Endorsements
What people are saying about Queering the Media
“As a longtime supporter of GLAAD, I knew a little of this story, but this book reveals so much more about the drama and massive effort it took to get LGBT people more accurately represented in all media. As diversity and inclusion faces a backlash these days, the lessons of how GLAAD did its early work are more important than ever.”
— Lily Tomlin, Emmy- and Tony-Award winning actor and comedian
“You don’t know you’re living in the dark until you see the contrast of light. You don’t know you’re living in shame until you free yourself and live life as you truly are. There’s nothing worse than living your life filled with shame and fear. We are sent messages from early childhood and throughout our lives of who we’re supposed to be and how we’re supposed to act. Everyone wants to be seen. Everyone wants to be understood. We all need role models. Not seeing some version of ourselves reflected back in the media can be a very lonely way to live. Thankfully, we see more and more brave people giving us that reflection today, and that shift started during the days depicted in this important book, back when GLAAD was helping to pave the way.”
“Making that decision to publicly come out is the thing I’m most proud of because it would’ve been easier for me to stay quiet. It wasn’t an easy decision. Coming out can be very scary. But as the authors of Queering the Media remind us, every voice makes a difference.”
— Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, Emmy-winning TV talk show host, author
“Queering the Media is a clear-eyed account of a moment when the industry was compelled to stand up for its own, often in the absence of broader support. The origins of Hollywood Supports and the greater movement it helped advance were driven not by virtue, but necessity. While I’m proud to have played a role, it was the many more individuals who chose to act, at real reputational, or greater, risk who made the difference. Jennings and Agrama capture that period of urgency and friction with true conviction. This work stands as a stark record of a dark time that while difficult to revisit is crucial to remember.”
— Barry Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia
“In the early 1960s, CBS killed a spinoff series built around me because an executive decided I was ‘too butch’ to be a leading lady. Queering the Media, is an important record of the brave battle we fought in and with the media — battles that changed, not simply what America watched, but what America believed — and a timely reminder that the ground we gained can never be taken for granted.”
— Sheila J. Kuehl, former member of the California State Assembly and State Senate, Los Angeles County Supervisor, and Zelda Gilroy on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
“Who knew our lives were so gripping! This book is a page turner — it lifts the veil on the behind-the-scenes work of building GLAAD LA. The first book I’ve read (and I read them all!) that tells it like it was, with humor, details, GREAT story-telling.”
— Torie Osborn, community organizer, activist, and author of Coming Home to America: A Roadmap to Gay & Lesbian Empowerment
“Queering the Media is essential and inspirational history. It charts the path of GLAAD, a radical organization that, through storytelling and acceptance, drove LGBTQ visibility and accelerated social change. In this repressive fascist era where we can feel powerless and lost, this book is critical, reminding us that when a small group of committed people take control of the narrative, they can create lasting change everywhere.”
— V (formerly Eve Ensler), playwright and activist, author of The Vagina Monologues
“Agrama and Jennings recreate the decades-long heroic struggle of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to transform the media image of gays and lesbians from sickos and monsters to human beings. These days, as the bad old times threaten to recur, Queering the Media can serve as an inspiration and virtual blueprint for how to advance the LGBTQ cause for social justice through courage, determination, and a healthy dose of good sense and common sense. An important and eminently readable book!”
— Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers and The Gay Revolution
“Jehan F. Agrama and Richard Jennings haven’t just written a history of GLAAD; they have provided a foundational roadmap for how a small group of passionate, smart activists can fundamentally reshape the cultural landscape. Queering the Media is a deeply moving and essential account of the early fight for LGBTQ visibility on the screen, from the living room meetings to the high-stakes boardrooms of Hollywood’s major studios.”
“This is more than a history of GLAAD, it’s the story of how LGBTQ voices transformed mainstream entertainment and the industry’s evolving relationship with the community. Queering the Media powerfully documents the strategic campaigns to win equality behind-the camera and on screens.”
“Jehan and Richard vividly bring to life the era when LGBTQ lives were erased or reduced to dangerous caricatures, reminding us of the urgent necessity behind the creation of GLAAD’s first watchdog committees and the now-iconic GLAAD Media Awards.”
“Reading this book today, as we face renewed waves of disinformation and attacks on LGBTQ images in entertainment, I am struck by how much of the authors’ early wisdom remains true: stories have the power to change hearts and minds, but only if we have the courage to demand they be told accurately. Jehan and Richard’s work is a love letter to the volunteers who built this movement and an inspiring call to action for today’s media activists and storytellers. This is required reading for anyone who believes in the power of the media to create a more accepting world.”
— Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD
“This is the story of how all the members of the LGBTQ, and probably 21 other letters, community banded together, whether they realized it or not, to do what they had to do — change the narrative. It was an epic task, reliving all the ritual nit-picking and peacocking that had to be overcome to face the common enemy. GLAAD was at the forefront of it all, and Jehan and Richard were at the forefront of GLAAD. They were the Fred and Ginger of the movement, dancing as fast as they could.”
— Bruce Vilanch, Emmy winning writer-actor-comedian-hollywoodsquare-stripper
“Media representations matter. As MAGA threatens to undo decades of progress for queer rights, it’s crucial to understand just how that progress came about: through persistent, unglamorous work. Which is why Queering the Media is so important. It’s difficult now to imagine just how vast and vile media homophobia was when this story begins. Everyone knows what happens when you don’t learn from history. I’m grateful to Agrama and Jennings for their work—and their story.”
— Ru Marshall, author of American Trickster and A Separate Reality