LEADER 03736nam 2200637Ia 450 001 9910809604403321 005 20240418053815.0 010 $a0-299-24859-3 010 $a1-282-76416-0 010 $a9786612764165 010 $a0-299-24853-4 035 $a(CKB)2560000000015737 035 $a(OCoLC)667274211 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10412020 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000418432 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11288016 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000418432 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10377704 035 $a(PQKB)11515051 035 $a(OCoLC)816584099 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse11999 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3445065 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10412020 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL276416 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3445065 035 $a(EXLCZ)992560000000015737 100 $a20100322d2010 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aGay bar$b[electronic resource] $ethe fabulous, true story of a daring woman and her boys in the 1950s /$fWill Fellows and Helen P. Branson; introduction by Blanche M. Baker 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aMadison, WI $cUniversity of Wisconsin Press$dc2010 215 $a1 online resource (188 p.) 300 $aAn expanded edition of the original 1957 publication "Gay Bar" by Helen P. Branson, interleaved with commentary and excerpts from letters and essays appearing in L.A. gay publications of the period. 311 $a0-299-24850-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references. 327 $aIntro -- Preface -- From the Dust Jacket of the Original Edition -- Introduction -- Foreward -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- For the Record -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Notes on Sources -- Bibliography. 330 $aVivacious, unconventional, candid, and straight, Helen Branson operated a gay bar in Los Angeles in the 1950s--America's most anti-gay decade. After years of fending off drunken passes as an entertainer in cocktail bars, this divorced grandmother preferred the wit, variety, and fun she found among homosexual men. Enjoying their companionship and deploring their plight, she gave her gay friends a place to socialize. Though at the time California statutes prohibited homosexuals from gathering in bars, Helen's place was relaxed, suave, and remarkably safe from police raids and other anti-homosexual hazards. In 1957 she published her extraordinary memoir Gay Bar, the first book by a heterosexual to depict the lives of homosexuals with admiration, respect, and love. In this new edition of Gay Bar, Will Fellows interweaves Branson's chapters with historical perspective provided through his own insightful commentary and excerpts gleaned from letters and essays appearing in gay publications of the period. Also included is the original introduction to the book by maverick 1950s psychiatrist Blanche Baker. The eclectic selection of voices gives the flavor of American life in that extraordinary age of anxiety, revealing how gay men saw themselves and their circumstances, and how others perceived them. 606 $aGay bars$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles 606 $aGay men$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles$xSocial conditions$y20th century 615 0$aGay bars 615 0$aGay men$xSocial conditions 676 $a306.76/627949409045 700 $aFellows$b Will$01165241 701 $aBranson$b Helen P$01625797 701 $aBaker$b Blanche M$01625798 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910809604403321 996 $aGay bar$93961490 997 $aUNINA