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Homosexuality Inverted: José Sarria's Performance Archive and the Making of Nelly Queens, 1958–1963.

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Title: Homosexuality Inverted: José Sarria's Performance Archive and the Making of Nelly Queens, 1958–1963.
Authors: Reithmayr, Mori (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of the History of Sexuality. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p270-301. 32p.
Subject Terms: *Archives, *Gender, Drag queens, LGBTQ+ activists, Homosexuality, LGBTQ+ people, Gay rights movement, Civil rights workers
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: At the height of postwar antigay oppression, San Franciscan activist and female impersonator José Sarria staged a series of gay-themed operas at the local Black Cat café. Reading Sarria's oral histories alongside her neglected performance archive, this article contends that Sarria's shows were as much engaged in creating as in politically mobilizing an incipient gay audience. This fuller reconstruction of Sarria's operas and her unusual vision of an inverted male homosexuality makes three contributions to histories of homophile activism and homosexuality. First, it reveals US homophiles to be more ideologically diverse and open to challenging a conservative postwar gender politics than often assumed. Second, it helps unsettle accounts of the ostensibly smooth transition to the homo/heterosexual binary across the mid-century by revealing the underappreciated ability of homophile activists to develop alternative interpretations of the binary itself. And third, it shows how a currently resurgent gay respectability politics that is based on the rejection of an abnormalized, trans other has encountered imaginative resistance in one of its periods of greatest success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of the History of Sexuality is the property of University of Texas Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 193890381
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
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  Data: Homosexuality Inverted: José Sarria's Performance Archive and the Making of Nelly Queens, 1958–1963.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Archives%22">Archives</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender%22">Gender</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Drag+queens%22">Drag queens</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LGBTQ%2B+activists%22">LGBTQ+ activists</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Homosexuality%22">Homosexuality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LGBTQ%2B+people%22">LGBTQ+ people</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gay+rights+movement%22">Gay rights movement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Civil+rights+workers%22">Civil rights workers</searchLink>
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  Data: At the height of postwar antigay oppression, San Franciscan activist and female impersonator José Sarria staged a series of gay-themed operas at the local Black Cat café. Reading Sarria's oral histories alongside her neglected performance archive, this article contends that Sarria's shows were as much engaged in creating as in politically mobilizing an incipient gay audience. This fuller reconstruction of Sarria's operas and her unusual vision of an inverted male homosexuality makes three contributions to histories of homophile activism and homosexuality. First, it reveals US homophiles to be more ideologically diverse and open to challenging a conservative postwar gender politics than often assumed. Second, it helps unsettle accounts of the ostensibly smooth transition to the homo/heterosexual binary across the mid-century by revealing the underappreciated ability of homophile activists to develop alternative interpretations of the binary itself. And third, it shows how a currently resurgent gay respectability politics that is based on the rejection of an abnormalized, trans other has encountered imaginative resistance in one of its periods of greatest success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of the History of Sexuality is the property of University of Texas Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193890381
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 32
        StartPage: 270
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Archives
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Drag queens
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: LGBTQ+ activists
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Homosexuality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: LGBTQ+ people
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gay rights movement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Civil rights workers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Homosexuality Inverted: José Sarria's Performance Archive and the Making of Nelly Queens, 1958–1963.
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            NameFull: Reithmayr, Mori
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 35
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            – TitleFull: Journal of the History of Sexuality
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