Living Behind the Façade is a revealing and captivating story about and by a gay man – George E. Somers – whose rich and talented life as an artist spanned most of the 20th Century. Born in the Philippines following the Spanish-American War to an American G.I. from Kansas and a beautiful Spanish girl living in Manila’s Spanish military garrison, George realized early in life that he was “different” from other boys his age – and that being “gay” was never “a choice” but an orientation he inherited from birth.
Long before the term “Gay Rights” was coined and minted in the American vernacular, and before the Gay Liberation Movement brought millions of gays and lesbians out of the closet into a still homophobic society, George’s life mirrored a shadowy era in which virtually all homosexuals were coerced into lives “behind the façade” – an ersatz heterosexual identity. Yet, in the shadows of the façade, George was part of the first gay rights organization in the United States — Society for Individual Rights.
George’s frank narrative describes the gay world and culture he has always lived in, from its obscure closeted beginnings to its more liberated present, providing gay and straight readers alike with an important and transparent portrayal of life behind, and from without, the gay façade of American society. Living Behind the Façade is more than a myth breaker, it is a significant contribution to the diverse ethnography of American Culture and Humanities.
George passed away at 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area. His book was edited and published posthumously by his nephew, Jaime Jackson .
قائمة المحتويات
COMMENTARY by Jaime Jackson
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C1
THE FIRST YEARS 1914-1925
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2
MOVING TO AMERICA 1926-1930
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3
MOVING TO SAN DIEGO 1931-1932
PAGE 47
4
STARTING COLLEGE 1933-1934
PAGE 61
5
FATHER’S DEATH 1935-1936
PAGE 77
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MOVING TO SAN FRANCISCO 1937-1941
PAGE 83
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THE ARMY 1942-1943
PAGE 101
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GOING TO EUROPE 1944-1945
PAGE 111
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ON TO JAPAN 1945-1946
PAGE 143
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RETURN TO SAN FRANCISCO 1946-1947
PAGE 159
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MOVING TO MARIN COUNTY 1948-1954
PAGE 167
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THE HOUSE IN LARKSPUR 1955-1965
PAGE 199
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THE BUSH STREET HOUSE 1966-1968
PAGE 221
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THE HOUSE IN OAKLAND 1969-PRESENT
PAGE 245
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SPAIN AND MOROCCO 1972
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THE RIGHT ONE · THE TRAVEL BUG 1978
PAGE 267
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BALI AND OTHER INDONESIAN PORTS OF CALL 1988, 1996
PAGE 291
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RUSSIA 1992
PAGE 311
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THE ARMY DOESN’T FORGET 1994, 1997
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RUSSIA, AGAIN? 1995
PAGE 331
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TO RUSSIA WITH RICK 1997
PAGE 359
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BORIS COMES TO AMERICA 1997
PAGE 393
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TRIPPING THROUGH EASTERN EUROPE 1998
PAGE 403
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PARTING THOUGHTS 2002, 2004
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§
POSTSCRIPT by Jaime Jackson
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SOMERS FAMILY TREE
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GLOSSARY OF GAY TERMS
PAGE 441
IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS
PAGE 444
ABOUT JAIME JACKSON
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