'This book will make you love her as much as I do' FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON 'Breath-taking courage and compassion [...]a beautiful book' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'A renegade Florence Nightingale cares for the ill in a remarkable tale of compassion and combating prejudice' GUARDIAN 'An extraordinary tale' EVENING STANDARD 'If I have one message with this book it's that we all have to care for one another. Today, not just in 1986. Life is about caring for each other, and I learned more about life from the dying than I ever learned from the living. It's in an elephant ride, it's in those wildflowers dancing on their way to the shared grave of two men in love, and it's in caring for that young man who just needed information without judgement.' In 1986, 26-year-old Ruth Coker Burks visits a friend in hospital when she notices that the door to one of the patient's rooms is painted red. The nurses are reluctant to enter, drawing straws to decide who will tend to the sick person inside. Out of impulse, Ruth herself enters the quarantined space and begins to care for the young man who cries for his mother in the last moments of his life. And in doing so, Ruth's own life changes forever. As word spreads in the community that she is the only person willing to help the young men afflicted by the growing AIDS crisis, Ruth goes from being an ordinary young mother to an accidental activist. Forging deep friendships with the men she helps, Ruth works to find them housing and jobs, and then funeral homes willing to take their bodies - often in the middle of the night. She prepares and delivers meals to 'her guys,' supplementing her own income with discarded food found in the dumpsters behind supermarkets. She defies local pastors and the medical community to store rare medications for her most urgent patients, and teaches sex education to drag queens after hours at secret bars. Emboldened by the weight of their collective pain, she fervently advocates for their safety and visibility, ultimately advising Governor Bill Clinton on the national HIV-AIDS crisis, and in doing so becomes a beacon of hope to an otherwise spurned group of ailing gay men on the fringes of society. Ruth kept her story a secret for years, fearful of repercussions within her deeply conservative community. But at a time when it's more important than ever to stand up for those who can't, Ruth has found the courage to have her voice - and the voices of those who were stigmatised, rejected and abandoned - heard.

In Your Face: Stories from the Lives of Queer Youth is a unique collection of real-life accounts that explores the lives and identities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual teens. Fifteen youths, age 14-18, bravely tell of the hardships and emotions they experience because of their sexualities. Readers will explore stories that touch on several issues, such as:
-- coming out to yourself
-- coming out to family and friends
-- dealing with the school environment
-- getting involved in the queer community
-- realizing how religion impacts one's sense of self

In reading The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, you'll quickly discover that the steps toward love and happiness are as easy as 1, 2, 3, and maybe even 4 or 5. And you'll find that if your own lesbian relationship lies outside the "traditional monogamous couple" model, you're definitely not alone. You'll explore many multifaceted and multifarious love relationships, each one applicable to your own liking, if you so choose. You'll find successful models of relationship styles--regardless of your own orientation--from cover to cover, and you'll discover the pleasing polyphony in the many, many female voices of authorities on love and love relationships.Whereas other similar studies project the limited view of one or two authors, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader calls upon a broad scope of writers, professional women and academics alike. You'll see that outside the gay rights movement that currently pushes for a traditional, monogamous marriage model of gay couplehood, there lies pleasing multiplicity in the arms and hearts of lesbians worldwide. Specifically, this collection offers: "first person" articles--stories that describe a variety of lesbian experiences relating to multiple lovers in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s "how-to" articles--descriptions of the various polyamorous relationship configurations, including ways of dealing with jealousy"theoretical" pieces--the history of multiple relationships, the social implications of practicing a love style other than monogamous coupling, and safer sex considerationsMuch, much more than a book on personal satisfaction, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader also focuses on the social implications of this love phenomenon, bringing it into a more inclusive circle of discussion for lesbians, educators, and students of sociology and sexology. You'll find satisfaction in seeing the love so many lesbian women have achieved by not mimicking the "marriage model" of living.

