Queer history has had some terrific chroniclers. Open a copy of the Mayor of Castro Street in a bookshop and read the first few pages—now, I dare you to put it down. (Take the Mayor of Castro Street Challenge!) It’s the same with Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution; it’s the same with Let the Record Show. There aren’t nearly enough queer history books out there, but there are some very good ones.
To this fine lineage we can add the unpretentious and convivial collection Hi Honey, I’m Homo by Matt Baume, just published by Penguin Random House imprint Smart Pop. Baume’s collected essays on finding queer throughlines in American TV sitcoms read like the queer version of Susan J. Douglas’ 1994 exploration of women in the media Where the Girls Are—smart, snappy, and about as catchy as a book can get. Moreover, it’s history that won’t depress you during Pride.
