Out of the Past: 400 Years of Gay and Lesbian History in AmericaThis Public Broadcasting System Web site is an outgrowth of the hour-long film of the same title, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1998; it won the audience award for best documentary and was later aired on the network. It centers around the personal growth of a young woman who attempted to start a gay-straight alliance group at her high school and interweaves contemporary issues with her gradually expanded awareness of a gay and lesbian historical heritage. Out of the Past is composed of six pull-down menus examining evidence for same-sex history (chiefly in North America) between 1600 and the present. Each poses a question for reader feedback on subjects ranging from religion and sexuality, first romance, local community history, folklore and oral traditions, and conditions for gay and lesbian youth. The bibliography, although well chosen, contains only 35 books and articles. Eight Internet sites illustrate the possibilities of electronic access for monitoring current historical events in lesbigay history (with the glaring lack of links to any of the major gay and lesbian archives), while five organizations selected from the many in various fields of gay civil rights activism are briefly profiled, with the absence of the oldest of all, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
