This book focuses on the diverse tapestry of families in contemporary U.S. culture. Each chapter explores a different kind of family and examines their specific communication behaviors. We live in times of increasing diversity that complicate our understandings of ourselves as well as others who may be quite different from us. These complexities also impact our definition of "family" in addition to our interpretation of family communication behaviors. This book provides an examination of family communication practices in families that are underrepresented in the research of the discipline, and underserved in U.S. culture: immigrant families; family members in interracial relationships; LGBTQ families; low-income Latinx families; families with an incarcerated parent; and families headed by grandparents. The book is an initial effort to expand the lens of family communication scholarship to focus on "families on the margins". Through a variety of, sometimes unique, methods including textual analysis, in-depth interviews, and analysis of art projects collected at a Pride festival, each chapter in this collection adds to our knowledge of how we define family and how families communicate in the 21st century. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of the Journal of Family Communication.

Recent years have seen a dramatic upsurge of interest in the connections between sexualities, space and place. Drawing established and 'founding' figures of the field together with emerging authors, this innovative volume offers a broad, interdisciplinary and international overview of the geographies of sexualities. Incorporating a discussion of queer geographies, Geographies of Sexualities engages with cutting edge agendas and challenges the orthodoxies within geography regarding spatialities and sexualities. It contains original and previously unpublished material that spans the often separated areas of theory, practices and politics. This innovative volume offers a trans-disciplinary engagement with the spatialities of sexualities, intersecting discussions of sexualities with issues such as development, race, gender and other forms of social difference.

Same-sex marriage is now legal in twenty-nine countries and the subject of continued debate around the world. The Political Economy of Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Critique considers this debate from a political economy perspective. Rather than engaging directly in the now well-rehearsed social-movement and academic for-and-against debates, this book focuses on processes of institutionalization of same-sex marriage and so-called "rainbow families" within (neo)liberal capitalist democracies. It examines how states and markets appropriate same-sex marriage and family to enhance their own political and symbolic capital, consolidating power and profit within existing systems of gendered and raced socioeconomic stratification. Taking a radical feminist, heterodox, qualitative and intersectional approach, this book investigates the political economy of same-sex marriage across three axes: same-sex marriage as institution; same-sex marriage and the market; and the political economy of the "rainbow family". The examination of case studies from different countries and regions enables a comparative analysis that foregrounds cultural, political and economic path dependencies while at the same time highlighting a number of striking commonalities. In all the countries discussed in this book and in most respects, same-sex marriage has been integrated almost seamlessly into a mainstream/malestream political economy of marriage and family and its translation into added market and productive value. The Political Economy of Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Critique will be of use to researchers and students alike, and indeed to all those who are curious about the mainstreaming of homosexuality within twenty-first-century capitalist democracies.

Hoekom is ek so, wat is fout met my? Ek kan nie regtig met iemand hieroor praat nie. Ek sien nie kans vir die verwerping, spot en veroordeling nie. Wanneer my ouers, vriende en familie dit uitvind, hoe gaan hulle reageer? Wat dink God van alles, waar pas Hy in? Hoekom straf Hy my so? Ek bly liewers stil en leef ’n lewe van leuens.

Hierdie is 'n moet-lees boek vir:

• Die wat anti-gay is (ouers, familie, vriende, kerkleiers) en nie besef watter bloedspoor gelos word deur die misbruik van die Skrifte, mites en ongevoelige uitsprake teenoor gay mense nie.
• Die gelowige gay mens wat met sy of haar seksualiteit sukkel en hopelik aangespoor sal word om hulleself te aanvaar.
• Die pro-gay mense (ouers, familie, vriende, kerkleiers) wat swaar dra in die proses om die gay mens te beskerm.

Beyond Diversity Day is a handbook for teachers, counselors, administrators, policy makers, parents, and students who want to understand and affirm sexuality differences; promote and protect the well-being of all students; and reduce bigotry, self-hatred, and violence. In question-and-answer format, Arthur Lipkin offers advice on how to nurture positive relationships among glbt youth, their families, and the schools; welcome glbt families in the school community; support glbt educators; and incorporate sound and appropriate glbt-related curricula across disciplines. Written by a veteran high school and university teacher and staff developer, Beyond Diversity Day weaves sound scholarship with vivid real-world examples from classrooms and the media. It offers a compelling blueprint for working with diverse students and for improving schools.

