04/08/2019
In this insightful but somewhat gruesome debut work, cultural historian Polchin teases out details of the lives of urban, mostly white gay men from the 1920s through the 1960s via an analysis of newspapers’ high-profile, “moral outrage and fascination”–driven true crime reports. As he writes, these stories “reflected and amplified the era’s social prejudices and state-sanctioned discriminations” and showed the dangers, such as opportunistic thieves and police entrapment, that “queer men were forced to navigate... in their search for sexual adventure and social life.” He looks at cultural trends, such as the courtroom defense of “acute homosexual panic” in response to “indecent advances” from the victim, but also digs deeply into individual high-profile cases, often quoting the most lurid details from the original reporting, which will likely delight true crime fans and satisfy academics but deeply disturb other readers. Polchin finishes by recounting the beginnings of progress, as the 1948 Kinsey Report began to influence the understanding of sexuality, the Mattachine Society promoted the idea of homosexuals as a social minority, and ONE magazine looked critically at newspaper reports of crime and highlighted a “collective experience of injury and abuse.” Polchin’s investigation of several decades of queer American life is an intelligent but darkly voyeuristic experience. (June)
To shed light on these killings, the social conditions and psychological conflicts that gave rise to them, and the manipulative and sensationalist coverage that they often received in the press, the cultural historian James Polchin has written Indecent Advances, a grisly, sobering, comprehensively researched new history. The subject matter doesn’t make for light reading; Polchin admits to feeling 'haunted' by what he discovered in archives. But it’s impossible to understand gay life in twentieth–century America without reckoning with the dark stories. Gay men were unable to shake free of them until they figured out how to tell the stories themselves, in a new way.”
—Caleb Cain, The New Yorker
“[A] fascinating new book on the treatment of gay men in true crime and crime fiction [that] reexamines the violence that people at the Stonewall Inn had faced every day, and the rage crackling up underneath . . . What makes Polchin's readings stand out is the way he pursues an underlying story across several seemingly separate crimes.”
—Alexander Chee, The New Republic
“For readers searching for a fast–paced, meticulously researched, thoroughly engaging (and often infuriating) look–see into the systematic criminalization of gay men and widespread condemnation of homosexuality post–World War I, cultural historian James Polchin’s first book, Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall, is a smart bet.”
—Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle
“Indecent Advances collects and rescues significant gay history and goes a long way toward clarifying why we fight, what we fight for and how prejudice is an historically institutional force.”
—Tom Cardamone, Lambda Literary
“Important . . . A compelling account.”
—Bill Burton, Provincetown Banner
“Formidably researched . . . A significant contribution to queer history and to understanding the forces that shape contemporary queer identity . . . Indecent Advances is an important book not least of all because, as the Stonewall celebrations begin, it reminds us that queer identity has been shaped as much by trauma as by courage.”
—Michael Nava, Los Angeles Review of Books
“Beginning in the years before the Stonewall Riots, Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin takes a look at the crimes committed against gay men, long before equality and rights were a notion, let alone even being on the table . . . Polchin also looks at how criminal acts committed by and aimed at LGBT people came under controversy when attention was paid to one minority group’s safety and not to that of another group. This, the embedded presence of many (in)famous criminals, and other stories lightly linked to Stonewall make it an interesting book.”
—Washington Blade
“James Polchin has written an important book about a critical chapter of LGBT history, carefully documenting the victimization and discrimination that gay men suffered before Stonewall. Much has changed, but discrimination and hate crimes still go on, and there are still many battles left to fight and win. The stories in this book are often heartbreaking and brutal, but the larger story of oppression needed to be told.”
—Bill Burton, The Gay & Lesbian Review/Worldwide
“Polchin recounts the cases as a series of short thrillers organized by decade through the 20th century. These true stories remain suspenseful episodes of surprising brutality and sensationalized press. Polchin pays scholarly attention to the politics of each era, and tales that were once grisly exploitation of murder victims become tense examinations of journalism and detective work.”
—Devlyn Camp, Chicago Reader
“Polchin’s book illuminates the dark side of true crime reporting . . . Full of specific, brutal tales, this is a captivating and troubling read.”
—Nick Yeager, The Austin Chronicle
“An eye–opening look at how far we've come and, in its stories' similarity to contemporary accounts of anti–gay violence, a portrait of how far we have left to go.”
—K.W. Colyard, Bustle
“Polchin’s harrowing account of the history of violence against queer men hits shelves on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. It’s perfect timing for a book that dives deep into these never–before–told true crimes, and looks at the power mainstream messaging had on both the violence and the mounting resistance. Resurrecting a forgotten era of queer history, Polchin masterfully weaves brutal true crime research with critical analysis of the social history, exploring the way the media and nascent psychological theories were weaponizing prejudice and perpetuating a deviant stereotype of gay men.”
—Camille LeBlanc, Literary Hub, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Summer
“[A] harrowing account of the history of violence against queer men . . . It’s perfect timing for a book that dives deep into these never–before–told true crimes, and looks at the power mainstream messaging had on both the violence and the mounting resistance. Resurrecting a forgotten era of queer history, Polchin masterfully weaves brutal true crime research with critical analysis of the social history, exploring the way the media and nascent psychological theories were weaponizing prejudice and perpetuating a deviant stereotype of gay men.”
—CrimeReads, One of the Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer
“Polchin’s deep dive into the history leading up to the riots underscores the difficulty of telling a story that’s so bound up in myth—and the importance of doing it anyway . . . Polchin pulls the lives out of the archives with relentless precision in his book. The particularity of Polchin’s accounts restores some honor to the memory of the men whose brutal stories tell.”
—Jason Tougaw, Electric Literature
“James Polchin wants us to have the specifics. His book Indecent Advances, published this month by Counterpoint, collects and analyzes news reports of gay–related crime from the 1920s to the 1960s. The result is an act of witnessing that will reconfigure anyone who came of age after Stonewall. Once we know all this, we have to reckon differently with our country . . . [Polchin’s] writing is unvarnished and unsentimental as he takes us chronologically through these decades of crime, and when the facts need context, he clearly explains how scientific, religious, and political forces of the time helped endorse these murders. And while there are moments when he allows himself some tart editorializing, he doesn’t linger over his own outrage. Instead, he trusts the details will make us angry on their own. In his wallop of a conclusion, though, Polchin does describe being haunted by his own research, as well as being deeply moved.”
—Mark Blankenship, The Blotter
“Insightful . . . Will likely delight true crime fans and satisfy academics.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Thoughtful, accessible and well–researched, Polchin's book offers useful insight into some of the lesser–known cultural currents that gave rise to the gay rights movement. An enlighteningly provocative cultural history.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Polchin’s extraordinarily well–researched account offers a valuable contribution to both social and previously neglected gay history.”
—Booklist
“Polchin (liberal studies, New York Univ.) presents a reflective, thoughtful first book that perfectly blends true crime and the history of discrimination against gay men in the 20th century . . . His insightful history of crimes perpetrated against gay men is essential for social history fans. Readers who enjoy well–researched, deliberate social commentary will appreciate Polchin's enlightening and descriptive style.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“One book I have found indispensable this summer has been Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall . . . The history of social (in)justice runs deep . . . [A] tremendous addition to that legacy.”
—Dave Wheeler, Shelf Awareness