In reading The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, you'll quickly discover that the steps toward love and happiness are as easy as 1, 2, 3, and maybe even 4 or 5. And you'll find that if your own lesbian relationship lies outside the "traditional monogamous couple" model, you're definitely not alone. You'll explore many multifaceted and multifarious love relationships, each one applicable to your own liking, if you so choose. You'll find successful models of relationship styles--regardless of your own orientation--from cover to cover, and you'll discover the pleasing polyphony in the many, many female voices of authorities on love and love relationships.Whereas other similar studies project the limited view of one or two authors, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader calls upon a broad scope of writers, professional women and academics alike. You'll see that outside the gay rights movement that currently pushes for a traditional, monogamous marriage model of gay couplehood, there lies pleasing multiplicity in the arms and hearts of lesbians worldwide. Specifically, this collection offers: "first person" articles--stories that describe a variety of lesbian experiences relating to multiple lovers in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s "how-to" articles--descriptions of the various polyamorous relationship configurations, including ways of dealing with jealousy "theoretical" pieces--the history of multiple relationships, the social implications of practicing a love style other than monogamous coupling, and safer sex considerations Much, much more than a book on personal satisfaction, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader also focuses on the social implications of this love phenomenon, bringing it into a more inclusive circle of discussion for lesbians, educators, and students of sociology and sexology. You'll find satisfaction in seeing the love so many lesbian women have achieved by not mimicking the "marriage model" of living.

A follow-up to O?Hara's steamy and provocative book Autopornography: A Memoir of Life in the Lust Lane, Rarely Pure and Never Simple: Selected Essays of Scott O?Hara shares with you more intimate stories from former porn star Scott O?Hara. You?ll gain an even deeper sense of the man behind the "Biggest Dick in San Francisco" and come to understand his take on porn, sex, life, and loss. Discussing his ventures as a writer, playwright, and editor of the popular but short-lived journal Steam, Rarely Pure and Never Simple includes poems and stories by O?Hara that express his opinions and feelings about monogamy, safe sex, male beauty, morality, social politics, and "being queer." O?Hara also relates his childhood experiences to his adult life and uses many examples to link the past to his actions and thoughts concerning his sexuality.Bold, personal, and honest, Rarely Pure and Never Simple gives you an inside look into the life of this controversial author, who died in February 1998 of AIDS-related complications. O?Hara challenges the "norms" of society as he discloses intimate thoughts and details about his sex life and fantasies that are guaranteed to arouse your . . . curiosity.

The New Feminist Literary Studies presents sixteen essays by leading and emerging scholars that examine contemporary feminism and the most pressing issues of today. The book is divided into three sections. This first section , 'Frontiers', contains essays on issues and phenomena that may be considered, if not new, then newly and sometimes uneasily prominent in the public eye: transfeminism, the sexual violence highlighted by #MeToo, Black motherhood, migration, sex worker rights, and celebrity feminism. Essays in the second section, 'Fields', specifically intervene into long-constituted or relatively new academic fields and areas of theory: disability studies, eco-theory, queer studies, and Marxist feminism. Finally, the third section, 'Forms', is dedicated to literary genres and tackles novels of domesticity, feminist dystopias, young adult fiction, feminist manuals and manifestos, memoir, and poetry. Together these essays provide new interventions into the thinking and theorising of contemporary feminism.

A follow-up to O Hara 's steamy and provocative book Autopornography: A Memoir of Life in the Lust Lane, Rarely Pure and Never Simple: Selected Essays of Scott O Hara shares with you more intimate stories from former porn star Scott O Hara. You ll gain an even deeper sense of the man behind the "Biggest Dick in San Francisco" and come to understand his take on porn, sex, life, and loss. Discussing his ventures as a writer, playwright, and editor of the popular but short-lived journal Steam, Rarely Pure and Never Simple includes poems and stories by O Hara that express his opinions and feelings about monogamy, safe sex, male beauty, morality, social politics, and "being queer." O Hara also relates his childhood experiences to his adult life and uses many examples to link the past to his actions and thoughts concerning his sexuality.Bold, personal, and honest, Rarely Pure and Never Simple gives you an inside look into the life of this controversial author, who died in February 1998 of AIDS-related complications. O Hara challenges the "norms" of society as he discloses intimate thoughts and details about his sex life and fantasies that are guaranteed to arouse your . . . curiosity.

