Family: A Portrait Of Gay And Lesbian America

Family: A Portrait of Gay and Lesbian America

From Library JournalLike the classic Family of Man, this collection is less about the art of the photographs than the experience and humanity of the subjects. About 75 photos capture a range of people engaged in their everyday lives-from a lesbian couple and their son on their front porch in Colonial Beach, Virginia, to members of a San Francisco Asian and Pacific Islander youth group meeting in a coffee shop. The accompanying brief testimonials, neither preachy nor confrontational, let these people describe what is important to them: a stamp collection, the rodeo circuit, or, most often, their families. While selections from this book are on exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery this summer, Andrews's work can normally be found in the Washington Post, where she is a staff photographer. Her "family album" is appropriate for all public libraries.Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.An acclaimed Washington Post photographer poignantly captures the diversity and intense beauty of gay and lesbian life in American. 70 dramatic photos and accompanying personal stories run the gamut from Christian lesbians to gay Elvis impersonators.C.From BooklistFamily has been a buzzword among gays and lesbians for quite a while, so it's hardly surprising that Washington Post photographer Andrews chooses it to draw together her portraits of American gays and lesbians. Of course, she means family in the large sense Eric Marcus uses in his foreword when he says that "as gay people, we are all part of that very large family of lesbians and gay men who yearn for a safe world in which we can live with pride and dignity." Some less expansive, more nearly "traditional" families, such as two women raising one's son, inevitably appear, too. Some famous persons--congressmen Barney Frank and Gerry Studds, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Bruce Hayes--and group portraits--members of a gay fraternity, members of a gay marching band--show up, but most subjects are, despite such accomplishments as founding the only predominantly gay American Legion post, ordinary enough and are shown singly or with a life companion, with their comments on facing pages. Ray OlsonFrom the Back CoverAn award-winning photojournalist displays a panoramic view of lesbian and gay life as never seen before. Family is a vivid assemblage of seventy black-and-white photographs accompanied by interviews and personal stories that bend stereotypes and present a brave new vision of the diverse lives of lesbians and gay men.