#Barbara Grier

[uwmspeccoll]

Steamy Saturday

Twilight lives of talent & torment.

Man-for-man in the world of dance.

The ones who call themselves "strange."

They drift into a pastel world of fey relationships.

Men who are not quite men.

Hansome, desperate, twisted, born to dance.

The world of dance, as depicted in numerous media iterations, is just bathed in steam! Very often in queer steam. And so it is with Mr. Ballerina by American writer, dancer, and film actor Ronn Marvin (1919-1998), published in Evanston, Illinois by Regency Books (another William Hamling imprint) in 1961. Despite the genre and its inevitable tragic ending, Mr. Ballerina is actually fairly well-written, with authentic dialogue and believable depictions of gay relationships.

The story centers on dancer Dana Bates who works under dance director Lee Apollo at Hemisphere. Dana's lover is musician Ralph Matthews, who is convinced that he is probably straight, and that it was actually his mother and then Dana, playing on his sexual needs, who turned him into a homosexual. Ralph seeks a way out and turns to a woman who herself is trying to rescue her mother from a lesbian relationship. Ralph breaks up with Dana, punches him in the nose (breaking it), has sex with the woman and proposes to her. Meanwhile, Dana barely escapes a police raid on an all-male party at Lee Apollo's place but is outed to the police by some jealous flames, leading to the tragic ending that we present above.

. . . everyone has to pay eventually. Some way or other, everyone pays. Now for Dana Bates -- Mr. Ballerina, Pride of the Ballet, Princess of the Bed -- it was his turn at last.

In an October 1961 review in The Ladder, Barbara Grier (as Gene Damon) laments the negative aspects of the story, but praises its author:

A rather sad look at the very gay world of the ballet, according to Mr. Marvin, exclusively peopled with homosexual boys and an occasional homosexual girl. Basically another of the conflict stories, in which one character fights against his homosexuality. The San Francisco background is very colorful and the presence of major lesbian characters will make this of interest to Ladder readers. A fairly good first novel. Mr. Marvin will bear watching.

Ronn Marvin began his career as a dancer, but a foot injury ended that line of work, so he turned to writing novels and television scripts. He also appeared in four movies during the 1940s: The North Star (1943); Step Lively (1944); George White's Scandals (1945); and he was Pulaski in the 1947 film Gas House Kids Go West. The cover art for Mr. Ballerina is credited to "Dillon." While we have found no direct evidence, based on the characteristic style, we believe this to be the legendary illustrating duo Leo and Diane Dillon.

View other gay fiction posts.

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[cr1msondll]

60s+70’s black icons

[techaddictsuk]

Stand Alone (1985)

Stand Alone from 1985 is the great Charles Durning doing Rambo, Walking Tall and Death Wish. Sounds dark, violent and crazy... well... #filmtwitter #movies #film

[escapedaudios]

I've mentioned my love of this kind of movie before, but I really love ultra-violent exploitation movies from the 60s and 70s. I have a special love for bombastically violent B-movies with female leads. Anyway here are some of my favorites exploitation heroines.

Meiko Kaji, seen here as the titular Lady Snowblood (1973). She was an icon of cold blooded violence, and a huge (though often unknown) influence on the future of action, horror, and drama cinema both in Japan and abroad.

Tura Satana, Barbarella "Haji" Catton, and Lori Williams, seen here on the set of "Faster Pussycat! Kill, kill!" (1965). I've talked about this movie before, I love it. The absolutely shameless exploitation of attention-grabbing violence and sex appeal in this movie are unmatched.

Pam Grier as Foxy Brown (1974). I love her work in pulpy action cinema, the use of violence as a part of a motif that feels fun, stylish, and gritty at the same time in that era was unique and just can't be replicated.

Barbara Hershey as the titular Boxcar Bertha (1972). She's iconic as a grimy gangster in rural 1930s America. This movie has so much unqiue flavor and I love Barbera Hershey's performance as a dainty innocent girl on the outside hiding her true nature as a violent gangster.

Anyway I love grimy ass B movies from the 1960s/70s. The unapologetic subversiveness of their creators always fascinated me as much as the content itself. They are hugely influential on me.

[toomanyrobins2]

Christmas in Gotham

Summary: An orphan all her life, Y/N is simply too old to remain at The Bowery Home any longer. That is where an anonymous patron has swooped in to send her off to college and all he requires…a monthly letter of her academic progress.

Based off the book and musical “Daddy Long Legs”

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader

last part // series masterlist // next part

Notes: I'm finally getting around to updating this fic! If you would like to catch up and get more consistent updates to this story and others I would go to by AO3!

From the Home of the Gordon Family

31st December

Dear Batman,

I meant to write to you before and thank you for your Christmas cheque, but life in the Gordon household is very absorbing, and I don't seem able to find two consecutive minutes to spend at a desk.

I bought a new gown—one that I didn't need, but just wanted. My Christmas present this year is from Batman; my family just sent love.

I've been having the most beautiful vacation visiting Barbara. She lives in a big old-fashioned brick house with white trimmings set back from the street—exactly the kind of house that I used to look at so curiously when I was in the Bowery Home, and wonder what it could be like inside. I never expected to see with my own eyes—but here I am! Everything is so comfortable and restful and homelike; I walk from room to room and drink in the furnishings.

It is the most perfect house for children to be brought up in; with shadowy nooks for hide and seek, and open fireplaces for pop-corn, and an attic to romp in on rainy days and slippery banisters with a comfortable flat knob at the bottom, and a great big sunny kitchen, and a nice, fat, sunny cook who has lived in the family thirteen years and always saves out a piece of dough for the children to bake. Just the sight of such a house makes you want to be a child all over again.

And as for families! I never dreamed they could be so nice. Barbara has a father and mother and grandmother, and the sweetest three-year-old baby sister all over curls, and a medium-sized brother who always forgets to wipe his feet, and a big, good-looking brother named Jimmie, who is a junior at Princeton. 

