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Saturday, 8 June 2013

Queers Dig Time Lords Looks at Doctor Who from a Gay Perspective

When a franchise has existed for a whopping 50 years, it will often transcend the opinions of those who will dismiss it as purely "fluff" entertainment, and be embraced and studied by the academic community as a serious piece of cultural art. Doctor Who is, of course, no exception.

In the new essay anthology Queers Dig Time Lords, editors Sigrid Ellis and Michael Damian Thomas have culled together a series of essays that analyze the adventures of our favorite Time Lord from a LGBT critical perspective. In addition to an introduction by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman, contributors to the anthology include Tanya Huff (Blood Ties), Paul Magrs (Hornet's Nest), former Doctor Who and Torchwood script editor Gary Russell, and Nebula Award-winning author Rachel Swirsky. The essays cover a wide range of topics, from personal experiences with the series, to coming out stories, to critical analysis of the series from an academic perspective. Rachel Swirsky's piece is an especially touching story about her own personal "Doctor," which can be read here.

The 2005 reboot of Doctor Who has often been praised for its positive portrayal of gay and lesbian characters, but the gay culture has embraced Doctor Who long before Captain Jack planted one on the Doctor in The Parting of the Ways. As Michael Damian Thomas explains in his foreword to the anthology, during the mid-90's hiatus of the series: "people who identified as LGBT were everywhere...many joked at the time that gayness was prerequisite for becoming a prominent fan."

Regardless of sexual orientation, the book highlights the common threads that pull fans of all walks of life together: love of sci-fi, adventure, and a mysterious traveler in a blue box.

Queers Dig Time Lords is available now on Amazon as an e-book, as well as a paperback.

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2 comments:

DatechGuy said...

Oddly enough as a very straight American Fan who has loved the series for 37 years and whose son's do also I was completely unaware of this perspective for a very long time and was surprised that the series was a Gay Icon.



Even odder I seemed to get the same reaction as a Devout Catholic from gay fans that I would like the series or that I would see it as practically a Christian allegory.

Randy Stokes said...

josiah-please do. you're close-minded remark seems out of line with the Whoniverse.
DatechGuy-sometimes we see things through only our own view of the world. I'm sorry any LGBT person was surprised by you liking the show; it has great values.