xiv, 361 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [327]-343) and index.
Summary
"An electric and intimate story of 1970s gay Atlanta through its bedazzling drag clubs and burgeoning rights activism. Coursing with a pumped-up beat, gay Atlanta was the South's mecca -- a beacon for gays and lesbians growing up in its homophobic towns and cities. There, the Sweet Gum Head was the club for achieving drag stardom. Martin Padgett evokes the fantabulous disco decade by going deep into the lives of two men who shaped and were shaped by this city: John Greenwell, an Alabama runaway who found himself and his avocation performing as the exquisite Rachel Wells; and Bill Smith, who took to the streets and city hall to change antigay laws. Against this optimism for visibility and rights, gay people lived with daily police harassment and drug dealing and murder in their discos and drag clubs. Conducting interviews with many of the major figures and reading through deteriorating gay archives, Padgett expertly re-creates Atlanta from a time when a vibrant, new queer culture of drag and pride came into being"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents
Machine generated contents note: 1971 Bring The Boys Home -- 1972 What Makes A Man A Man? -- 1973 Who's That Lady? -- 1974 Rock The Boat -- 1975 The Hustle -- 1976 Disco Inferno -- 1977 Star Wars -- 1978 Fuck Anita Bryant -- 1979 I Will Survive -- 1980 Tragedy -- 1981 Midnight At The Oasis.