Bruce's eyes scanned the words on the paper, his usually stoic expression revealing a flicker of surprise and something akin to dismay. He couldn't deny the unease that settled in his chest at the mention of this mysterious young man. The thought of Y/N, someone he had mentored and grown fond of, showing interest in someone else triggered an unexpected pang of discomfort.

A low groan escaped him as he set the letter down on the desk. The idea of Y/N having an interest in a man didn't sit well with him, stirring emotions he hadn't anticipated. He couldn't quite put his finger on why it bothered him so, but the realization that she might be drawn to someone outside their mentor-mentee relationship brought a sense of unrest.

Leaning back in his chair, Bruce ran a hand through his hair, contemplating how to react to Y/N's letter. He couldn't deny the connection they shared, and the notion of someone else vying for her attention created a subtle tension in the air. 

We have the jolliest times at the table— everybody laughs and jokes and talks at once, and we don't have to say grace beforehand. It's a relief not having to thank Somebody for every mouthful you eat. (I dare say I'm blasphemous; but you'd be, too, if you'd offered as much obligatory thanks as I have.)

Such a lot of “things we've done—I can't begin to tell you about them. Mr. Gordon is the Commissioner of Gotham and Christmas Eve he had a tree for the officers’ children. It was in the long packing room which was decorated with evergreens and holly. Jimmie Gordon was dressed as Santa Claus and Barbara and I helped him distribute the presents.

Dear me, Batman, but it was a funny sensation! I felt as benevolent as a Trustee of the John Grier home. I kissed one sweet, sticky little boy—but I don't think I patted any of them on the head!

And two days after Christmas, they gave a dance at their own house for ME. It was the first really true ball I ever attended—college doesn't count where we dance with girls. I had a new white evening gown (your Christmas present—many thanks) and long white gloves and white satin slippers. The only drawback to my perfect, utter, absolute happiness was the fact that Mrs. Lippett couldn't see me leading the cotillion with Jimmie Gordon. Tell her about it, please, the next time you visit the B. H.

Also, who should have been invited to this event but Mr. Bruce Wayne himself! Apparently he is friends with the Gordons and I had the opportunity to thank him again in person for the lovely chocolates. He introduced me to his friends and inquired about my education and recommended a book to me. In the most gentlemanly of actions, he sent the book to the Gordon home the next day with a note that I should keep the book and add it to my personal collection. He says that every respectable writer should have a collection of books and I find that I agree with him completely. I find myself dreaming of a day where i can live in a grand home and collect books to my heart’s content.

Yours ever,

Y/N Abbott

PS. Have you ever read Gulliver’s Travel? I wonder what you would think of such a fantastical novel!

PPS. Would you be terribly displeased, Bats, if I didn't turn out to be a Great Author after all, but just a Plain Girl?

[dear-indies]

full list of biden letter 2:

Aaron Bay-Schuck Aaron Sorkin Adam & Jackie Sandler Adam Goodman Adam Levine Alan Grubman Alex Aja Alex Edelman Alexandra Shiva Ali Wentworth Alison Statter Allan Loeb Alona Tal Amy Chozick Amy Pascal Amy Schumer Amy Sherman Palladino Andrew Singer Andy Cohen Angela Robinson Anthony Russo Antonio Campos Ari Dayan Ari Greenburg Arik Kneller Aron Coleite Ashley Levinson Asif Satchu Aubrey Plaza Barbara Hershey Barry Diller Barry Levinson Barry Rosenstein Beau Flynn Behati Prinsloo Bella Thorne Ben Stiller Ben Turner Ben Winston Ben Younger Billy Crystal Blair Kohan Bob Odenkirk Bobbi Brown Bobby Kotick Brad Falchuk Brad Slater Bradley Cooper Bradley Fischer Brett Gelman Brian Grazer Bridget Everett Brooke Shields Bruna Papandrea Cameron Curtis Casey Neistat Cazzie David

Charles Roven Chelsea Handler Chloe Fineman Chris Fischer Chris Jericho Chris Rock Christian Carino Cindi Berger Claire Coffee Colleen Camp Constance Wu Courteney Cox Craig Silverstein Dame Maureen Lipman Dan Aloni Dan Rosenweig Dana Goldberg Dana Klein Daniel Palladino Danielle Bernstein Danny Cohen Danny Strong Daphne Kastner David Alan Grier David Baddiel David Bernad David Chang David Ellison David Geffen David Gilmour & David Goodman David Joseph David Kohan David Lowery David Oyelowo David Schwimmer Dawn Porter Dean Cain Deborah Lee Furness Deborah Snyder Debra Messing Diane Von Furstenberg Donny Deutsch Doug Liman Douglas Chabbott Eddy Kitsis Edgar Ramirez Eli Roth Elisabeth Shue Elizabeth Himelstein Embeth Davidtz Emma Seligman Emmanuelle Chriqui Eric Andre Erik Feig Erin Foster Eugene Levy Evan Jonigkeit Evan Winiker Ewan McGregor Francis Benhamou Francis Lawrence Fred Raskin Gabe Turner Gail Berman Gal Gadot Gary Barber Gene Stupinski Genevieve Angelson Gideon Raff Gina Gershon Grant Singer Greg Berlanti Guy Nattiv Guy Oseary Gwyneth Paltrow Hannah Fidell Hannah Graf Harlan Coben Harold Brown Harvey Keitel Henrietta Conrad Henry Winkler Holland Taylor Howard Gordon Iain Morris Imran Ahmed Inbar Lavi Isla Fisher Jack Black Jackie Sandler Jake Graf Jake Kasdan James Brolin James Corden Jamie Ray Newman Jaron Varsano Jason Biggs & Jenny Mollen Biggs Jason Blum Jason Fuchs Jason Reitman Jason Segel Jason Sudeikis JD Lifshitz Jeff Goldblum Jeff Rake Jen Joel Jeremy Piven Jerry Seinfeld Jesse Itzler Jesse Plemons Jesse Sisgold Jessica Biel Jessica Elbaum Jessica Seinfeld Jill Littman Jimmy Carr Jody Gerson

