Just as America has entered another era of hysteria over LGBTQIA+ representation in the media, YouTuber and LGBTQIA+ historian Matt Baume has gifted the world this book. Hi Honey, I'm Homo chronicles the evolution of Queer representation on television, behind-the-scenes stories of the people who made it happen, and the influence of fictional LGBTQIA+ characters on American culture. At the heart of the book is the argument that the introduction of Queer characters on television profoundly impacted American attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people and that television often acts as a bridge of understanding. Chronicling the history of queer television from Bewitched to Glee, Baume offers an entertaining and illuminating look at the Queer history of the small screen and the often overlooked role it has played in the fight for equality.

Disclosure : I received a free netgalley ARC of this book in exchange for my review. My review is my honest opinion.

I'm absolutely amazed by how well Matt Baume integrated context and history into these discussions of queerness in sitcoms. I thought each chapter would be a recap of episodes or characters featuring queer content, but each show, episode, and character discussed was laid out alongside current events, major turning points in LGBTQ+ history, and contemporary attitudes toward queer people of the time periods. It's all very well researched and accessible. Baume's writing style is engaging, humorous, and fun.

I will absolutely be using excerpts of this book in my classroom, but it was a good time to read for pleasure too!

Wow, what a fascinating read - accessible, yet thorough. Baume uncovers the invisible forces and connections between the evolution of homosexual culture and the emergence of television as an actor for social change. While some of the shows featured in the book are well-known for their fearlessness in tackling the controversial issues of the day, Baume illuminates new ideas and anecdotes that even the staunchest fans of programs like the Golden Girls, Will & Grace, Friends, or All in the Family are likely to have overlooked. This, mixed with chapters devoted to shows less associated with the gay rights movement, like Barney Miller and Dinosaurs, make for an overall engaging read. I devoured this book, and am grateful to have a new cadre of examples to pull from in my course modules covering the relationship between pop culture and social change.

Informative recap of queer representation throughout the ages via sitcoms. We follow shows from Bewitched to Will & Grace to more recently Modern Family. As we delve into the characters Matt Baume also provides context to the political climate during the time.

I do enjoy how much background we get as to the creation of the show, the symbolism, pushback, and support, as well as the climate during the time of the show's run. This was a bit textbook-y for my taste, in the sense there wasn't much personality in the text for me. As informative as this is, I wanted a little more.

For me, the best passages were Friends (discussing Chandler Bing himself) and Will & Grace. Particularly with Will & Grace since that show was the introduction to gay characters for me, I enjoyed reading about the history.

Still, great ready if you want to learn more about queer culture in media and the progression from little winks and nods to full blown acknowledgment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It takes a look at queer themes and subtexts in sitcoms across the decades, and links them to cultural and political events happening during the time of the sitcom. I learned so much about queer history, and the role television has played in impacting LGBTQIA+ rights. The author had the perfect mix of humour and information in this book, and it was such an enjoyable reading experience.

This was so good. I really enjoyed the exploration of media throughout history and how it directly impacts the way people feel about serious political issues. I haven’t seen a majority of the sitcoms mentioned in this book but, now I know they exist, I definitely will.

This book also followed a similar theme that the sitcoms the author spoke of did, delivering messages through humour! It was gripping, easy to read and very informative

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm actually a huge fan of the author's Youtube page dedicated to, well, the topic of this book. Matt Baume analyzes milestones in queer pop culture through primarily TV shows. He does a pretty deep dive.

The book to some extent repurposes those topics and scripts while expanding upon them. As someone who does love his content, I must confess I wish there was new material. If you're unfamiliar with his work, this should be quite the treat.

As a GenXer, the shows he covers are truly the shows I grew up with, from toddlerhood to well into adulthood. Allow me to have a moment to weep. Watching Matt Baume's content, and now reading the book, really made me search my memory on how the episodes in question shaped me. I mean, obviously I was converted, and the actor who played Beverly Lasalle on All in the Family got a toaster oven. (This is a joke. I'm joking. Well...?)

One of the covered shows is All in the Family. Looking at the show now, so much of the language would never make the air, but for different reasons than were contentious at the time. I was 3, I believe, when the show premiered, so I grew up with the idea of Archie as out of touch, and Edith as downtrodden and kind in the way the older women in my family and community were. But I knew that if Edith thought someone was a good person, then they were, and I'm sure that must have made an impact.

