![]() ![]() There are shades of Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis in All About Eve – all of whom have traditionally struck a chord with gay men. ![]() There’s the fading star, the ambitious young rival and the doomed beauty. ![]() “And ‘Valley’ has several female archetypes we all recognise. Why is that? “Larger-than-life female characters have often struck a chord with gay audiences,” says Burston. Both the book and film have become part of the LGBT cultural canon. “It was startling how many people present knew every word of dialogue,” he tells BBC Culture. It’s as much a critique of gender norms as the trashy, guilty pleasure some see it as.”īurston, who is also chair of the Polari First Book Prize and founder of the Polari Literary Salon, once introduced a screening of the film of Valley of the Dolls as part of a gay film season. But it also deals candidly with subjects that were still considered taboo at the time – sexuality, drugs, the dark side of fame. It has all the elements you expect – larger-than-life characters, emotional conflict, twisted love, thwarted ambition, sexual and professional rivalry. “Susann was far sharper than many critics gave her credit for. So is Valley of the Dolls a dark, transgressive satire on the patriarchy – or just a fabulous melodrama? “I think it’s both,”says British author and cultural commentator Paul Burston, whose fiction has been “heavily influenced” by the novel. ![]()
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