Joe Hipps Joe Quinn Joe Russo Joe Tippett Joel Fields Joey King John Landgraf John Slattery Jon Bernthal Jon Glickman Jon Hamm Jon Liebman Jonathan Baruch Jonathan Groff Jonathan Marc Sherman Jonathan Ross Jonathan Steinberg Jonathan Tisch Jonathan Tropper Jordan Peele Josh Brolin Josh Charles Josh Goldstine Josh Greenstein Josh Grode Judd Apatow Judge Judy Sheindlin Julia Garner Julia Lester Julianna Margulies Julie Greenwald Julie Rudd Juliette Lewis Justin Theroux Justin Timberlake Karen Pollock Karlie Kloss Katy Perry Kelley Lynch Kevin Kane Kevin Zegers Kirsten Dunst Kitao Sakurai KJ Steinberg Kristen Schaal Kristin Chenoweth Lana Del Rey Laura Dern Laura Pradelska Lauren Schuker Blum Laurence Mark Laurie David Lea Michele Lee Eisenberg Leo Pearlman Leslie Siebert Liev Schreiber Limor Gott Lina Esco Liz Garbus Lizanne Rosenstein Lizzie Tisch Lorraine Schwartz Lynn Harris Lyor Cohen Madonna Mandana Dayani Mara Buxbaum Marc Webb Marco Perego Maria Dizzia Mark Feuerstein Mark Foster Mark Scheinberg Mark Shedletsky Martin Short Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mathew Rosengart Matt Lucas Matt Miller Matthew Bronfman Matthew Hiltzik Matthew Weiner Matti Leshem Max Mutchnik Maya Lasry Meaghan Oppenheimer Melissa Zukerman Michael Aloni Michael Ellenberg Michael Green Michael Rapino Michael Rappaport Michael Weber Michelle Williams Mike Medavoy Mila Kunis Mimi Leder Modi Wiczyk Molly Shannon Nancy Josephson Natasha Leggero

Neil Blair Neil Druckmann Nicola Peltz Nicole Avant Nina Jacobson Noa Kirel Noa Tishby Noah Oppenheim Noah Schnapp Noreena Hertz Odeya Rush Olivia Wilde Oran Zegman Orlando Bloom Pasha Kovalev Pattie LuPone Paul & Julie Rudd Paul Haas Paul Pflug Peter Traugott Polly Sampson Rachel Riley Rafi Marmor Ram Bergman Raphael Margulies Rebecca Angelo Rebecca Mall Regina Spektor Reinaldo Marcus Green Rich Statter Richard Jenkins Richard Kind Rick Hoffman Rick Rosen Rita Ora Rob Rinder Robert Newman Roger Birnbaum Roger Green Rosie O’Donnell Ross Duffer Ryan Feldman Sacha Baron Cohen Sam Levinson Sam Trammell Sara Foster Sarah Baker Sarah Bremner Sarah Cooper Sarah Paulson Sarah Treem Scott Braun Scott Braun Scott Neustadter Scott Tenley Sean Combs Seth Meyers Seth Oster Shannon Watts Shari Redstone Sharon Jackson Sharon Stone Shauna Perlman Shawn Levy Sheila Nevins Shira Haas Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Tikhman Skylar Astin Stacey Snider Stephen Fry Steve Agee Steve Rifkind Sting & Trudie Styler Susanna Felleman Susie Arons Taika Waititi Thomas Kail Tiffany Haddish Todd Lieberman Todd Moscowitz Todd Waldman Tom Freston Tom Werner Tomer Capone Tracy Ann Oberman Trudie Styler Tyler James Williams Tyler Perry Vanessa Bayer Veronica Grazer Veronica Smiley Whitney Wolfe Herd

Will Ferrell Will Graham Yamanieka Saunders Yariv Milchan Ynon Kreiz Zack Snyder Zoe Saldana Zoey Deutch Zosia Mamet

[omgellendean]

The text of the letter and names of the celebrities that signed it under the cut.

"October 23, 2023 

Dear President Biden,

We are heartened by Friday’s release of the two American hostages, Judith Ranaan and her daughter Natalie Ranaan and by today’s release of two Israelis, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husbands remain in captivity.

But our relief is tempered by our overwhelming concern that 220 innocent people, including 30 children, remain captive by terrorists, threatened with torture and death. They were taken by Hamas in the savage massacre of October 7, where over 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered - women raped, families burned alive, and infants beheaded. 

Thank you for your unshakable moral conviction, leadership, and support for the Jewish people, who have been terrorized by Hamas since the group’s founding over 35 years ago, and for the Palestinians, who have also been terrorized, oppressed, and victimized by Hamas for the last 17 years that the group has been governing Gaza.

We all want the same thing: Freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace. Freedom from the brutal violence spread by Hamas. And most urgently, in this moment, freedom for the hostages. 

We urge everyone to not rest until all hostages are released. No hostage can be left behind. Whether American, Argentinian, Australian, Azerbaijani, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Eritrean, Filipino, French, German, Indian, Israeli, Italian, Kazakh, Mexican, Panamanian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South African, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Thai, Ukrainian, Uzbekistani or otherwise, we need to bring them home. 