A critical reader of the history of marriage understands that it is an institution that has always been in flux. It is also a decidedly complicated one, existing simultaneously in the realms of religion, law, and emotion. And yet recent years have seen dramatic and heavily waged battles over the proposition of including same sex couples in marriage. Just what is at stake in these battles? This book examines the meanings of marriage for couples in the two first states to extend that right to same sex couples: California and Massachusetts. The two states provide a compelling contrast: while in California the rights that go with marriage--inheritance, custody, and so forth--were already granted to couples under the state's domestic partnership law, those in Massachusetts did not have this same set of rights. At the same time, Massachusetts has offered civil marriage consistently since 2004; Californians, on the other hand, have experienced a much more turbulent legal path. And yet, same-sex couples in both states seek to marry for a variety of interacting, overlapping, and evolving reasons that do not vary significantly by location. The evidence shows us that for many of these individuals, access to civil marriage in particular--not domestic partnership alone, no matter how broad--and not a commitment ceremony alone, no matter how emotional--is a home of such personal, civic, political, and instrumental resonance that it is ultimately difficult to disentangle the many meanings of marriage. This book attempts to do so, and in the process reveals just what is at stake for these couples, how access to a legal institution fundamentally alters their consciousness, and what the impact of legal inclusion is for those traditionally excluded. Kimberly Richman is Associate Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of San Francisco.

Why is shame so central to our identity and to our culture? What is its role in stigmatizing subcultures such as the Irish, the queer or the underclass? Can shame be understood as a productive force? In this lucid and passionately argued book, Sally R. Munt explores the vicissitudes of shame across a range of texts, cultural milieux, historical locations and geographical spaces - from eighteenth-century Irish politics to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, from contemporary US academia to the aesthetics of Tracey Emin. She finds that the dynamics of shame are consistent across cultures and historical periods, and that patterns of shame are disturbingly long-lived. But she also reveals shame as an affective emotion, engendering attachments between bodies and between subjects - queer attachments. Above all, she celebrates the extraordinary human ability to turn shame into joy: the party after the fall. Queer Attachments is an interdisciplinary synthesis of cultural politics, emotions theory and narrative that challenges us to think about the queerly creative proclivities of shame.

Hurled words. Thrown objects. Dodged burgers. A burger was thrown at Travis Alabanza on Waterloo Bridge in 2016. From this experience they have created a poetic, passionate performance piece based around the 'burger': the texture, and taste of being trans. Their experiences include verbal abuse, ostracisation and being thrown out of a Top Shop changing room. The piece also explores the black trans experience.

There are three overarching themes that connect the chapters: interdisciplinarity, intersectionality, and identity. This interdisciplinary compilation includes contributions from scholars in cultural studies, social work, English, psychology, anthropology, and education. Essays include empirical research, making use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as well as personal reflections and interpretation. Each chapter makes central the critical significance of intersectionality, locating privilege and oppression within larger social systems and institutional structures, as an 'interlocking matrix of relationships.' These chapters challenge, recognize, and question whiteness, with the intention that they encourage us to do the same, in our own lives, practices, behaviors, and disciplines. By taking whiteness seriously, we might begin to move toward explicit antiracist efforts, dismantling those structures and hierarchies that enable only some to speak as 'just humans.' The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Lesbian Studies.

"The Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides a detailed examination of the current methods and theoretical frameworks for conducting research with LGBT populations. Introducing greater nuance in designing and implementing research models for working with these populations, the "Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides guidelines for defining these groups, strategies to obtain more inclusive and representative samples, and methods for engaging these populations to produce consistent and relevant data. Collecting essays by notable researchers and scholars in the field, the "Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides meaningful analyses of the ethics and practical constraints that researchers confront in dealing with LGBT populations--including protection of privacy--which is a special concern for many. For students, teachers, social workers, mental health professionals, and researchers of all backgrounds, this is an invaluable resource and guidebook for anyone seeking a better quality of understanding and engagement with LGBT individuals and communities.G

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most popular evidence-based interventions in the world, but little has been done to explore how it affects different groups of people, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) community. The LGBTQI Workbook for CBT is filled with hands-on, practical perspectives for readers who are seeking a new point-of-view or for clinicians and students seeking additional tools, competence, and humility when working with sexual and gender minorities. The workbook focuses on skill building and addresses techniques for personal selfassessment, cognitive and behavioral activation, psychoeducation, and therapist resources. Incorporating structured learning tools to promote professional responsibility as well as ethically driven and evidence-based practices, this text aims to promote empowerment. Applied activities are available in multiple reproducible worksheets and handouts to utilize in session, in the classroom, in the field, and in life. The LGBTQI Workbook for CBT is an invaluable resource for interested members of the LGBTQI community, beginner or experienced clinicians, and students working with sexual and gender minority clients. It is an excellent supplementary text for graduate students in social work, psychology, nursing, psychiatry, professional counseling, marriage and family therapy, and other healing professions such as medicine, acupuncture, or physical therapy.

How can we queerly theorise and understand television? How can the realms of television studies and queer theory be brought together, in a manner beneficial and productive for both?

Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics is the first book to explore television in all its scope and complexity ? its industry, production, texts, audiences, pleasures and politics ? in relation to queerness. With contributions from distinguished authors working in film/television studies and the study of gender/sexuality, it offers a unique contribution to both disciplines.

An introductory chapter by the editors charts the key debates and issues addressed within the book, followed by three sections, each central to an understanding of the relationships between queerness and television: 'theories and approaches', histories and genres', and 'television itself'. Individual essays examine the relationships between queers, queerness, and television across the multiple sites of production, consumption, reception, interpretation and theorisation, as well as the textual and aesthetic dimensions of television and the televisual. The book crucially moves beyond lesbian and gay textual analyses of specific TV shows that have often focussed on evaluations of positive/negative representations and identities. Rather, the essays in Queer TV theorise not just the queerness in/on television (the production personnel, the representations it offers) but also the queerness of television as a distinct medium.

In our society, the argument for or against same-sex marriage becomes even more heated when the debate turns to bisexual women and men. Bisexuality and Same-Sex Marriage thoughtfully explores this debate from a wide range of interdisciplinary perspectives, presenting respected scholars from fields as diverse as American Studies, Communication, Criminology, Human and Organizational Systems, Law and Social Policy, LGBT Studies, Organizational Behavior, Psychology, Sociology, Women s Studies, and Queer Studies. This clear-viewed volume is organized into three perspectives theoretical, research, and personal that frame the debate from a macro to micro level of analysis.
This book goes beyond the intense acrimony and divisiveness to rationally examine the issue from various viewpoints and through the latest research. This informative text presents and analyzes in depth the current findings and the diverse LGBT and straight perspectives on the issue. This insightful resource discusses in detail personal views, the latest theories, and is extensively referenced.

Bisexuality and Same-Sex Marriage is an essential volume for LGBT studies professionals, psychologists, counselors, educators, students, and interested general public.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Bisexuality."

In Edwin and John: A Personal History of the American South, award-winning author James T. Sears interweaves diaries, letters and poems to craft an innovative first-person narrative history that details the hard realities of growing up gay in the South during the early decades of the 20th century.

Set against the backdrop of World War II and the post-war South, Edwin and John, provides a unique and intimate approach to queer history by following the 50 year relationship between John Zeigler and Edwin Peacocke that carried them both from their roots in the conservative South, through service in World War II, and into a placid and loving literary life where they opened a bookshop in what was then the small town of Charleston, South Carolina. Edwin and John is a revealing look at queer history, detailing how these two men and their remarkable circle of close friends--which included some of the greatest writers and artists of their era including Prentiss Taylor, Carson McCullers, and John Bennett--endured war, intolerance, and jealousies, while living proud and public lives in far more conservative times.

The book argues that there is no monolithic homosexuality; there are only homosexualities, that is, there are as many reasons for being gay as there are gays. Some people are born gay, some have gayness thrust upon them, and some do, indeed, achieve to great gayness. Representation of homosexuality/homoeroticism, as it is understood today, is thus a western import. The act and public/social discourses on same-sex love are still illegal; it is, according to many, against the Indian a ~traditiona (TM); and a sense of a ~historya (TM) is seriously problematic when we dig out for a past tradition of homoerotic love and desire. Hoshang Merchant, through an examination of texts, films, poetry, attempts to analyse and crack the codes of sexual (mis)conduct in contemporary India, giving short histories of the fate of several gay writers and explaining the difficulties of a ~coming outa (TM).

The traditional concept of family as being exclusively heterosexual has resulted in myth-generation about lesbian parents as well as fostering limitations in the programs and benefits that support more diverse nontraditional families. Social Work with Lesbian Parent Families: Ecological Perspectives explores the variety of social systems with which lesbian parent families interact, with a focus on implications for improved, diversity-affirming service delivery and policy development. Unlike other literature on lesbian parent families, this revealing resource pulls together work on lesbian parenting from various researchers across a broad range of disciplines and presents this work from the ecosystems perspective so that the reader may view the experiences of lesbian parent families in a holistic way. The research goes beyond simple comparisons between lesbian and straight mothers. This useful text provides more complex research data, including both a more sophisticated view of the diverse communities in which lesbian parents are found, and more innovative ways of studying the issues relevant to social service providers. Developmental and life issues negotiated by lesbian parent families are discussed in detail using a strengths-based approach to intervention with individuals, families, small groups, communities, and larger systems. This unique book has the strong potential to influence the policies that impact lesbian parent families. Social Work with Lesbian Parent Families: Ecological Perspectives is a valuable resource for social workers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, marriage and family therapists, public policy and administration professionals, students, and academics doing research on sexual orientation and family. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services.

"The Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides a detailed examination of the current methods and theoretical frameworks for conducting research with LGBT populations. Introducing greater nuance in designing and implementing research models for working with these populations, the "Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides guidelines for defining these groups, strategies to obtain more inclusive and representative samples, and methods for engaging these populations to produce consistent and relevant data. Collecting essays by notable researchers and scholars in the field, the "Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations" provides meaningful analyses of the ethics and practical constraints that researchers confront in dealing with LGBT populations--including protection of privacy--which is a special concern for many. For students, teachers, social workers, mental health professionals, and researchers of all backgrounds, this is an invaluable resource and guidebook for anyone seeking a better quality of understanding and engagement with LGBT individuals and communities.G

Setting out best practices and professional guidance for creating LGBT+ inclusive workplaces, this approachable and easy to follow book guides current and future leaders of all industries toward appropriate and proven ways to create safer working environments, update company policies, enhance continuing education and training, and better support LGBT+ people in the workplace. Featuring real-life situations and scenarios, a glossary, and further resources, Creating an LGBT+ Inclusive Workplace enables professionals in all aspects of professional roles to integrate foundational concepts into their everyday interactions with staff at all levels as well as within the community to create an overall workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all. This book includes postcards from PostSecret as its foreword and more than a dozen exclusive interviews from the world's top leaders in a variety of industries with world-renowned reputations. Enabling professionals in a variety of business roles to create an overall workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all, this book is an essential resource for independent readers, department teams, and entire corporations.

Rainbow Jews deals with the intersection of gay and Jewish identity in American and Israeli film and theater, from the 1960s to the present. Its main area of interest is the extent to which Jewish creative voices in the performing arts have constructed multidimensional images of, and a welcoming public space for, the gay, lesbian, and transgendered community as a whole. Through a close reading of the texts of numerous American and Israeli plays and films (some famous, but mostly lesser known), the author evaluates some of the key conventions and tropes that have been employed to construct, critique, and reflect the social reality of the connection between Jewishness and gay identity in the United States and Israel. Secondarily, the author explores ways in which gay-Jewish playwrights and filmmakers have assisted the re-evaluation of sexual norms within Judaism over the past three decades, inspiring and reinforcing measures across the spectrum of belief geared towards integrating Jewish members of the GLBT community into the overall Jewish historical narrative.

How can we queerly theorise and understand television? How can the realms of television studies and queer theory be brought together, in a manner beneficial and productive for both? Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics is the first book to explore television in all its scope and complexity - its industry, production, texts, audiences, pleasures and politics - in relation to queerness. With contributions from distinguished authors working in film/television studies and the study of gender/sexuality, it offers a unique contribution to both disciplines. An introductory chapter by the editors charts the key debates and issues addressed within the book, followed by three sections, each central to an understanding of the relationships between queerness and television: 'theories and approaches', histories and genres', and 'television itself'. Individual essays examine the relationships between queers, queerness, and television across the multiple sites of production, consumption, reception, interpretation and theorisation, as well as the textual and aesthetic dimensions of television and the televisual. The book crucially moves beyond lesbian and gay textual analyses of specific TV shows that have often focussed on evaluations of positive/negative representations and identities. Rather, the essays in Queer TV theorise not just the queerness in/on television (the production personnel, the representations it offers) but also the queerness of television as a distinct medium.

From "Perverts" to "Fab Five" tracks the dramatic change in how the American media have depicted gay people over the last half-century. Each chapter illuminates a particular media product that served as a milestone on the media's journey from demonizing homosexuals some fifty years ago to celebrating gay people--or at least some categories of gay people--today.

The media, Streitmatter argues, have not merely reflected the American public's shift to a more enlightened view of gay people, but they have been instrumental in propelling that change. The book spans the breadth of communication venues. Individual chapters focus on major news stories, entertainment television programs, and mainstream motion pictures that captured the public imagination while, at the same time, sending powerful messages about gay men and lesbians. Ideal for any reader interested in the changing depiction of gay men and lesbians in the media over time, or as required reading in media courses.

From "Perverts" to "Fab Five" tracks the dramatic change in how the American media have depicted gay people over the last half-century. Each chapter illuminates a particular media product that served as a milestone on the media's journey from demonizing homosexuals some fifty years ago to celebrating gay people--or at least some categories of gay people--today.

The media, Streitmatter argues, have not merely reflected the American public's shift to a more enlightened view of gay people, but they have been instrumental in propelling that change. The book spans the breadth of communication venues. Individual chapters focus on major news stories, entertainment television programs, and mainstream motion pictures that captured the public imagination while, at the same time, sending powerful messages about gay men and lesbians. Ideal for any reader interested in the changing depiction of gay men and lesbians in the media over time, or as required reading in media courses.

What differences and similarities exist at work between lesbian women in various careers around the world? Lesbians and Work: The Advantages and Disadvantages of 'Comfortable Shoes' answers this crucial question, providing respected authorities presenting qualitative research methods to closely examine lesbian women's working lives. This insightful resource discusses the variability among lesbians in their experiences of and responses to workplace heteronormativity and cites the similarities among this population across geographical and national boundaries. Presented in their own words, these women's viewpoints reveal a wide spectrum of experiences-both advantages and disadvantages-of being a lesbian woman in the workplace. This book provides international perspectives on lesbians and work that can help readers making career choices to consider sexual orientation issues in choosing their career path. The book also can be used by human resource professionals as a resource to learn how to better manage sexual diversity in the workplace, provide effective training/development programs to address sexual prejudice, alter benefits requirements for employees, and avoid discrimination lawsuits. This book is a valuable resource for human resource managers, college professors in women's studies, lesbian studies, psychology and their students, and career counselors. The book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Lesbian Studies.

The subject of homosexuality, and especially male homosexuality, has received a great deal of publicity in England and America. The furor began with Kinsey's famous reports on sexual behavior, which brought out the fact that a far higher proportion of the population than was commonly supposed deviated from accepted standards of normality and morality. Taking courage from the apparent safety of large numbers, the sexually unorthodox and their sympathizers began to challenge the criteria of normality, and to question whether sexual habits that were widespread and so deeply entrenched could justifiably be written off as immoral. D.J. West's "Homosexuality" dissects the myths and paranoia surrounding this topic by examining the nature and roots of homosexuality.The politico-legal controversy has tended to overshadow the more fundamental psychological questions concerning the nature and causes of homosexuality. In this field, no striking discoveries have resulted from the increased public interest. Nevertheless, a body of factual data has accumulated, and a number of theories are available. The author's main purpose is to summarize as clearly as possible what is known, to draw what practical conclusions may be possible, and to point out where we are still groping and ignorant.This book deals mainly with male homosexuality because in men the condition causes more clear cut social problems and has been studied more intensely by psychiatrists. Unfortunately, though strongly held opinions abound, hard facts about homosexuality and its possible causes are difficult to obtain. Even now, serious medical and sociological investigations in this subject are scandalously few considering the importance of the questions in human terms. This resistance becomes acutely apparent when a social until a large section of the public is prepared to face the facts squarely and rationally and to support adequate research, our knowledge will remain rudimentary. This book clears away the debris of myth and misunderstanding in a vital area of social concern.

How does one reconcile the tension between the community of one's own Catholic upbringing and a sexuality and gender identity that may be in conflict with some of the tenets of the faith - especially when one is a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex community? Queer and Catholic offers a source of comfort to members of these communities, focusing on not only practicing Catholics, but also the entire experience of growing up Catholic. This unique book discusses Catholicism beyond its religiosity and considers its implications as a culture of origin. This widely varied and entertaining book pulls together a comprehensive collection of essays, stories, and poetry that together represent an honest and engaging reflection of being a queer person within the Catholic experience.