University Press of Florida Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality and the Rise of Florida Tourism

About the Author Jerry T. Watkins III is a lecturer in the History Department at the College of William & Mary. Product Description Using oral histories, newspapers, and a variety of other sources this work recovers stories of campy LGBT beach parties, forgotten gay bars, and friendship networks that spanned the South. Gay men, lesbians, and the otherwise queer were an essential part of ""The Sunshine State."" Placing them at the center of this story exposes the unique interactions of capitalism, tourism, sexuality, and space. More than just a story of repression, this work also seeks to illuminate the fun that could be had on what came to be known as ""The USA's Gay Riviera"" by the early 1990s. Review "Excellently demonstrates the presence and utility of queer geographies in the Florida Panhandle and provides a valuable contribution as a local examination to LGBTQ studies in the state and the American South."--H-Net"Interweaves the growing visibility of postwar gay life with the attendant moral panics and police regulations of public gay life. . . . An important addition to studies of gay history, tourism, and the South."--Journal of American History"Mines these queer spaces effectively and fleshes out one of the more fascinating histories with his in-depth study of the Emma Jones Society."--American Historical Review"Places this story in broader national, regional, and local contexts while telling touching personal stories with fascinating characters."--New Books Network"Watkins' book shares with us for the first time the many firsthand accounts, in great detail, of gay men navigating a gay lifestyle in Florida's panhandle. . . . Many of the stories in the book are as entertaining as they are educational and informative."--South Florida Gay News