Full Description
In this unique intervention in the study of queer culture, Dominic Janes highlights that, under the gaze of social conservatism, 'gay' life was hiding in plain sight. Indeed, he argues that the worlds of glamour, fashion, art and countercultural style provided rich opportunities for the construction of queer spectacle in London. Inspired by the legacies of Oscar Wilde, interwar and later 20th-century men such as Cecil Beaton expressed transgressive desires in forms inspired by those labelled 'freaks' and, thereby, made major contributions to the histories of art, design, fashion, sexuality, and celebrity.
Janes reinterprets the origins of gay and queer cultures by charting the interactions between marginalized freaks and chic fashionistas. He establishes a new framework for future analyses of other cities and media, and of the roles of women and diverse identities.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: In Search of Lost Times
2. Freak Shows
Decline and Fall
3. Freaks in Vogue
George, Georgie, Georgino Mio
4. Bright Young Things
Freak Parties
The Uprise of Cecil Beaton
5. Divas
Mariegold in Society
6. The Floral Closet
Pansies
Open for Trade
7. Conclusions
Oscar Wilde Revamped
Bibliography
Index
