Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream

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McFarland, Nov 21, 2014 - Performing Arts - 256 pages

Between 1917 and 1941, Hollywood studios, gossip columnists and novelists featured an unprecedented number of homosexuals, cross-dressers, and adulterers in their depictions of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle.

Actress Greta Garbo defined herself as the ultimate serial bachelorette. Screenwriter Mercedes De Acosta engaged in numerous lesbian relationships with the Hollywood elite. And countless homosexual designers brazenly picked up men in the hottest Hollywood nightclubs. Hollywood's image grew as a place of sexual abandon.

This book demonstrates how studios and the media used images of these sexually adventurous characters to promote the industry and appeal to the prurient interests of their audiences.

 

Contents

ONE Hollywood Nightlife
13
TWO The Public Hollywood Party
50
THREE The Private Hollywood Party
78
FOUR The Hollywood Star Home
113
FIVE Hollywood Behind the Scenes
159
Hollywood Bohemians Today
193
Bibliography
221
Index
237
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About the author (2014)

Brett L. Abrams has written five books about sports, popular culture, and the Washington, D.C., region. He works as an electronic records archivist for the federal government in the nation's capital.

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