Jimmy

Although he died at a heartbreakingly young age and appeared in only a handful of movies, James Dean revolutionized American manhood. As a celebrity and icon, he melded vulnerability with determination, sensitivity with strength, in a way that offered a bracing and--for some--threatening new vision of masculinity. His massive influence and the fascination he continues to inspire is inseparable from his secret life as a queer man contending with the homophobia of midcentury America.

Today, even though it is widely accepted that Dean was gay or bisexual, the story of his life and his personal character continue to be colored by the tropes and prejudices of an earlier era. Drawing on more than four hundred previously secret pages of Dean's personal and business records, Rebel Boy is a necessary and essential corrective to the biographical-historical record. A modern, twenty-first century approach, informed by contemporary ideas about sexual diversity transforms our understanding James Dean's story, and the stories of boys and men like him.

Author Bio

Jason Colavito is a writer whose work has appeared in major magazines like Esquire and The New Republic. He has been interviewed widely in media that include CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, Discovery Network documentaries, and many others. He is the author of several critically acclaimed nonfiction titles, including Legends of the Pyramids (Red Lightning/Indiana UP, 2021), The Mound Builder Myth (Oklahoma UP, 2020), and The Cult of Alien Gods (Prometheus, 2005).