Sincerely, 

Aaron Bay-Schuck Aaron Sorkin Adam Berkowitz  Adam Goodman Adam Levine Adam & Jackie Sandler Adee Drexler  Alan Grubman Alex Aja Alex Edelman Alexandra Shiva Ali Wentworth Alison Statter Allan Loeb Alona Tal Amy Chozick Amy Pascal Amy Schumer Amy Sherman Palladino Andrew Singer Andy Cohen Angela Robinson Ant Hines Anthony Russo  Antonio Campos Ari Dayan Ari Greenburg Ariel Martin  Arik Kneller Aron Coleite Ashley Levinson Asif Satchu Aubrey Plaza Barbara Hershey Barry Diller Barry Josephson Barry Levinson Barry Rosenstein Beau Flynn Behati Prinsloo Bella Thorne Ben Stiller Ben Turner Ben Winston Ben Younger Billy Crystal Blair Kohan Bob Odenkirk Bobbi Brown Bobby Kotick Brad Falchuk Brad Slater Bradley Cooper Bradley Fischer Brett Gelman Brian Grazer Bridget Everett Brooke Shields Bruna Papandrea Cameron Curtis

Carin Sage Casey Neistat Cazzie David Charles Randolph  Charles Roven Chelsea Handler Chloe Fineman Chris Fischer Chris Jericho Chris Pine Chris Rock Christian Carino Cindi Berger Claire Coffee Colleen Camp Constance Wu Cory Litwin Courteney Cox Craig Silverstein Dame Maureen Lipman Dan Aloni Dan Mazer  Dan Rosenweig Dan Swimer Dana Goldberg Dana Klein Daniel Glass

Daniel Palladino

Danielle Bernstein

Danny A. Abeckaser

Danny Cohen

Danny Strong

Daphne Kastner

David Alan Grier

David Baddiel

David Bernad

David Chang

David Ellison

David Geffen

David Gilmour &

Polly Sampson

David Goodman

David Joseph

David Kohan

David Lowery

David Oyelowo

David Schwimmer

Dawn Porter

Dean Cain Deborah Lee Furness Deborah Snyder Debra Messing Diane Von Furstenberg Donny Deutsch Doug Liman Douglas Chabbott Eddy Kitsis Edgar Ramirez Eli Roth Elisabeth Shue Elizabeth Himelstein Embeth Davidtz Emmanuelle Chriqui  Eric Andre Erik Feig Erin Foster Eugene Levy Evan Jonigkeit Evan Winiker Ewan McGregor Francis Benhamou Francis Lawrence Fred Raskin Gabe Turner Gail Berman Gal Gadot Gary Barber Gene Stupinski Genevieve Angelson Gideon Raff Gina Gershon Ginnifer Goodwin  Grant Singer Greg Berlanti Guy Nattiv Guy Oseary Gwyneth Paltrow Hannah Fidell Hannah Graf Harlan Coben Harold Brown Harvey Keitel Helen Mirren Henrietta Conrad Henry Winkler

Heidi Jo Markel Holland Taylor Howard Gordon Iain Morris Imran Ahmed Inbar Lavi Isla Fisher JD Lifshitz Jack Black Jackie Sandler Jake Graf Jake Kasdan  James Brolin James Corden Jamie Ray Newman Jaron Varsano Jason Blum Jason Fuchs Jason Reitman Jason Segel Jason Sudeikis

Jason Biggs &

Jenny Mollen Biggs

Jeanne Newman

Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Levin

Jeff Rake

Jeffrey Best

Jen Joel

Jennifer Morrison

Jeremy Piven

Jerry Seinfeld 

Jesse Itzler

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Sisgold

Jessica Biel

Jessica Elbaum

Jessica Seinfeld

Jill Littman

Jimmy Carr

Jody Gerson

Joe Hipps

Joe Quinn

Joe Russo

Joe Tippett

Joel Fields 

Joey King

John Landgraf 

John Slattery

Jon Bernthal

Jon Glickman Jon Hamm Jon Harmon Feldman  Jon Liebman Jon Watts Jon Weinbach  Jonathan Baruch Jonathan Groff  Jonathan Marc Sherman Jonathan Ross Jonathan Steinberg Jonathan Tisch Jonathan Tropper Jordan Peele Josh Brolin Josh Charles Josh Dallas Josh Goldstine Josh Greenstein Josh Grode Josh Singer Judd Apatow Judge Judy Sheindlin Julia Fox  Julia Garner Julia Lester  Julianna Margulies Julie Greenwald Julie Rudd Julie Singer  Juliette Lewis Jullian Morris Justin Theroux Justin Timberlake KJ Steinberg Karen Pollock Karlie Kloss Katy Perry Kelley Lynch Kevin Kane Kevin Zegers Kirsten Dunst Kitao Sakurai Kristen Schaal Kristin Chenoweth Lana Del Rey Laura Benanti  Laura Dern Laura Pradelska Lauren Schuker Blum Laurence Mark  Laurie David Lea Michele Lee Eisenberg Leo Pearlman  Leslie Siebert Liev Schreiber Limor Gott  Lina Esco Liz Garbus Lizanne Rosenstein Lizzie Tisch Lorraine Schwartz Lynn Harris Lyor Cohen Madonna Mandana Dayani Mara Buxbaum

