Liberation and Libido: Masculinity, Sexuality, and the Aesthetics of Gay Liberation in Canada, 1971-1987...

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Nicholas A. Hyrnyk

Liberation and Libido

Name: Liberation and Libido
Price: 150 AUD
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ISBN: 9781487507077

Masculinity, Sexuality, and the Aesthetics of Gay Liberation in Canada, 1971-1987

Nicholas A. Hyrnyk

$150

Hardback

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English

University of Toronto Press
05 May 2026

History of the Americas; Media studies; Urban communities; Gender studies: men; Gay & Lesbian studies

Liberation and Libido delves into the vibrant, messy, and deeply political history of gay liberation in Canada, exploring how The Body Politic (TBP) shaped and challenged ideas of gay male masculinity

and gender more broadly

between 1971 and 1987. As one of Canada's largest lesbian and gay activist periodicals, TBP was a lively forum where people debated, defended, and dismantled notions of gender. It also shed light on the divergent representations of masculinity

some reinforcing queer patriarchal ideas of whiteness, race, health, disability, and class, while others challenged and pushed back against the status quo.

Through an in-depth exploration into TBP's images, advertisements, letters, classified ads, and editorial content, Hrynyk unravels how shifting attitudes on masculinity, race, class, ability, and health played out on its pages. Two guiding frameworks underpin this analysis: queer patriarchy, which highlights the dominance of whiteness and masculinity within gay male spaces, and queer style, which captures the playful, rebellious manner in which queer culture appropriated and rejected mainstream gender and sexual norms.

This book presents TBP not simply as an activist newspaper but rather as a battleground where masculinity was contested, reshaped, and reimagined. From radical manifestos to steamy personal ads, every page of TBP reflected the push-and-pull between liberation and assimilation, activism and commerce. Liberation and Libido invites readers to reevaluate our understanding of masculinity, power, and desire in the context of queer resistance in Canadian history.

By: Nicholas A. Hyrnyk
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9781487507077
ISBN 10: 1487507070
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 05 May 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Nicholas A. Hrynyk is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy, History, and Politics at Thompson Rivers University, specializing in 2SLGBTQIA+ history, feminist and queer studies, and disability/mad studies.