{"product_id":"belfastmen-an-intimate-history-of-life-before-gay-liberation-paperback","title":"Belfastmen: An Intimate History of Life Before Gay Liberation - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTom Hulme\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBelfastmen\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e reconstructs the everyday experiences of queer men in a region infamous for its recent history of intolerance, violence, and religious homophobia to show how queer lives before the gay rights movement were not only possible but also rich, exciting, and fulfilling.\u003c\/b\u003e Irish churches and governmental authorities found the topic of sex between men unmentionable and imagined such vice as a problem only found in decadent and degenerate societies abroad. \u003ci\u003eBelfastmen\u003c\/i\u003e shows how this tacit ignorance and public silence paradoxically enabled male queerness to flourish with only rare exposure, condemnation, or regulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTom Hulme traces the intimate lives of men across time, space, and self-understanding: their meeting places, their sexual and romantic relationships, the scientific and social models of desire they used to define themselves, and the responses to them from families, neighborhoods, and the law. From Belfast's industrial boom in the late nineteenth century to the social transformations accompanying WWII, \u003ci\u003eBelfastmen\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how homosexuality finally emerged as a recognized social problem in the 1950s. Only then did Northern Ireland start to transform into the expressively homophobic society of the more recent past.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTom Hulme is a cultural historian of modern Britain and Ireland, Reader in Modern British History at Queen's University Belfast, and Principal Investigator of the Arts and Humanities Research Council project \u003ci\u003eQueer Northern Ireland: Sexuality Before Liberation\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eAfter the Shock City\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 306\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.69 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 15, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52071176306989,"sku":"9781501786457","price":45.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/belfastmen-an-intimate-history-of-life-before-gay-liberation-paperback-8169362.webp?v=1780165986","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/belfastmen-an-intimate-history-of-life-before-gay-liberation-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}