Marc Webb

Marco Perego

Maria Dizzia

Mark Feuerstein

Mark Foster

Mark Scheinberg

Mark Shedletsky

Martin Short

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Mary McCormack

Mathew Rosengart

Matt Geller 

Matt Lucas

Matt Miller

Matthew Bronfman

Matthew Hiltzik

Matthew Weiner

Matti Leshem

Max Mutchnik

Maya Lasry

Meaghan Oppenheimer

Melissa Zukerman

Melissa rudderman 

Michael Aloni Michael Ellenberg Michael Green Michael Rapino Neil Blair Neil Druckmann Neil Paris Nicola Peltz Nicole Avant Nina Jacobson Noa Kirel  Noa Tishby Noah Oppenheim Noah Schnapp Noreena Hertz Octavia Spencer Odeya Rush Olivia Wilde Oran Zegman Orlando Bloom Pasha Kovalev Pattie LuPone Patty Jenkins Paul Haas Paul Pflug Paul & Julie Rudd Peter Baynham  Peter Traugott Rachel Douglas Rachel Riley Rafi Marmor Ram Bergman Raphael Margulies  Rebecca Angelo Rebecca Mall Regina Spektor Reinaldo Marcus Green Rich Statter Richard Jenkins Richard Kind Rick Hoffman Rick Rosen Rita Ora Rob Rinder Robert Newman Roger Birnbaum Roger Green Rosie O’Donnell Ross Duffer Ryan Feldman Sacha Baron Cohen Sam Levinson Sam Trammell Sara Berman Sara Foster Sarah Baker Sarah Bremner Sarah Cooper Sarah Paulson Sarah Treem Scott Braun Scott Braun Scott Neustadter Scott Tenley Sean Combs Sean Levy  Seth Meyers Seth Oster Shannon Watts Shari Redstone Sharon Jackson Sharon Stone Shauna Perlman Shawn Levy Sheila Nevins Shira Haas Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Tikhman Skylar Astin  Stacey Snider Stephen Fry Steve Agee Steve Rifkind Sting & Trudie Styler  Susanna Felleman Susie Arons  Taika Waititi Thomas Kail Tiffany Haddish Todd Lieberman Todd Moscowitz Todd Waldman Tom Freston Tom Werner Tomer Capone  Tracy Ann Oberman Trudie Styler Tyler Henry Tyler James Williams Tyler Perry Vanessa Bayer  Veronica Grazer Veronica Smiley Whitney Wolfe Herd Will Ferrell Will Graham Yamanieka Saunders Yariv Milchan Ynon Kreiz Zack Snyder Zoe Saldana Zoey Deutch Zosia Mamet

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

Source: Dancing In The Dark; Erotic Love Stories - edited by Barbara Grier and Christine Cassidy

[lesbrarycollection]

1981: The Lesbian in Literature (3rd edition) by Barbara Grier

Grier Ratings: During the 1960s, while Grier worked at The Ladder, she was involved in the creation of a bibliography of lesbian literature, The Lesbian in Literature. She used the name Gene Damon for that bibliography, but her rating system for lesbian literature would come to be known as Grier Ratings. Grier rated lesbian literature on a letter scale for how prominent the lesbian subject was to the story and a range of 1 to 3 asterisks for the quality of the representation:

🅰️⭐⭐⭐ A rating of 'A***' had lesbian characters with very sympathetic portrayals.

🅰️ A rating of 'A' without an asterisk meant there was a major lesbian component but not sympathetically portrayed.

🅱️ / ©️ The B and C ratings were for works with lesbian subplots or suppressed/coded lesbian themes.

🚮 Books that contained voyeuristic and demeaning representations of lesbians were rated as 'T (Trash)'.

Barbara Grier (1933--2011) is credited for having built the lesbian book industry. After editing The Ladder magazine, published by the lesbian civil rights group Daughters of Bilitis, she co-founded a lesbian book-publishing company Naiad Press, which achieved publicity and became the world's largest publisher of lesbian books. She built a major collection of lesbian literature, catalogued with detailed indexing of topics.

Grier realized she was a lesbian at age twelve after researching the topic at the library. She told her mother that she was homosexual, and her mother replied, "No, because you're a woman, you're a lesbian. And since 12 years old is too young to make such a decision, let's wait six months before we tell the newspapers." Yet, Grier's mother was supportive. When Grier was fifteen, her mother gifted her a copy of The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall and Of Lena Geyer (1936) by Marcia Davenport. This would be the start of Grier's collection of lesbian literature. She describes her collection of lesbian-themed books as Lesbiana, a collection that was fueled by a "love affair with lesbian publishing."

In 1957, Grier subscribed to The Ladder, a magazine edited by members of the Daughters of Bilitis. Grier began writing book reviews for The Ladder, using multiple pen names in her writings including Gene Damon, Marilyn Barrow, Gladys Casey, Terry Cook, Dorthy Lyle, Vern Niven, Lennox Strong, and Lee Stuart. The Ladder was the center of Grier's life in the 1950s and 60s. Some issues were completely written by her. Although it was primarily compiled by Grier, hundreds of women contributed information for this book.

In 1973, Grier co-founded Naiad Press along with Donna McBride, Anyda Marchant, and Muriel Crawford (Marchant's partner). They founded the venture with $2,000 pooled between them. Grier and McBride ran Naiad from Kansas City until 1980 when it relocated to Tallahassee, Florida. Both Grier and McBride continued to work other full-time jobs until 1982 when they dedicated all their time to the publishing company. Naiad Press went on to become the world's largest publisher of lesbian books.

Some complained that the books published by Naiad Press were always romances or mysteries with happy endings. But Grier said repeatedly that what she wanted was to reach the lesbians in Middle America who were in the closet and who deserved to have books about their lives, too.

Naiad's inventory included mysteries, romances, and science fiction novels. The press also reprinted classics of lesbian writing, including Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker series. Naiad also produced non-fiction books. Rosemary Curb and Nancy Manahan's Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence (1985) was among the most successful. Naiad Press' most controversial publication was Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, a work of non-fiction that was banned in Boston and criticized by the Catholic Church. Grier paid ex-nuns Rosemary Kurb and Nancy Manahan a half million dollars for the book which landed Grier on numerous talk shows.

By 1994, the company had a staff of 8 and projected sales of $1.8 million US. In 1992, Grier and McBride donated Naiad's entire collection to the San Francisco Public Library, which consisted of a tractor trailer full of 14,000 books estimated at $400,000 US.

Grier and McBride retired in 2005. They gradually let their books go out of print before closing Naiad Press' doors. The heir to Naiad Press became Bella Books of Ferndale, Michigan. Bella Books was founded in 2001 by Kelly Smith, who spent eighteen months working for Naiad in the late 1990s. Grier was very supportive of Bella Books, and noted that almost all of the Naiad writers have signed on with Smith.

