Background
Newton was born in New New York
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Esther Newton
Edit ProfileEducation
She studied history at the University of Michigan and received her Bachelor with distinction in 1962 before starting graduate work in anthropology at the University of Chicago under David M. Schneider. Her Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, "The drag queens. A study in urban anthropology" (1968), examined the experiences, social interactions, and culture of drag queens, or (mostly gay-identified) men who dressed and performed as women in various kinds of theatrical settings or as an expression/performance of their sexual identity.
Career
Her second book, Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty years in America’s first gay and lesbian town (1993), used oral history and ethnographic methods to document the changing dynamics of Cherry Grove, a beach resort on Fire Island, New York and one of the oldest and most visible predominantly lesbian and gay communities in the United States. She identifies as lesbian and is currently Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Kempner Distinguished Research Professor at Purchase College, State University of New New York Newton is also a Lecturer in Women"s Studies and American Culture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She is the daughter of Saul Newton.