Violence and Social Injustice Against Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People helps you look past the stereotypical picture of violence against sexual minorities--the public physical assaults on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth by hypermasculine male thugs--and directs you toward the many daily acts of quiet violence that go on, unhindered, in the workaday settings of our legal, social, educational, and law-enforcement institutions. You ll learn about the frightening prevelance of complacency, homophobic ignorance, and apathy that pervades our police departments, courts, high schools, and churches. Also, armed with this critical insight and statistical research, you ll be better equipped to wage a non-violent war of fairness and mutual respect against the daily, senseless violence of policy and practice that threatens to render gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people unwelcome and battered citizens in their own communities.You ll find that Violence and Social Injustice Against Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People is ideal for aiding social workers, counselors, teachers, and criminal justice officials in removing the unseen acts of violence from the policies and practices of the public sector. These and other specific areas will give you the information and the fortitude necessary to evoke positive change in your community: legal issues relating to same-sex marriage the connection between social injustice and violence violence against sexual minority youth sexual identity and ethnic minorities practice and policy recommendationsAs this book shows, violence against sexual minorities can be subtly woven into the very fabric of some of our most long-standing, respected social institutions. For too long, the sexual minorities of color, for example, and the lesbian who suffers physical assault at the hands of a partner, have had little or no help from social workers, law enforcement, or education for fear of receiving either complete negligence or increased antagonism. But now, in Violence and Social Injustice Against Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People, you ll find the facts and tools necessary for turning the ugliness of communal violence into social justice for people of all sexual orientations.

Lesbian Step Families: An Ethnography of Love explores five lesbian step families'definitions of the step parent role and how they accomplish parenting tasks, cope with homophobia, and define and interpret their experiences. An intensive feminist qualitative study, the book offers guidelines for counselors and lesbian step families for creating healthy, functioning family structures and environments. It is the first book to concentrate exclusively on lesbian step families rather than on lesbian mothering in general.In Lesbian Step Families: An Ethnography of Love, you'll explore in detail the different kinds of step relationships that are developed and what factors may lead to the different types of step mothering in lesbian step families. The book helps you understand these relationships and parent roles through in-depth discussions of: how a step mother and legal mother who live together negotiate and organize parenting and homemaking tasks how members of lesbian step families define and create the step mother role strategies family members use to define and cope with oppression how sexism is transmitted within the family and how mothering may limit and/or contribute to female liberation the opinions and viewpoints of the children of these families The findings in Lesbian Step Families: An Ethnography of Love challenge traditional views of mothering and fathering as gender and biologically based activities; they indicate that lesbian step families model gender flexibility and that the mothers and step mothers share parenting--both traditional mothering and fathering--tasks. This allows the biological mother some freedom from motherhood as well as support in it. With insight such as this, you will be prepared to help a client, a loved one, or yourself develop and maintain healthy family relationships.