- Title: "The Lesbian in Literature: 3rd Edition"

- Author(s) / Editor(s): Barbara Grier

-Year 1st Published: 1981

- Year of Reprint My Copy Is (if applicable): N

- Publisher: Naiad Press

- Page Numbers: 168

- # in series: N/A

- Genre(s): Nonfiction, Reference, Guide

- Is It An Ex-library Copy (and from where?): N

- Author's signature (if applicable): N

- Have I Read It?: Y

- Is It On Loan (and to which friend?): N

- Is it on Internet Archive: Y

- Average Goodreads Rating, out of 5 Stars (as of 15/10/2023): 4.0

- Amount of Goodreads Ratings (as of 15/10/2023): 11 ratings

- Amount of Goodreads Reviews (as of 15/10/2023): 0 reviews

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A post shared by The Vintage Lesbian Library Book Collection (@lesbrarycollection)

[are-they-z]

Supporters of #NoHostageLeftBehind Open Letter to Joe Biden - Part 1/2

The letter consists of lies, no mention of Palestinian genocides, and a call for ceasefire.

Read the full letter:

Dear President Biden,

We are heartened by Friday's release of the two American hostages, Judith Ranaan and her daughter Natalie Ranaan [Raanan] and by today's release of two Israelis, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husbands remain in captivity.

But our relief is tempered by our overwhelming concern that 220 innocent people, including 30 children, remain captive by terrorists, threatened with torture and death. They were taken by Hamas in the savage massacre of October 7, where over 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered—women raped, families burned alive, and infants beheaded.

Thank you for your unshakable moral conviction, leadership, and support for the Jewish people, who have been terrorized by Hamas since the group's founding over 35 years ago, and for the Palestinians, who have also been terrorized, oppressed, and victimized by Hamas for the last 17 years that the group has been governing Gaza.

We all want the same thing: Freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace. Freedom from the brutal violence spread by Hamas. And most urgently, in this moment, freedom for the hostages.

We urge everyone to not rest until all hostages are released. No hostage can be left behind. Whether American, Argentinian, Australian, Azerbaijani, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Eritrean, Filipino, French, German, Indian, Israeli, Italian, Kazakh, Mexican, Panamanian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South African, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Thai, Ukrainian, Uzbekistani or otherwise, we need to bring them home.

Supporters:

