Gay and Lesbian Studies

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Topics
Transexuality, Intersexuality, and Gender Mutability

Gays/Lesbians in Motion Pictures
Medical Sciences and Technology (for works about international AIDS epidemic)



Documentaries and Related Works

Absolutely Positive.
Men and women who are HIV positive talk about how afraid they are of getting AIDS, how they handle the disease, and how it affects their lives. Directed by Peter Adair. 1991. 87 min. DVD 5436; vhs Video/C 2323



AIDS Quarterly.
58 min. each. Spring 1989: Stopping AIDS stopping drugs -- The art of medicine. Video/C 2337 Fall 1989: AIDS and the second sex -- What is a family -- A question of civil rights. Video/C 2338 Winter 1989: The education of Admiral Watkins -- AIDS update -- A death in the family. Video/C 2336 Winter 1990: The Trial of Compound Q -- Money and morals. Video/C 2239

A.I.D.S.C.R.E.A.M.
AIDS has become a convenient excuse to desexualize gay men and thereby destroy gay liberation. This experimentally processed film expresses Queer anger and rage at the no-win constructs of straight culture's refusal to accept the political impact of the disease on gay identity.c1990. Video/C 2964

Akermania, Volume One.
Early films by director Chantal Akerman exploring real time, self-definition and sexual identities. 1992. 89 min. Video/C 999:980

All God's Children.
A look at the Black Church's embracement of African American lesbians and gay men as dedicated members of its spiritual family with commentary by prominent political and religious leaders in the Black community. c1996.26 min. Video/C 6200

Anatomy of Desire.
Looks at the history of scientific research on the question of sexual orientation and how this research has affected lesbian and gay rights. Utilizes interviews with historians, psychiatrists and writers blended with rare archival footage to illuminate the growing debate on the origins of sexual preference. 1995. 48 min. Video/C 5078

And the Band Played On.
Based on the book by Randy Shilts (Anthropology RA644.A25.S481 1987; Main Stack RA644.A25.S481 1987; Moffitt RA644.A25.S48 1988; Public Hlth RA644.A25.S48 1988) Follows the struggle of a handful of strong-willed men and women who took on the fight to save lives in the face of a mysterious illness now called AIDS. 140 min. Video/C 999:969

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And the March Continues! (Y sigue la marcha andando!)
A film by Guadalupe Olvera San Miguel. Combines documentary and narrative forms to present a history of the lesbian movement in Mexico from its orgins to the present. Interviews with Mexican lesbians and movement leaders present impressions of daily life in their country. Dist.: Frameline. 1997. 30 min. Video/C 7275


Army of Lovers or the Revolt of the Perverts (Armee der Liebenden Oder Aufstand der Perversen)
In 1978, German gay rights activist filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim documented segments of the American gay liberation movement at the celebration of a San Francisco gay rights march. Among the individuals interviewed are a gay Nazi, porn-film stars, author John Rechy who defends gay male promiscuity, and members of the Gay Activists Alliance, the National Gay Task Force, the Mattachine Society, and the founders of the Daughters of Bilitis. 96 min. Video/C 9518

Ballot Measure 9.
Documentary investigation of events surrounding the 1992 campaign for Oregon's anti-gay ballot initiative. Videocassette release of a film originally produced bythe Oregon Tape Project in 1994. A film by Heather MacDonald. 72 min. Video/C 4325


Interview with Heather MacDonald in Lavender Limelight.



Because This is About Love: A Portrait of Gay and Lesbian Marriage.
Various gay and lesbian couples who chose to publicly commit their love for one another in a wedding ceremony are interviewed. This program is devoted to these articulate couples who celebrate their bond solemnly.c1991. 28 min. Video/C 3305


Description from Filmakers Library catalog

Beefcake
A chronicle of the rise and fall of queer cult photographer Robert Henry Mizer, creator of the popular 1950's magazine Physique Pictorial. A blend of fact and fiction, Beefcake focuses on the 1950's world of male-physique magazines and Mizer's Athletic Model Guild. Written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald. 1999. 93 min. DVD 1867

Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community.
A social history of homosexuality in America from the 1920s to 1969, showing how this group has moved from a secret shame to the status of a publicly viable minority group. Tells how a group consciousness coalesced after the 1969 police raid on Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, and the three-day riot that followed gained them national publicity and the birth of the gay movement. Director, Greta Schiller. 1985. 87 min. DVD 2766; also VHS Video/C 1461 [See Also: Stonewall Archives]
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Nichols, Peter M. "Tracing 30 Years Of Gay Life," New York Times, Jun 4, 1999; Late Edition (East Coast); pg. E.1:25

[Benning, Sadie] The Videos of Sadie Benning.
Eighteen-years-old Sadie Benning recorded thoughts and images of her nascent lesbianism with the help of a Fisher Price Pixelvision camera. 1989-1992. 86 min. Video/C 2749:1-2



[Benning, Sadie] The Videos of Sadie Benning. Vol. 2
Contains three videos by Sadie Benning who uses an inexpensive camera and toys, drawings, and scrawled diary entries to record the thoughts, feelings and images that reveal her emerging lesbian sexuality. Contents: A place called lovely -- It wasn't love -- Girl power. DVD 8057



Beyond Hatred (Au dela de la haine)
Examines the events behind the violent death in Rheims, France of Francois Chenu, a young gay man who was murdered by 3 homophobic skinheads in 2002. The film follows the lengthy trial of the accused killers, and offers a moving firsthand account of the complex emotional response of the victim's family. In so doing, it explores the social and psychological roots of homophobia and similar hate crimes as well as demonstrating the emotional maturity that enables the rare human quality of forgiveness. Director, Olivier Meyrou. 2006. 86 min. DVD 8647


Description from First Run Icarus catalog


Bill T. Jones: Still Here.
A look at dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones's highly acclaimed dance,"Still/Here". At workshops around the country, people facing life-threatening illnesses are asked to remember the highs and lows of their lives, and even imagine their own deaths. They then transform these feelings into expressive movement, which Jones incorporates into the dance "Still/Here". Jones demonstrates for Moyers the movements of his life story--his first encounter with white people, confusion over his sexuality, his partner Arnie Zane's untimely death from AIDS, and Jones's own HIV status. 1997. 56 min. Video/C 5255

Black Hair and Black-eyed
A film by Julie Whang.From what sources does a young Korean-American lesbian draw her sense of identity? From her mother, from fashion magazines, from the boy she dances with, or the girl she sleeps with, or her own barren apartment? Dist.: Frameline. 1994. 9 min. Video/C 5215

Bolo Bolo.
Through interviews, interspersed with images of gay sexual encounters, film explores responses to the AIDS crisis by members of the South Asian community of Toronto, Canada.1990. 30 min. Video/C 3829


Center for Asian American Media catalog description

Boys Beware!
An "educational" film against exposure of young boys to homosexuals. Produced by Sid Davis. 1961. 10 min. DVD 4845; also on DVD 8569

Boys Shorts: Six Short Films
Contents: Resonance -- R.S.V.P -- Anthem -- Relax -- Billy Turner's secret -- Dead boys club. Showcases six short films with gay themes produced in the 1990s. Resonance: an exploration of gay-bashing in the back streets of Sydney. RSVP: A powerful portrait of loss punctuated by the haunting voice of Jessye Norman. Anthem: A collage of erotic images that celebrates the lives of African American men. Relax: An elegant film about one man's fears regarding HIV testing. Billy Turner's Secret: An upbeat comedy about a young Black man coming out to his roommate. The Dead boys' club: A steamy tribute to the '70's world of promiscuity and disco balls from the perspective of gay life in the '90's. 1993?. 119 min. Video/C 6226


Evans, Greg. "Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema." (movie reviews) Variety v352, n1 (August 16, 1993):40 (1 page).
Holden, Stephen. "Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema." (movie reviews) New York Times v142 (Wed, July 21, 1993):C17(L), col 1, 12 col in.