As a kid, I was OBSESSED with reruns of Bewitched, and my burgeoning feminism was on display with my irritation that Sam was this amazing women who was constantly told by her husband not to be her amazing, creative self. I'd daydream about the magnificent life and marriage they could have had if he wasn't such a drip. This is why I married a Dale, not a Derwood, and why I say affirmations.

Matt Baume explored the show through another (related) lens, that I was less conscious of at the time. That the metaphor I picked up on works for a wide swath of people who felt they had to, in the words of the Beatles, hide their love away. They love being literal attraction and romantic bonds, but also creativity, the pressure to conform to gender norms -- whatever suburban normalcy dictates.

It occurs to me that even at a time when so many people were expected to be closeted, so many of those same people were my favorite people, and when the other penny dropped I was probably a much better person because they were employed by directors, and producers, and, oh, game show makers. Uncle Arthur was, after all, also the center square, and Charles Nelson Reilly was great on Match Game. (Matt Baume does do more in depth profiles of these men on Youtube, as well as Leslie Jordan, and George Takei.)

And that's at least a little bit the point. I wonder if younger readers will wonder why so many of the portrayals and the story lines were so elementary, so lacking in sophistication that Mr. Rogers would find it condescending, but these shows met people where they were, and helped shape the people who could only marvel now at sitcom characters that need to be told 5 different ways from Sunday that someone is gay.

To circle back to game shows, my husband and I have been watching reruns of What's My Line, which ran in the 50s and 60s. It's fascinating to view culture through that lens. The host would ask every woman, unless she was famous, if she was a miss or mrs. Any question that the often blindfolded panel would ask that inadvertently misgendered someone would be met with laughter, and always there was the assumption of heteronormativity -- that there simply were no other options. But the panel was stacked with sophisticated people, one the founder of Random House books, others who'd worked in the theater. They knew better, but it took other shows, other influential people, only pioneers, other people fighting for their rights, to speak the name of the "love that dare not speak it's name."

The fact that I know I've descended into long-windedness speaks to how thought provoking this book is, and how much I think the reader will enjoy it whether they're learning about these shows for the first time, or if they cut their teeth on them.

In my dream world, there would have been more material -- maybe on game shows, or on moments that didn't warrant their own chapter, but this shouldn't affect someone new to the material, and even people who are familiar should enjoy the elaboration.

My only other issue is minor. Each chapter was kinda treated as independent from the whole in some ways, much like Matt Baume would do in his videos, not assuming you'd seen previous content. But these chapters do exist in the same book, so sometimes the background "these were the initiatives and the zeitgeist of the moment" material was repetitious, especially when the shows in questions aired simultaneously or close on the heels of one another.

Absolutely recommend. When I released I'd been approved for an ARC, I reversed my pre-order of the audiobook, but I think I'm going to go on ahead and reinstate it. If you're a nerd like me, you might enjoy looking up the episodes and moments the author covers. (Shame on you, Marcus Welby!)

This book lived up to its humorous title and presented a master class in the exploration of queer themes and storylines in the American sitcom industry over the past four decades.

For those unaware, Matt Baume is writer and video essayist, his videos delving into the intersection between queer identity and popular culture have garnered a respectable following due in large part to his ability to adeptly balance in depth research with humorous presentation. And those were on full display in this book, it was witty, insightful, and well researched with enough behind the scenes detail to really sink your teeth into. The story of queer representation in media, as Baume relates, is a story of ups and downs, achievements and setbacks, overall a far more realistic and interesting history than a simplified gradual upward trajectory. Baume also expertly draws connections between these shows and the real life legal and cultural struggles LGBTQ Americans faced while they were on the air, demonstrating the interplay between media and real life events. The main thesis of the book, and one the author proves in my opinion, is that media does have real world effects; the way minority groups are represented (or not) on television does in fact matter a great deal.

Entertaining writing, a clear eyed grasp of the issues, and a meticulous attention to detail are the bedrock of this sweeping narrative history; it’s a must read for any fan of the sitcom genre or anyone interested in the history of queer representation in media.