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Exploring Gay Male Erotic Art: An Interview with Edward Lucie-Smith

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International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies

Abstract

The last twenty-five years have seen the emergence of a transnational gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender (GLBT)/queer cultural movement unprecedented historically in its scope and openness. This interview with British art historian and critic Edward Lucie-Smith examines the role of gay male erotic art and film within that movement. Taking its start from the centrality of same-sex sexual orientation to the sense of gay identity and the importance of erotic art in validating that identity, it explores the historical, psychological, and social significance of a branch of visual art that until recent decades was not even acknowledged to exist, much less considered an appropriate subject of scholarly interest. By discussing gay male erotic art within a serious art-historical context, the article aims at providing a framework for examining the topic more systematically within the GLBT/queer studies domain.

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Strong, L. Exploring Gay Male Erotic Art: An Interview with Edward Lucie-Smith. International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies 3, 135–155 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023296411351

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023296411351

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