Bright Eyes.
This production explores attitudes toward homosexuality in three parts: one, the early scientific view of homosexuality as a disease; two, the pre-World War II view (especially in Germany) of homosexuality as a crime; and three, current attitudes, complicated by the spread of AIDS. 1985?. Dist.: Video Data Bank. 85 min. Video/C 3286


Gever, Martha. "Pictures of Sickness: Stuart Marshall's Bright Eyes." In: Queer Looks: Perspectives on lesbian and Gay Film and Video / editors Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, John Greyson. pp: 186-203. New York: Routledge, 1993.(Main Stack PN1995.9.H55.Q4 1993; Moffitt PN1995.9.H55.Q4 1993)

Butterflies on the Scaffold (Mariposas en el andamio)
A documentary examining the issues gays and transvestites face in the context of evolving attitudes towards homosexuality in Cuba. It is a highly unusual look at how a group of working class drag queens in a Havana suburb have become an integral part of their neighborhood. A film by Margaret Gilpin and Luis Felipe Bernaza. 1995. 74 min. Video/5461

Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again.
This delightful short drama explores the perils of coming out as it follows a day in the life of one young girl who would be a lesbian. Director, Betsan Morris Evans. 10 min. Video/C 3409


Description from Women Make Movies catalog

Campus Culture Wars: Five Stories About PC.
University of Pennsylvania: racially insensitive language, Harvard University: gay rights, Stanford University: multicultural ideals, Pennsylvania State: sexual harassment, University of Washington: radical feminism. c1993. 86 min. Video/C 3328

Cancer in Two Voices.
This film provides a glimpse into the real lives of two lesbian women, Sandy and Barbara, especially into their coping with Barbara's breast cancer. Sandy and Barbara had almost three years together from the time Barbara's cancer was diagnosed until her death in 1988. The film is based on home videotapes made during that time. A film by Lucy Massie Phenix based on original videotapes by Ann Hershey. 1994. 43 min. Video/C 4002


Women Make Movies catalog description


Can't You Take a Joke?
Presents a series of vignettes in which boy meets boy and girl meets girl, using the romantic music and visuals of Hollywood film noir to explore the ideal of love at first sight. A film by Viki Dun. c1991. 14 min. Video/C 9131


Women Make Movies catalog description


Carmelita Tropicana: Your Kunst Is Your Waffen
Carmelita Tropicana, a lesbian Latina performance artist who supports herself as a building super on New York's Lower East Side, winds up in jail with three other women after a protest at an abortion clinic. Humorous monologues and campy production numbers ensue. Performers: Carmelita Tropicana, Annie Iobst, Sophia Ramos, Livia Daza Paris. A film by Ala Troyano. 1994. 28 min. Video/C 8354



Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

The Castro. (Neighborhoods, The Hidden Cities of San Francisco)
Chronicles the history of the Castro district from a working class neighborhood to the center of gay and lesbian life in San Francisco. 1997. DVD 9561 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 5004

The Celluloid Closet.
Footage from over 120 films shows the changing face of homosexuality (both male and female) in the movies from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s. Many noted actors, writers and commentators provide funny and insightful anecdotes regarding the history of the role of gay men and lesbians in the movies. Based on: Celluloid closet / Vito Russo (UCB Main PN1995.9.H55 R8 1987; UCB Moffitt PN1995.9.H55 R8 1987) 102 min. DVD 706; Video/C 4717


Links to full-text reviews (via Movie Review Query Engine)



Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker.
Examines the life and personal views of Dr. Evelyn Hooker, a psychologist who has spent her life researching the causes of homosexual behavior. Director, Richard Schmiechen. Dist.: Frameline. 1992. 75 min. Video/C 3430

Chicks in White Satin.
Here comes the bride ... both of them! A student produced Academy Award winning film documenting the formal Jewish wedding of two California women, Heidi Stern and Deborah Ellis, and the reverberations among each of their families. A film by Elaine Holliman. 1993. 25 min. Video/C MM309

The Cockettes.
This engaging tribute looks at the rise and fall of a San Francisco theatrical troupe called The Cockettes between the years 1969 and 1972. The sensation of the hippie movement in San Francisco, they were described as "hippie and freak drag queens," people who were allowed to live at the end of their imaginations. Uses interviews and vintage footage to revisit this lost corner of recent cultural history. A film by David Weissman & Bill Weber. 2001. 100 min. DVD 222

Coming Out Under Fire.
Gay men and lesbians who were in the United States military service during World War II discuss their experiences with the response of the military establishment towards their sexual orientation. Producer/director, Arthur Dong. Based on Allan Berube's Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York: Free Press, c1990. (UCB Ed/Psych D769.2 .B46 1990; UCB Main D769.2 .B46 1990; UCB Moffitt D769.2 .B46 1990). 71 min. DVD 4423; also VHS Video/C 3447



Common Threads.
The story of the AIDS Memorial Quilt established by the San Francisco NAMES Project Foundation in 1987 to commemorate the lives lost to AIDS. From the thousands memorialized in the quilt, profiles five individuals--including a recovered IV drug user, a former Olympic decathlon star and a boy with hemophilia--whose stories reflect the diversity and common tragedy of those who have died from AIDS. Celebrates their unique personalities and achievements, interweaving these personal histories with a chronology of the epidemic's development and the negligence of the government. Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman. 1990. 80 min. DVD 2761; also VHS Video/C 1774

Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter.
Shows interactions between an Alzheimer's patient and her daughter. The daughter discusses how she has dealt with her mother's illness and describes various stages of the disease. Producer/director/writer, Deborah Hoffmann. c1994. 45 min. Video/C 3976


Description from Women Make Movies catalog

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Bergman, T. "Personal narrative, dialogism, and the performance of "truth" in Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter." Text and Performance Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 20-37, Jan. 2004
Pincus, Elizabeth. "Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter." (video recording reviews). Advocate, n683 (June 13, 1995):60 (2 pages).
Goodman, Walter. "P.O.V.: Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter." (television program reviews) New York Times v144 (Tue, June 6, 1995):B3(N), C16(L), col 3, 13 col in.

Congressional Briefing on Homosexuals in the Military with Major Melissa Wells-Petry.
U.S. Army attorney, Major Wells-Petry, discusses the homosexual exclusion policy of the armed services and the legal, social, medical and philosophical basis for that policy. 1993. 60 min. Video/C 3283

Consenting Adults.
Presents a study of homosexuality in men and women, using filmed interviews with practicing homosexuals, to provide insight and bases for understanding and discussion. 1969. 40 min. Video/C 69


Cut Sleeve: Lesbians & Gays of Asian/Pacific Ancestry.
Gay and lesbian individuals from Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds discuss their attitudes and experiences as homosexuals. 1991. 24 min. Video/C 3101

Daddy & Papa (Story About Gay Fathers in America)
A documentary exploring the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men who are making the decision to raise children themselves. Through an examination of four gay male families, this documentary traces the critical issues that inevitably intersect their private lives, the ambiguous place of interracial families in America, the precariousness of surrogacy and adoption, the complexities of marriage and divorce within the gay community, and the legality of their own parenthood. Director/producer/writer, Johnny Symons. c2002. 57 min. DVD 1879

De Colores: Lesbian and Gay Latinos: Stories of Strength, Family and Love (Lesbianas y ays Latinos: historias de fuerza, familia y amor)
This documentary examines the struggles of Hispanic gays and lesbians coming out to their parents, especially in a culture that places value on "family tradition" above all else. Through interviews and commentaries, the stories of this largely ignored community are contrasted against similar experiences by Anglo-Americans. 2001. 28 min. Video/C 8809

Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World.
Explores the lives of gay and lesbian people in non-Western cultures, where most occurrences of oppression receive no media coverage at all. 2005. 60 min. DVD 4789

Dear Jesse.
Gay North Carolina filmmaker Tim Kirkman's open letter to his senator, Jesse Helms whom he criticizes for his anti-homosexual policies. Also includes footage of an interview with Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was murdered, a victim of a hate crime. Writer/director, Tim Kirkman. Originally produced in 1998. 83 min. Video/C 7185
American Library Assn. Video Round Table Notable Videos winner



Desire.
Director Stuart Marshall chronicles the imprisonment of homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Also examines the "discovery" of homosexuality by the medical and psychoanalytic professions in the 1890's, and the subsequent movements in Germany during the early years of this century demanding recognition of gay and lesbian rights.c1992. 88 min. Video/C 3313

A Different Kind of Black Man: On Being Gay...
Interviews with successful, black gay men about their ideas and feelings on such issues as sexuality, masculinity and their perception of and their role within the black community. 2001. 19 min. Video/C 8145

Dirty Laundry: A History of Heroes
A history of Chinese who immigrated to Canada and of gay Chinese Canadians. 1996. 31 min. Video/C 4428



Center for Asian American Media catalog description

Does Your Mother Know?
Interviews with lesbian students at the University of California, Berkeley concerning their views on family and personal relationships. Produced by students enrolled in Ethnographic Film (Anthropology 138B) in Spring of 1996, at the University of California, Berkeley, Dept. of Anthropology. Sheila Quinlan, Shu Hung. 1996. 28 min. Video/C 4414


Dream Girls
This fascinating documentary, produced for the BBC, opens a door into the spectacular world of the Takarazuka Revue, a highly successful musical theater company in Japan. Each year, thousands of girls apply to enter the male-run Takarazuka Music School. The few who are accepted endure years of a highly disciplined and reclusive existence before they can join the Revue, choosing male or female roles. Dream Girls offers a compelling insight into gender and sexual identity and the contradictions experienced by Japanese women today. 1994. 50 min. Video/C 7630


Description from Women Make Movies catalog

Dress to Kill
Directed by Lawrence Jordan. Eddie Izzard spins free-flowing jokes about San Francisco, transvestitism, squirrels, American optimism, Hitler, the British royal family, mass murder and Stonehenge. Izzard romps through human history and transforms surprisingly complex ideas into biting satire--as well as knockout bits of sublime frivolity, like describing the movie Speed entirely in French. 1998. 180 min. DVD 1497

Dry Kisses Only.
Through manipulated film clips this videotape explores the lesbian subtext of classical Hollywood films. 1990. 75 min. Video/C 2750


Women Make Movies catalog description

Ecce Homo.
A Film by Jerry Tartaglia. Interweaves images from Jean Genet's masterpiece Un Chant d'Amour with images from gay male sex films. It forces the viewer to question the point of view in looking at "pornographic" images. AIDS hysteria portrays gay sex as sinful, politically incorrect, or a public health hazard. Ecce Homo asks whether this taboo is against gay sex or against seeing gay sex. 199?. Video/C 2694


The Edge of Each Other's Battles: The Vision of Audre Lorde
Documents black lesbian poet and activist Audre Lorde's (1934-92) social vision, using footage from the four-day conference: I am your sister: forging global connections across differences, held in Boston in 1990. At the conference 1,200 men, women and young people from 23 countries examined the issues of the relations between race, class, gender and sexuality through Lorde's work. Interviews with the organizers of the conference are intercut with conference footage, including performances, controversies and speeches. Producer, director, writer, Jennifer Abod. 2000. 59 min. DVD 7917


Women Make Movies catalog description

Erotic Celebrations.
Four short films by poet, playwright and avant-garde filmmaker, James Broughton. Contents: The Bed (1968) (20 min.) -- Erogeny (1976) (6 min.) -- Hermes bird (1979) (11 min.) -- Song of the Godbody (1977) (10 min.). 47 min. Video 999:1076

Exclusion.
A discussion of gays in the military sponsored by the Christian fundamentalist Christian Action Network. 1993. 60 min. Video/C 3283

An Evening with Les Ballets Trockadero. Program 1
Contents: Swan Lake. Act II -- Le corsaire (Pas de deux) -- Go for Barocco -- The dying swan -- Raymonda's wedding. Presents performances by the all-male ballet troupe Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Founded in 1974 for the purpose of presenting a playful, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and in travesty, the comedy is achieved by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. 100 min. DVD 3277

An Evening with Les Ballets Trockadero. Program 2
Contents: Les sylphides -- Le grand pas de quatre -- Yes, Virginia, another piano ballet -- The dying swan -- Paquita. Presents performances by the all-male ballet troupe Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Founded in 1974 for the purpose of presenting a playful, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and in travesty, the comedy is achieved by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. 100 min. DVD 3278

Eve's Daughters
Five lesbian women share their struggles of living in a racist, sexist, and homophobic society. They return as refugees from spiritual exile, refusing to be victims any longer and call upon the church not only to repent of its homophobia, but to celebrate the spiritual gifts they have because they are lesbians. Produced & directed by Anne Macksoud, John Ankele. 1995 DVD 9909

Faith & Politics: The Christian Right.
Film reviews the goals, political aspirations and successes of the traditional, family-oriented Christian Right political movement. Examines their organizations and their views on such issues as abortion, homosexuality, creationisn, freedom of speech, school curriculum, home schooling and political activism. 1995. 47 min. Video/C 4013.

The Bible says about the Gay and Lesbians: Romans 1:18-32
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, 1:19 because what can be known about God is plain to them; because God has made it plain to them. 1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling a mortal human being and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. 1:25. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.1:26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, 1:27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 1:29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 1:31 senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. 1:32. Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.