Queer History Through the Lens of TV

“Hi Honey, I’m Homo!” is smart, witty, and moving. Baume’s entertaining exploration of the ways American TV depictions of queer people influenced (and were influenced by) wider cultural shifts in acceptance of queer people is a much-needed addition to the field of queer history.

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Love you Matt!

Great book. Excellent job of writing and recording. You informed me of something I was not familiar with... Dinosaurs. And you could have left it out, lol! Still a 5 star rating.

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An important work at an important time

tldr: This is a fun, accessible and timely history of Queer representation on TV and how it interacted with the culture at large, told through the shows themselves and the stories behind the scenes. It's a deep dive record of a major cultural shift that is funny, poignant and very relevant.

I had to put that at the top because this basically became a personal essay. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The comparisons to The Celluloid Closet are inevitable and proper. I read that book in film class and the movie came out shortly after I graduated. One of the biggest takeaways for me wasn't just the fact of Queer representation in film, but the historical fact that we were ALWAYS in film. Academic proof of our existence and legitimacy.

Ellen coming out was a little bit later, still shortly after college. That means I lived through most of the time that is in this book. I watched Archie Bunker with my dad in reruns, but The Jeffersons while it was still on.

Of course, I wasn't old enough to understand the media, but I remember the news, the controversies and the attitudes of the times. This book is personal for me.

There's a giant leap from movies made for adults you have to see in a theater to what is beamed into your home every week for anyone to see. We needed a document of the Queer journey in that era, too, and we need it now as the whole world shifts to a new way of consuming media.

So much of the story isn't what I experienced watching it, but the behind the scenes stories that made it possible to see them. I wouldn't know those stories without this book.

Media is in a conversation with culture. Media can represent, but also distort. It can promote and denigrate. Hi Honey weaves the narratives on screen with behind the scenes stories and the politics of the day in a way that makes it clear that it is all one story, and that progress was not inevitable.

In the same way that the 1950s and the Lavender Scare are only abstract to me, younger people today and in the future can't understand the cultural hegemony of something like Friends. A show that felt like it was about my friends as we were about the same age and in a similar phase of life. A show we all watched together every Thursday night. A show I loved, but now can barely stand to watch now. That history, that change needs documentation.

I say it's important now, because just like I watched the backlash against Gays in the AIDS era, I see the backlash today against Trans people. They are saying the same things, using the same arguments and taking people's discomfort with a group most people don't know, don't see in media, to undo the progress we've made. We don't need to repeat that history.

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And important history lesson

This is a must for fans of classic TV and anyone interested in LGBT history. The author takes a view at the importance of gay themed episodes on sitcoms and related it to what was happening in the news, Having lived through when these shows where on the air, I found it fascinating and emotional.

Matt is a great reader of his own work too.

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An excellent work from an excellent creator

I’ve been an avid fan of Matt Baume for several years now, particularly his YouTube channel. This book partially convinced me to actually get audible so I could listen to it. If you enjoyed this, please go and check out his YouTube Channel. Looking forward to the next book!

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Activism with a Wink

For those who remember Matt Baume’s reassuring AFER YouTube series or have read either of his first two books, rest assured: this is another star in his written queer rights canon. Infotational throughout, written having done some thorough research of a topic he clearly loved. I sometimes worry with literature about media like this, that it’ll just turn into a Buzzfeed-esque listicle. This was the opposite of that, with a really amusing thoughtful tone. The conclusion at the ends is a predictive call to arms for us all! Now to go watch some old episodes of Bewitched.

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My childhood TV handed back to me

I grew up in the 1970s. Alice, Maude , All in the Family, and Barney Miller were what we watched as a family. So many shows at the time had a message that was woven into the story. I did not realize until years later how strongly I had been affected by them
. My Great grandparents had a had a gay man as a lodger for the first fifteen years of my life. Our neighbors down the street were tow lesbian teachers. As kids my Mother sent us to the movies with George, and we did any odd jobs Pat and Nancy needed done. Then Nancy died and her family put Pat and her belonging on the curb after 40 years. I was 12 and did not understand . My Mother had never mentioned or made a big deal of Pat and Nancy being a couple. The ladies were just our neighbors.
I found Mr. Baume by way of his you tube videos. I was looking for information on Barney Miller. The essay was so well done and informative, I worked my way through all of his content. His book has the same depth and understanding of the content he is working with. I l watched many of these shows live as a child and teen. The in depth look at behind the scene information is great. . I was not sure if I really needed the book, I had already watched the podcasts, However, the author brings something new to the book. Different chapters do cover individual show.but, points from other chapters are inter twined.
Great book and great narration. I would defiantly rad more from this author.

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Bringing it together

Having lived through most of the period this book covers, but not always privy to some of the series or behind-the-scenes machinations, it was enlightening to have the cultural movements brought in line with what we were (and weren’t) seeing on TV.

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2 people found this helpful

Absolutely %100 Perfect

Queer people need exposure as "just people" now more than ever. With this book, Matt Baume gives a kind of GPS for where we have been and how that can be used today and tomorrow in the effort towards our freedom.

Baume gives a thorough history of queerness on TV, from barely there in the 60s to almost normal in the 2010s. I myself have been there for all of that, too. There wasn't a single show mentioned that I didn't watch almost religiously. I have been proud of each slow step we have taken toward equality. This book has put all those steps in line on the path, letting me, and a lot of others I'm sure, see just how far we have been able to come. This is something needed so much now. We need to see how much strength we have, if we are going to continue the march toward equality.

I had a quick discussion online about this topic, and was told that "everything was fine"until we came along. I said we have always been here. You just didn't notice. I was then told that we need to be careful because there a lot of people like my interlocutor out there, and we'll be sorry. I ended the interaction by listing not only just how many queer people there are out here, but also all their allies, friends, family, and people who don't care about us per se, but who just think what this person and his group are doing is wrong. That's one hell of a lot of us queers and queer-adjacents. A lot more than those bigots realize. The sheer number of queer characters on TV now should have been a huge indicator for that person I talked to online.

We are people...just people. Characters like us belong on television no less than people who not like us. Through TV, we have started to push our way under the umbrella of "normal", even if we end up with our backsides facing out and getting soaked.

BUY THIS BOOK.

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Entertaining & Informative

It’s interesting to hear the behind the scenes of tv shows cast, crew, & the studio company making them.

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