Gay and Lesbian Literature Since World War II chronicles the multifaceted explosion of gay and lesbian writing that has taken place in the second half of the twentieth century. Encompassing a wide range of subject matter and a balance of gay and lesbian concerns, it includes work by established scholars as well as young theoreticians and archivists who have initiated new areas of investigation. The contributors'examinations of this rich literary period make it easy to view the half-century from 1948 to 1998 as the Queer Renaissance. Included in Gay and Lesbian Literature Since World War II are critical and social analyses of literary movements, novels, short fiction, periodicals, and poetry as well as a look at the challenges of establishing a repository for lesbian cultural history. Specific chapters in this groundbreaking work trace the development of gay poetry in America after World War II; examine how AIDS is represented in the first four Latino novels to deal with the subject matter; and chronicle the birth of lesbian-feminist publishing in the 1970s--showing how it created a flourishing gay literature in the 1980s and 1990s. Other chapters: outline the history of The Ladder from its initial publication in 1956 as the official vehicle of the Daughters of Bilitis to its final issue as a privately published literary magazine in 1972 examine Baldwin's 1962 novel Another Country and discuss the complicated critical history of this work and its relation to Baldwin's literary reputation--racial, sexual, and political factors are taken into account chart how Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote, and The House of Breath, by William Goyen, reveal contradictory genderings of male homosexuality--suggesting an absence of a unified model of mid-twentieth-century male homosexuality argue that the 1976 novel Lover, by Bertha Harris, can be considered an exemplary novel within discussions of both postmodern fiction and lesbian theory. (The author calls for Harris to be added to the group of writers such as Wittig, Anzald?a, Lorde, and Winterson, who are discussed within the context of a postmodern lesbian narrative.) examine the short fiction of Canadian lesbian novelist Jane Rule in an effort to shed light on lesbian creative practice in the homophobic climate of postwar North America argue for an understanding of Dale Peck's novel Martin and John as an attempt to link two apparently different processes of import to contemporary male subjects through examination of the novel alongside selected passages from Nietzsche and Freud focus on the pragmatic issues of developing and maintaining accessible research venues from which to cultivate the study of racial and cultural diversity in lesbian lives Document the history of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, one of the first lesbian-specific collections in the world, from its birth in the early 1970s to the present.

In The HIV-Negative Gay Man: Developing Strategies for Survival and Emotional Well-Being, you ll get instant access to some of the most recent information on the market today about remaining HIV-negative. You ll come in contact with a wealth of information concerning the psychosocial and psychosexual needs of HIV-negative gay men and discover strategies for staying uninfected and cultivating a meaningful way of life in the face of HIV/AIDS.Compiled by both professionals and peers, The HIV-Negative Gay Man goes to the front-lines of HIV prevention to help you understand the most beneficial and dependable ways of preserving the value of life and living it to the fullest. Radically reshaping and rehumanizing traditional HIV prevention efforts, these updated and personalized approaches will give you many individual strategies for survival in a world in which the link between sex and survival has been turned upside-down. You ll find new ways to expand and enrich your own coping repertoire as you explore these topics: how the HIV-negative gay man 's complex emotional reactions change what peer groups can do when creating and experimenting with new identities and roles when group work needs to be short-term or long-term why a sex life vocabulary needs to be built where Latino Men can learn critical thinking about internalized homophobia and transgression survival mechanisms changing attitudes as a result of the development of protease inhibitors and new drug therapies in HIV preventionIn The HIV-Negative Gay Man, you ll find that the road to survival is a long one but a road that can be travelled and enjoyed if the right strategies are applied. This book is a "road map" for survival. In it, you ll meet many brave professionals who are currently fighting on the front lines of HIV prevention and coming forward to share their own personal stories of survival. In turn, you ll learn from them and eventually tell your own survival story to someone else along the way.

'On the bookshelves, there was plenty of stuff on being gay, and much needed, joyous accounts of what it is to be trans, but nothing really that encapsulates what is it to be both - to exist in the hazy terrain between.' After his relationship with his girlfriend of 5 years ended, Harry realised he was a single adult for the first time - not only that, but a single, transmasculine and newly out gay man. Despite knowing it was the right decision, the reality of his new situation was terrifying. How could he be a gay man, when he was still learning what it was to be a man? Would the gay community embrace him or reject him? What would gay sex be like? And most importantly, would finding love again be possible? In this raw, intimate and unflinchingly honest book, we follow Harry as he navigates the sometimes fraught and contradictory worlds of contemporary gay culture as a trans gay man, from Grindr, dating and gay bars, to saunas, sex and ultimately, falling in love. Harry's brave and uplifting journey will show you there is joy in finding who you are.

