Encyclopedia of LGBTQIA+ Portrayals in American Film

Erica Joan Dymond is assistant professor of English at East Stroudsburg University. Her research privileges gender studies as it applies to horror and independent film. Her work has appeared in journals such as The Journal of Popular Culture and The Explicator as well as books such as The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Film and A Cuban Cinema Companion. She is the co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Sexism in American Films .Salvador Jiménez Murguía is associate professor of sociology at Akita International University, Japan. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of several books, including Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films, Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Cinema, Encyclopedia of Racism in American Film, and A Cuban Cinema Companion.

The portrayals of LGBTQIA+ characters in American films have varied considerably during movie history, as noted from as early as the 1912 Western Algie the Miner on up to contemporary films. Many times, however, the characters were not depicted in a positive light. For example, some were portrayed as threats to society, comic relief, or as traditional stereotypes. Some films also included gay characters who were “straight-washed,” or some were erased altogether from the original source material. In this work, 52 writers illuminate 100+ films, in an A-to-Z format, with critical essays that examine the plots, characters, and responses from media outlets. Profiled films include both the problematic and the inspiring. The majority of films are from the past three decades, although there are a handful of vintage films, including the 1946 movie Gilda and Hitchcock’s 1940 film Rope. An excellent companion to the 2018 Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films and the 2019 Encyclopedia of Sexism in American Films. A valuable reference guide for film collections and LGBTQIA+ studies.