Content area
Full text
QUEER CULTURE David A. Gerstner, ed., THE ROUTLEDGE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF QUEER CULTURE. New York: Taylor & Francis, 20 1 1 (first published in 2006). 720p. bibl. $290.00, ISBN 978-0415306515; pap., $69.00, ISBN 978-0415569668.
Reviewed by Stephan Elizander Przybylowicz
This book is truly a "splendid failure," as its introduction claims. While its editor (David Gerstner, a professor of cinema studies at the College of Staten Island) acknowledges that a definitive volume is impossible, he does purport to offer an "extremely comprehensive" look at several categories of queer life, international contributors from a wide variety of disciplines, and up-to-date legal information. That's a large claim for a topic about which laws, attitudes, and terminology change so rapidly. However, the authors gave it a great shot, and the final product is indeed impressive.
The main strength of this collection is its international focus, something that not many other LGBTQ encyclopedias offer. This one refreshingly acknowledges that most of existing queer theory favors...