Author to Discuss Gay and Lesbian Images on TV

The author of a new historical study on the images of gay men and lesbians on television will speak at Ithaca College on Monday, November 4. Stephen Tropiano will present "The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV" at 7:00 p.m. in room 112 of the Center for Natural Sciences. His talk is free and open to the public.

While gay-themed shows such as NBC's Will and Grace and Showtime's Queer as Folk are now a mainstay of television, Tropiano points out that "queer TV" is not an overnight invention. His book, Prime Time Closet, focuses on how four television genres --- medical shows, law-and-order dramas, made-for-TV movies, and situation comedies --- have been defining gays and lesbians, for better or worse, from the 1950s through today. His presentation will include a wide array of rare archival images and an in-depth analysis of their queer content.

A 1984 graduate of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, Tropiano has served as director of the Ithaca College communications program in Los Angeles since its founding in 1994. He teaches courses there on film and television history and theory. He earned his master's degree in cinema studies from New York University and completed his doctorate in critical studies at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television.

Tropiano is also the author of TV Towns: An Illustrated Guide, a tour guide to 21 of the fictional towns where some of television's most beloved characters reside, from Mayberry to Bedrock, Gotham City to Twin Peaks. He also is a TV/film critic for the popular-culture website popmatters.com.

Prime Time Closet was written with the financial assistance of a James B. Pendleton Production Grant. A portion of the author's proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.