Hi Honey, I'm Homo!

Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture

By: Matt Baume

Narrated by: Matt Baume

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

For decades, amidst the bright lights, studio-audience laughs, and absurdly large apartment sets, the real-life story of American LGBTQ+ liberation unfolded in plain sight in front of millions of viewers, most of whom were laughing too hard to mind.

From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets on All in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soap to behind-the-scenes activism on the set of The Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America.

Accessible, entertaining, and informative, Hi Honey, I'm Homo! is filled with exclusive commentary and interviews from celebrities, behind-the-scenes creators, and more.

©2023 Matt Baume (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Queer History Through the Lens of TV

“Hi Honey, I’m Homo!” is smart, witty, and moving. Baume’s entertaining exploration of the ways American TV depictions of queer people influenced (and were influenced by) wider cultural shifts in acceptance of queer people is a much-needed addition to the field of queer history.

An important work at an important time

tldr: This is a fun, accessible and timely history of Queer representation on TV and how it interacted with the culture at large, told through the shows themselves and the stories behind the scenes. It's a deep dive record of a major cultural shift that is funny, poignant and very relevant.

I had to put that at the top because this basically became a personal essay. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The comparisons to The Celluloid Closet are inevitable and proper. I read that book in film class and the movie came out shortly after I graduated. One of the biggest takeaways for me wasn't just the fact of Queer representation in film, but the historical fact that we were ALWAYS in film. Academic proof of our existence and legitimacy.

Ellen coming out was a little bit later, still shortly after college. That means I lived through most of the time that is in this book. I watched Archie Bunker with my dad in reruns, but The Jeffersons while it was still on.

Of course, I wasn't old enough to understand the media, but I remember the news, the controversies and the attitudes of the times. This book is personal for me.

There's a giant leap from movies made for adults you have to see in a theater to what is beamed into your home every week for anyone to see. We needed a document of the Queer journey in that era, too, and we need it now as the whole world shifts to a new way of consuming media.

So much of the story isn't what I experienced watching it, but the behind the scenes stories that made it possible to see them. I wouldn't know those stories without this book.

Media is in a conversation with culture. Media can represent, but also distort. It can promote and denigrate. Hi Honey weaves the narratives on screen with behind the scenes stories and the politics of the day in a way that makes it clear that it is all one story, and that progress was not inevitable.

In the same way that the 1950s and the Lavender Scare are only abstract to me, younger people today and in the future can't understand the cultural hegemony of something like Friends. A show that felt like it was about my friends as we were about the same age and in a similar phase of life. A show we all watched together every Thursday night. A show I loved, but now can barely stand to watch now. That history, that change needs documentation.

I say it's important now, because just like I watched the backlash against Gays in the AIDS era, I see the backlash today against Trans people. They are saying the same things, using the same arguments and taking people's discomfort with a group most people don't know, don't see in media, to undo the progress we've made. We don't need to repeat that history.

And important history lesson

This is a must for fans of classic TV and anyone interested in LGBT history. The author takes a view at the importance of gay themed episodes on sitcoms and related it to what was happening in the news, Having lived through when these shows where on the air, I found it fascinating and emotional.

Matt is a great reader of his own work too.

An excellent work from an excellent creator

I’ve been an avid fan of Matt Baume for several years now, particularly his YouTube channel. This book partially convinced me to actually get audible so I could listen to it. If you enjoyed this, please go and check out his YouTube Channel. Looking forward to the next book!

Should be required reading

This is an admirable telling of how the country has grown and regressed over the issue of homosexuality as seen from the viewpoint of how sitcoms reflect these changes. Well done, Matt! Also if y’all haven’t found his YT channel, go look him up.

Queer Sitcoms!

Great history and analysis of LGBTQ+ inclusion in American sitcoms. Highly recommend if your are interested in popular culture and it’s societal impact.

Come for tv stories stay for the real life impact!

"Hi Honey, I'm Homo!" A detailed triumph about why representation indeed matters so profoundly! Mr. Matt Baume once again narrates/writes beautifully, thoroughly, and definitively in this follow up to his last prescient offering "Defining Marriage"

This time, he explores the role that television and media has played in relation to lgbtq+ culture and it's acceptance or lack thereof based on the ebbs and flows of cultural moras; further the impact that detractors to/of progress have had throughout television's existence. Specifically, how media can and does change public perception for the better in the long run when the real world advocacy is married to thought-provoking artistry which television can present.

Yes, of course any chronological book which explores this topic; you're going to see entries such as: "Will and Grace" "Ellen" "All In The Family" and "Soap" - Don't worry they're all here; in all of their glorious splendor, in wondrous detail. However, you will find in this book some nice surprises along the way. In fact, one of the most moving circumstances chronicled in this book is from one of its shortest chapters; it's connected to the series "Dinosaurs" of all things!

This book is a must read for TV historians and lovers of humanity alike (spoiler alert) that Should be everyone!

An amazingly well-researched labor of love

I was already a big fan of Matt Baume's pop culture video essays on YouTube, which is how I found out about this book, to begin with. It's also why I opted for the audiobook version of this title because I've become very accustomed to listening to him dissect the histories and other nuances of different shows and this audiobook plays right into that.

Similar to his work on Defining Marriage, this book is very well-researched and clearly made with love. A lot of the content includes material from his YouTube videos on the same shows featured here but they're still assembled in a manner that crafts a larger narrative over time and helps the reader appreciate the slow crawl for TV to become more progressive in dealing with LGBT content and characters.

Totally enjoyed this. I may get the text copy just to re-experience things in that way.

Informative & fun to listen to

The narrator kept the history interesting and flowing well throughout the book, absolutely would recommend

This book brought me to tears

I discovered Matt Baume not too long ago and when I saw him flash this book, I was immediately here to get the audio book. I had no idea how important sitcoms have been in our (queer folks) history. I grew watching many of the shows discussed. It brought me tears to hear of the effort and activism behind the scenes to forward our rights.
Thank you, Mr. Baume.