Prizes

Announcement of Prize Competition Winners: 2005

CLGH 2007 PRIZE ANNOUNCEMENT

Contacts Desired: Gay and Lesbian Communications and Community, 1940s-1970s, has been awarded the CLGH's 2007 John Boswell Prize. The Boswell Prize is awarded to the outstanding book on lesbian/gay history (published in 2006 or 2007).

The 2007 Prize Committee was chaired by Ramon Gutierrez and included Jennifer Evans and Daniel Rivers.

In reaching its decisions, the Prize Committee prepared the following commendation:

"In this rich and densely researched book, Meeker explores how young women and men learned more about their homosexuality, particularly if they were living in small and isolated places where gays and lesbians were not openly visible or apparent. He argues that three innovations in communication helped individuals to see themselves as members of larger sexual communities: the rise of a homophile movement in the 1950s, broad public interest in homosexuality created by the media in the late 1950's and early 1960s, and the emergence of gay and lesbian self-published guides, gossip sheets, and magazines that circulated broadly and help forge a sense of large community and eventually of its political possibilities. In sum, this book marvelously charts the connections among desire, identity, and community."

For further information, contact CLGH chair Karen Krahulik at Karen_Krahulik@brown.edu