Straayer looks at commercial film and video from a new angle, and compels readers to consider the wealth of films made by and for non-traditional viewers. She surveys Hollywood productions ranging from the 1935 Stella Dallas to 1994's Mrs. Doubtfire.



Engaging feminist and queer theory ranging from Nancy Chodorow to Judith Butler to Valerie Solanis's SCUM Manifesto, Straayer considers the wealth of films made by and for nontraditional viewers. Straayer investigation ranges from Stella Dallas to Mrs. Doubtfire, "experimental" lesbian and gay films from the classic Maedchen in Uniform to the contemporary Go Fish, and music video icons such as David Bowie, Dead or Alive, and Divine to investigate transgressions of traditional gender boundaries.