rawest of discrimination on many levels. She was a Jew in Gentile territories, a radical in mostly conservative settings, and a lesbian in places and times that were not sympathetic to her desires. She even served jail time for writing a book entitled "Lesbian Love" and allegedly propositioning an undercover policewoman. For these "crimes" she was deported from the United States (where she had immigrated in 1912). She ultimately show more ended up in Auschwitz, where she perished at the age of 52.

Jonathan Ned Katz’s biography of Adams is somewhat redundant and padded, as books about obscure figures often are, yet he has an important story to tell. Included also is the full text of Adams's rare book "Lesbian Love,” a charming set of character sketches that are tame by modern standards.

Not just for specialists, this brief biography is definitely worth reading.

I received an electronic pre-publication copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way. show less

Great insight on how men-loving men struggled for wording to properly express their desires and emotions in a more positive light than society would allow at the time. Katz was careful to stress the difference of what was acceptable in society then and now when it came to the affection between men and/or their behavior. It served as a helpful reminder of what these men were saying in their original context rather than how it may sound in respect to today's thinking. I very much appreciated show more his care of adding a disclaimer to any speculations offered when interpreting letters and other such written works of the subjects of his study. show less