Adam & Jackie Sandler

Amy Schumer

Aaron Sorkin

Barry Diller

Behati Prinsloo

Bella Thorne

Ben Stiller

Bob Odenkirk

Bobbi Brown

Bradley Cooper

Brett Gelman

Chris Rock

Constance Wu

Courteney Cox

David Alan Grier

David Chang

David Geffen

David Oyelowo

Diane Von Furstenberg

Eli Roth

Emma Seligman

Eric Andre

Ewan McGregor

Gal Gadot

Gwyneth Paltrow

Harvey Keitel

Isla Fisher

Jack Black

James Brolin

Jason Blum

Jason Sudeikis

Jeff Goldblum

Jerry Seinfeld

Jesse Plemons

Jessica Biel

Jessica Seinfeld

Joey King

John Slattery

Jon Hamm

Jordan Peele

Josh Brolin

Judd Apatow

Judge Judy Sheindlin

Julia Garner

Julianna Margulies

Julie Rudd

Justin Theroux

Justin Timberlake

Karlie Kloss

Katy Perry

Kirsten Dunst

Lana Del Rey

Laura Dern

Liev Schreiber

Madonna

Martin Short

Michelle Williams

Mila Kunis

Nicola Peltz

Noa Tishby

Olivia Wilde

Orlando Bloom

Paul & Julie Rudd

Richard Jenkins

Rita Ora

Ross Duffer

Sacha Baron Cohen

Sam Levinson

Sarah Paulson

Sean Combs

Shira Haas

Sting & Trudie Styler

Taika Waititi

Thomas Kail

Tiffany Haddish

Tyler Perry

Will Ferrell

Andy Cohen

Alex Edelman

Amy Sherman Palladino

Aubrey Plaza

Barry Levinson

Billy Crystal

Brad Falchuk

Brian Grazer

Bridget Everett

Brooke Shields

Chelsea Handler

Chloe Fineman

Chris Jericho

Colleen Camp

David Schwimmer

Dawn Porter

Dean Cain

Debra Messing

Elisabeth Shue

Erin Foster

Eugene Levy

Gene Stupinski

Gina Gershon

Guy Oseary

Henry Winkler

Holland Taylor

James Corden

Jason Reitman

Jessica Elbaum

Jimmy Carr

Jonathan Ross

Josh Charles

Juliette Lewis

Kristen Schaal

Kristin Chenoweth

Lea Michele

Mark Foster

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Matthew Weiner

Michael Rappaport

Molly Shannon

Noah Schnapp

Pattie LuPone

Regina Spektor

Sara Foster

Sarah Cooper

Scott Braun

Seth Meyers

Sharon Stone

Zack Snyder

Zoey Deutch

Zosia Mamet

Zoe Saldana

Alex Aja

Aaron Bay-Schuck

Amy Chozick

Aron Coleite

Adam Goodman

Alan Grubman

Adam Levine

Allan Loeb

Amy Pascal

Angela Robinson

Antonio Campos

Anthony Russo

Alexandra Shiva

Andrew Singer

Alison Statter

Alona Tal

Ali Wentworth

Ari Dayan

Ari Greenburg

Arik Kneller

Ashley Levinson

Asif Satchu

Barbara Hershey

Barry Rosenstein

Beau Flynn

Ben Turner

Ben Winston

Ben Younger

Blair Kohan

Bobby Kotick

Brad Slater

Bradley Fischer

Bruna Papandrea

Cameron Curtis

Casey Neistat

Cazzie David

Charles Roven

Chris Fischer

Christian Carino

Cindi Berger

Claire Coffee

Craig Silverstein

Dan Aloni

Dan Rosenweig

Dana Goldberg

Dana Klein

Danny Strong

Daniel Palladino

Danielle Bernstein

Danny Cohen

Daphne Kastner

David Bernad

David Baddiel

David Ellison

David Gilmour &

Polly Sampson

David Goodman

David Joseph

David Kohan

David Lowery

Deborah Lee Furness

Deborah Snyder

Donny Deutsch

Doug Liman

Douglas Chabbott

Eddy Kitsis

Edgar Ramirez

Elizabeth Himelstein

Embeth Davidtz

Emmanuelle Chriqui

Erik Feig

Evan Jonigkeit

Evan Winiker

Francis Benhamou

Francis Lawrence

Fred Raskin

[uwmspeccoll]

Steamy Saturday

The novel that dares to tell the truth about a perverse love.

Theirs was a love no man could share!

Draga yielded her long-legged girlishness to unnatural embraces. . . . it was an ecstasy such as Draga had never known.

Her lips were tender and clinging as she pressed them to Jo's voluptuous flesh. . . .

She was on the brink of total perversion. . . . Draga's only hope now was -- a man!

Oh, the steaminess of it all!! Carol Emory's pulp novel Queer Affair was published in New York as a Beacon Book, an imprint of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corp., in 1957, and even by today's standards, the sexual frankness of the novel is pretty steamy. Unfortunately, because it's the 1950s, a fully-realized lesbian relationship will not stand. At least one of the partners has to be off her nut (in this case, Jo), while in the end male heroes come to the rescue.

The story centers around up-and-coming dancer Draga Hamilton who is introduced to celebrity sculptor Jo Stanhope by Draga's lawyer Gilbert Young who is desperately in love with Jo. Jo, however, has other ideas, as she seduces the vulnerable Draga and they begin a torrid love affair, which, as already stated, is quite frankly narrated. Draga is head-over-heels, until of course her old flame Ronnie Marsh shows up on the scene and ruins everything for Jo.

In the end, the whole sordid love quadrangle literally devolves into a barely-suppressed S&M encounter. Jo takes her revenge on Draga's infidelity by grabbing a bullwhip that is inexplicably hung on the wall and beats Draga almost senseless with it. The whipping, however, sends both into a building sexual frenzy until both Gilbert and Ronnie come bursting through the door. Ronnie whisks Draga out of harm's way (at least as he perceives it), and Gilbert gives Jo a taste of her own whipping medicine, to which both react with this memorable passage:

Jo Stanhope looked up at him with misted eyes. "Oh, Gilbert -- you've done something for me. You've rescued me. Why, it--it was --" "Never mind," Gilbert said. "And you won't find it so bad being married to me. After all, I'm sort of womanish, you know."

Meanwhile, Draga is recovering in Ronnie's soothing arms, to which she responds, "Move over a little, sweetheart . . . I want to sit in your lap." THE END. Ugh!!

Despite Queer Affair being mentioned in several texts on early lesbian pulp novels, we could find nothing on the author Carol Emory, who we suspect is possibly a man. Nevertheless, the author makes sure early on that the reader knows Emery has done their homework on lesbianism:

Gilbert had warned her that the sculptress was a lesbian, but at the time the fact had seemed to her irrelevant. Love between women was not altogether a new and startling idea to Draga. She had read many books on the subject, including those by Radclyffe Hall and Diana Fredericks.

Appropriately, Barbara Grier, in her iconic The Lesbian in Literature, gives Queer Affair a rating of A for having "a major lesbian component but not sympathetically portrayed." While we may not know who Carol Emory is, we do know that the butch/femme cover art is by Frank Uppwall and was first painted for another pulp novel, Gutter Star by Dorine B. Clark, published in 1954, and then reissued for the cover of Queer Affair three years later.

View more posts on lesbian romance fiction.

View more LGBTQ+ posts.

View other pulp fiction posts.

[kwebtv]

The Seekers  -  Syndicated - July 8 - 9, 1979

Historical Drama (2 episodes)

Running Time:  240 minutes

Stars:

Randolph Mantooth as Abraham Kent

Edie Adams as Flora Cato

Neville Brand as Captain Isaac Drew

Delta Burke as Elizabeth Fletcher Kent

John Carradine as Avery Mills

George Deloy as Gilbert Kent

Julie Gregg as Edna Clapper

Rosey Grier as Amos Samuels

George Hamilton as Lt.  Hamilton Stovall

Alex Hyde-White as Oliver Prouty

Harriet Karr as Harriet Kent

Brian Keith as Elijah Weatherby

Donald Mantooth as Plenty Coup

Ross Martin as Supply Pleasant

Gary Merrill as Captain Hull

Martin Milner as Philip Kent

Vic Morrow as Leland Pell

Timothy P Murphy as Jarod Kent

Hugh O'Brian as Andrew Piggot

Robert Reed as Daniel Clapper

Allan Rich as General “Mad Anthony” Wayne

Barbara Rush as Peggy Kent

Sarah Rush as Amanda Kent

Stuart Whitman as Reverend Blackthorn

[gatheringbones]

[“The fact that my body has become a source of at least as much misery as pleasure has paradoxically made it easier for me to stop calling myself a lesbian and use the term bisexual instead. I just don’t have the energy any more to hold up facades. Back in 1971, I initially told people I was bisexual, but discovered this meant that straight people saw me as a heterosexual who occasionally dabbled in not-very-serious sex with “other girls,” while gay people saw me as a dyke who hadn’t come all the way out of the closet yet. Nobody trusted me, and nobody would dance with me. In 1980, when Sapphistry was about to be published and my first article about lesbian S/M appeared in The Advocate, I said in that article that if I had a choice between being marooned on a desert island with a vanilla dyke or a leather boy, I would take the boy. I got an extremely irate phone call from Barbara Grier, owner of Naiad, the company that was going to publish Sapphistry, informing me that they did not publish books by bisexual women, and if that was what I was, she would yank the book. Already in the midst of a firestorm about being public as a sadomasochist, I acquiesced, and delayed this coming out by another twenty years. I became “a lesbian who sometimes has sex with men.”

