Abstract
This chapter focuses on the TV series Starsky and Hutch (1975–1979) claiming that it opens up “windows of possibilities” for counter-hegemonic representations of masculinity. Despite what seems to be a traditional and conservative understanding of gender identity and power, the show reflects a historical, albeit temporary, transition in the representation of masculinity from previous decades, especially with regard to the cop movie genre. By highlighting the functions of collaboration and caring, and by situating his own queer critical positionality in the process of consumption and intellectual appropriation of the show, Bavaro explores the ways in which the series envisions a new man who thrives in egalitarian exchanges within an eccentric queer community.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
A satisfactory outline of the extent of the 1980s backlash clearly exceeds the scope of this chapter. Let me just mention here the heating of the Cold War by the Reagan administration following several operations in Latin America and Africa, as well as the erosion of policies supporting social justice and the aggressive pursuit of a neoliberal economic agenda, and finally the systematic attempt to justify through religious language a conservative political agenda. Many of these issues converged in the AIDS crisis and Reagan’s responsibility and disastrous (in)actions in response to it.
- 2.
The transcript of this scene is mine, from Starsky & Hutch : Season 1. (2014) DVD version.
References
Bailey, B., & Farber, D. (Eds.). (2004). America in the Seventies. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press.
Carrigan, T., Connell, R. W., & Lee, J. (1985). Towards a New Sociology of Masculinity. Theory and Society, 14(5), 551–604.
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859.
De Angelis, M. (Ed.). (2014). Reading the Bromance. Homosocial Relationships in Film and Television. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Feasey, R. (2008). Masculinity and Popular Television. Edinburg: Edinburgh University Press.
Ibarra, P. R. (1998). Dislocating Moral Order and Social Identity in Cinematic Space: The Inverted Detective Figure in Tightrope and Cruising. The Sociological Quarterly, 39(3), 409–433.
Joyrich, L. (1996). Reviewing Reception, Television, Gender and Postmodern Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
MacKinnon, K. (2003). Representing Men: Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. London: Arnold.
Muñoz, J. E. (1999). Disidentifications. Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Porter, E. (2004). Affirming and Disaffirming Actions. Remaking Race in the 1970s. In B. Bailey & D. Farber (Eds.), America in the Seventies (pp. 50–74). Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press.
Schulman, B. J. (2001). The Seventies. In The Great Shift in American Culture, Society and Politics. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Sedgwick, E. K. (1985). Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. New York: Columbia University Press.
Snauffer, D. (2006). Crime Television. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Wolfe, T. (1976, August 23). The ‘Me’ Decade and the Third Great Awakening. New York Magazine.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bavaro, V. (2018). Come and Get Your Love: Starsky & Hutch, Disidentification, and US Masculinities in the 1970s. In: Baker, P., Balirano, G. (eds) Queering Masculinities in Language and Culture. Palgrave Studies in Language, Gender and Sexuality. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95327-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95327-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95326-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95327-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)