GLR March-April 2026

behavior could not be defended because homosexuals were doing what they believed to be right. It was surprisingly well received, selling 500,000 copies in England. The pamphlet also influenced the gay rights movement in the U.S. Blackmore traces Quaker involvement in this move ment by focusing on activism in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. In these cities, gay Quakers found each other through underground networks and soon began to come out in their meetinghouses. Liberal Quakers were now being asked to ac cept gay people among their members. Overwhelmingly, they did. Gay Quakers formed special interest committees. With minimal opposition, they received permission to appear on the programs of the Yearly Meeting of liberal Quakers and raise the issue of gay rights. In Chicago, Mattachine Midwest was led for decades by a charismatic, openly gay Quaker. Quakers were present at the Stonewall riot and trained marshals in non violence for the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March the next year. In 1973, Mary Calderone, a Quaker and nation ally prominent sex educator, gave the keynote address at the Friends General Conference, the annual gathering of liberal Quakers from around the country. Her eloquent words on be half of homosexuals bring this well-documented history to an end. Most Quakers today are conservative Evangelicals who are ambivalent about gay rights or condemn homosexuality out right. Blackmore’s important book tells for the first time the story of how belief in the Inner Light led a minority group of liberal Quakers, in Calderone’s words, “to hear and to respond,” to stand up for the rights of all gay women and men.

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bar. Despite—or perhaps because of—the currently diminishing numbers of lesbian bars, it may be either nostalgic or informa tive to readers, depending on their ages. But no matter who ventures into Maryville , they will be seduced by Taylor’s love of butch ness and the brilliant poetry with which she offers it: “All hail the non-conformist daughter/ all hail ugly, all hail disobedient/ & women who identify as freedom &/ jus tice, as hope for fuck’s sake, in the face/ of those who would bury the rainbow.” J UDITH B ARRINGTON CARAVAGGIO: 1571 1610 by Rossella Vodret Silvana Editoriale. 368 pages, $65. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a libertine, a hothead, a brawler, a killer, and, according to Italian art historian Rossella Vodret, “one of the greatest, if not the great est genius of painting from the Italian sei cento and beyond.” Caravaggio is ranked among the most influential artists not only for his mastery of composition and chiaroscuro but for his unprecedented real ism at a time when art sought to idealize. “Caravaggio completely overturns this aca demic approach,” Vodret writes, “and chooses to depict the real fact as it presents itself to him, with its harshness and imper

fections, without any idealization.” In her lavishly illustrated coffee-table book, Vodret, who endearingly refers to Caravaggio as “our Michelangelo,” in cludes extensive historical and artistic con text for his life and work, as well as the latest scientific and scholarly discoveries. She addresses the longstanding question of whether this painter known for his homo erotic nudes was gay or a pederast in an ap pendix titled “Women and Loves of Caravaggio,” which focuses on a handful of female sex workers. Under the heading “Was Caravaggio Homosexual?” Vodret briefly reviews several pieces of evidence supporting that conclusion and waves away each in turn. She confesses, though, that she believes the adolescent nude Amor Vincit Omnia —thought by some to depict his lover and apprentice Francesco Boneri—is where “Caravaggio expressed his sexual empathy to the fullest.” J EREMY C. F OX KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Directed by Bill Condon Lionsgate Films “Homosexuals usually die in Hollywood movies,” says Molina (played by the out standing Tonatiuh) in the new Kiss of the Spider Woman , the first big-screen version

of the stage musical as opposed to the play. Based upon Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, Kiss of the Spider Woman has had numerous af terlives: a 1983 stage play, the 1985 film version starring the late greats Raúl Juliá and William Hurt, and the Broadway musi cal version, from 1992, in which Chita Rivera originated the role of the arachnid diva. But after this new rendition, Kiss may finally have reached its expiration date. “She’s the climax of your technicolor woman!” Molina gushes to Valentin (Diego Luna), a cellmate whom he mistakes for a castmate in his own gay fantasia. Due to the virulently anti-trans climate of the U.S. under Trump, this Kiss debuted in January 2025 but had its theatrical release delayed until year’s end, the run-up to awards sea son. Sadly, it was dead on arrival, recoup ing only $2 million of its $30 million budget. Aside from the Wicked franchise, the musical form is historically hard to translate to screen, not to mention unpopu lar with mainstream audiences, and this film, as a vehicle for Jennifer Lopez, turns everything into her wallpaper. Keep your eyes on Tonatiuh though. Kisses come in many varieties, from the deeply French to the airily superficial, but this one misses the mouth completely. C OLIN C ARMAN

March–April 2026

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