I still think this is a valid category, and remain unconvinced that the most important thing you can know about someone’s sexuality is the preferred gender of their partner. But today I’d rather not argue about it. I need to keep things as simple as possible. Bisexual people are still being excluded from the gay community’s cultural and political life. And I find myself being personally affected by that exclusion. It hurts me and makes me angry in a way that it would not, I think, if I were not on some level affiliated with bisexuals. I would rather stand with a group of people who don’t expect me to turn myself into a pretzel to explain what makes my dick get hard. This doesn’t mean I think it’s wrong or passé to be a Kinsey 6. But I do think a quest for purity of any sort is almost always morally dangerous.

Being more open about having sex with men has brought my own gender dysphoria to the fore. When I put my body up against a male body, what I notice is how hard it is for me to feel connected to my own flesh. Even more important has been the experience of loving someone who is a female-to-male transsexual (FTM), my domestic partner, Matt Rice. I knew Matt before he transitioned, and it has been such a positive change for him. By taking testosterone and getting chest surgery, he not only allowed himself to become and live as a man, he became a much better person—kinder, more patient, happier, sexier, sweeter. (Although he still won’t suffer fools gladly.) The fact that Matt has managed his transition with this degree of success gives me hope that I might be able to find a less distressing place for myself. I expect, like any other coming out, this will have its shitty aspects. But I think it will also create a greater sense of freedom and comfort.”]

pat califa, from layers of the onion, spokes of the wheel, from a woman like that: lesbian and bisexual writers tell their coming out stories, 2000

[arobinwithoutbatman]

10 fandoms/10 characters/10 tags

...am I really doing this to myself right before bed? Also, excuse the spacing I'm doing this on my phone

DC

-Stephanie Brown

-Cassandra Cain

-Tim Drake

-Dick Grayson

-Jason Todd

-Barbara Gordon

-Duke Thomas

-Damian Wayne

-Alfred Pennyworth

-Bruce Wayne

UnOrdinary

-John

-Sera

-Remi

-Blyke

-Isen

-Leilah

-Doc

-Arlo (reluctantly)

-William

-The Principle

Persona 5

-Amamiya Ren/Kurusu Akira

-Sakamoto Ryuji

-Takamaki Ann

- Morgana

-Kitagawa Yusuke

-Niijima Makoto

-Sakura Futaba

-Okumura Haru

-Akechi Gori

-Sophia

Bungou Stray Dogs (I'm so behind and can't be bothered to catch up)

-Nakahara Chuuya

-Dazai Osamu

-Kunikida Doppo

-Ozai Koyou

-Tanizaki Junichiro

-Fukuzawa Yukichi

-Yosano Akiko

-Izumi Kyoka

-Nakajima Atsushi

-Akutagawa Gin

Yu-Gi-Oh (You're getting dub names)

-Jaden Yuki

-Yusei Fudo

-Akiza

-Jack Atlus

-Crow Hogan

-Martha

-Carly Carmine

-Syrus Truesdale

-Bastion Mizawa

-Alexis Rhodes

Homestuck (im running out of fandoms okay?)

-Rose

-Roxy

-Sollux

-Kanaya

-The Dolorosa

-The Helmsman/The Psiionic

-Meenah

-Feferi

-Aradia

-Jade

Hades (Supergiant)

-Zagreus

-Thanatos

-Megaera

-Dusa

-Nyx

-Persephone

-Artemis

-Ares

-Dionysius

-Cerberus

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker

-Bryce

-Claire

-Elin

-Jaya

-Mariana

-Nathan

...there's only so many characters...

Huntik: Seekers and Secrets (If anyone else remembers this, we should qualify for elderly discounts)

-Lok Lambert

-Sophie Casterwill

-Dante Vale

-Zhalia Moon

-Cherit

-Guggenheim

-Sabriel (the Titans count as characters to me!)

-Kipperin

-Grier

-Lok's mum

Assassin's Creed

-Desmond Miles

-Shaun Hastings

-Lucy

-Rebecca

-Ezio Auditore da Firenze

-Altaïr Ibn La'Ahad

-Ratonhnhaké:ton

-Eivor

-Malik Al-Sayf

-Caterina Sforza

Tagged by: @dramatisperscnae

Tagging: Do you know how long this took me? I'm not tagging 10 people. You wanna do it? Go for it

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 5 / 10

Título Original: Stand Alone

Año: 1985

Duración: 94 min

País: Estados Unidos  

Dirección: Alan Beattie

Guion: Roy Carlson

Música: David Campbell

Fotografía: Tom Richmond, Tim Suhrstedt

Reparto: Charles Durning, Pam Grier, James Keach, Bert Remsen, Barbara Sammeth, Lu Leonard, Luis Contreras, Willard Pugh, Bob Tzudiker, Mary Ann Smith, Cory 'Bumper' Yothers, Duane Tucker, Annie O'Donnell, Robert Covarrubias, Marty Zagon, Al Christy, Mercedes Alberti, Hanala Sagal, Kerry Yo Nakagawa, Joey Miyashima, Ed Pansullo, Alan Abelew, Thomas Rosales Jr., Del Zamora, Chester Grimes

Productora:  Texas Star Productions. Distribuidora: New World Pictures, New World Video, Scorpion, Starmaker Entertainment [USA]

Género: Drama; Action

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090062/

TRAILER: