More Butch Heroes

The much-anticipated sequel to

Ingeniously conceived, Ria Brodell’s
In this book, we meet queer individuals in their everyday lives, relaxing or working, enduring their struggles (which sometimes led to death or punishment), or simply living their lives with their partners or pets: Esther Eng stands with her camera in front of the Mandarin Theatre in San Francisco where she worked in the box office as a child. Tom fishes on the Fraser River in British Columbia. Joe sits astride his horse, ready for a day’s work in Southwestern Idaho.

Brodell uses the format of the holy card in its traditional sense, as a means of remembrance and reverence, but also as a way to memorialize those who were often unjustly persecuted by the church. Each deeply researched portrait draws from social class, occupation, clothing, and environmental details of the time period, as well as artifacts, maps, journals, drawings, prints or photos. For Brodell, who was raised Catholic, these queer holy figures act as retrospective replacements for the role models they wish they had known.

List of contents

Foreword by Chris E. Vargas
Introduction
List of Portraits
The Paintings
Conversation with S.E. Fleenor
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Contributors

About the author

Ria Brodell is an artist, educator, and author based in Boston. Brodell has exhibited internationally and throughout the United States; their work has appeared in New York Magazine, The Guardian, ARTNews, The Boston Globe, and New American Paintings, among other publications. Butch Heroes was a Lambda Literary Award finalist.

Product details

• Authors: Ria Brodell, Chris E. Vargas, S. E. Fleenor, Chris E. Vargas
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.04.2025
• EAN: 9780262049870
• ISBN: 978-0-262-04987-0
• No. of pages: 96
• Dimensions: 162 mm x 235 mm x 11 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Art history; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, ART / History / General, Society & culture: general, SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / General, LGBTQ+ Studies / topics