You may be familiar with the tremendous life achievements of Jose Sarria, an integral player in the gay rights movement, but never before have you heard the intimate details of his incredible life as they are portrayed here. In The Empress Is a Man: Stories from the Life of Jose Sarria (winner of the Lammy Award in the transgender category), Michael Gorman exposes Sarria s life in a frank manner and with a unique storytelling ability that simultaneously causes amusement and sadness. Sarria s amazing life story tells of his perserverance to advance the cause of equality for gay citizens.At a time when gays were arrested, institutionalized, and castrated, Sarria did not try to hide his beliefs and convictions. Sarria was ahead of his time, becoming a significant figure in gay history and culture. You ll find The Empress Is a Man fascinating as you read about the life of this truly courageous, outrageous, and remarkable man. Some of Sarria s experiences and achievements you ll read about include: being the first openly gay male to run for political office being one of America s most important female impersonators entertaining throughout the world, live and on film postitively affecting the gay community founding an extremely successful charity fundraising organization being featured in a PBS documentary serving in the Army in The Battle of the Bulge in WWIIUntil recently, gay and lesbian stories were published in very limited venues and often at great personal risk, forcing knowledge of this history to be passed down orally. The Empress Is a Man reflects this tradition by telling much of the story in Sarria s own words. Adding to the enjoyment and originality of this book is a structure similar to the dramatic style of a play or novel. Each section ends with an exciting climax, although the book is chronological in order. The Empress Is a Man is an untraditional book about an untraditional man.

Soon to be a major motion picture, this action-filled adventure of four fascinating people takes place during one of the most thrilling chapters of American history: the late 19th century transition from the Wild West to the Age of Technology. There's the narrator of our story, Eadweard Muybridge, the eccentric and mysterious photographer who conquers staggering obstacles to produce the first motion pictures; his young wife, Flora, one of the greatest beauties of San Francisco - and she knows it; Major Harry Larkyns, the English con artist who steals her heart and pays the ultimate price; and Governor Leland Stanford, the richest and most powerful businessman in the nation, who is both Muybridge's greatest supporter and the engine of his most devastating downfall. Based on a true story People remember Muybridge for his high-speed photographs of a trotting horse, which settled the long-running dispute over whether all four hooves ever leave the ground at the same time. Few remember that those photos were just a beginning for Muybridge. Through trials and tragedy he developed the technology to take an extended series of photos which became the first movies. Today he is an icon of "steampunk," the burgeoning 21st century artistic and literary movement that pays homage to Victorian-era technology. Muybridge had a stormy relationship with his patron, rail tycoon Stanford. Their collaboration ended in bitter betryal and a series of disastrous lawsuits. At the peak of fame, Muybridge married Flora, a stunning beauty half his age, who betrayed him in an affair with a dashing young con artist, Major Larkyns. Muybridge murdered Larkyns in cold blood, and a spectacular "trial of the century" ended in his astonishing acquittal. Freezing Time tells this story in the form of an historical novel. While maintaining accuracy and truth about Muybridge's life and work, Freezing Time sets him into a dramatic context that is compelling to readers who may know little about him or his photography. The exciting adventure of his life and times as depicted in Freezing Time is like Indiana Jones meets The Time Machine mixed with elements of Jack The Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, and True Grit.

As a clinical psychologist, Jean Baker had always considered herself open-minded and tolerant, but found she wasn?t prepared for the revelation that her only two children were both gay. Family Secrets is an inspirational story of how she and her family learned to accept one another and overcome their internalized fears and prejudices as well as how they coped with a much greater challenge in their personal lives--HIV/AIDS. Family Secrets is more than a parenting memoir, however. It is a guide that draws upon research and scientific findings to capsize the myths and stereotypes that contribute to societal homophobia. It offers important insight into the developmental needs of gay children, and it discusses the issues faced by gay and lesbian youth and their families.Offering practical suggestions about how parents and schools can help gay, lesbian, and bisexual children grow up to be productive, psychologically healthy adults, Family Secrets discusses the effects of social prejudice and stigma on the social and emotional development of sexual minorities. As long as homophobia is running rampant in American society, gay children are going to be reluctant or afraid to confide in their parents, and parents will have trouble understanding and accepting homosexuality in their children. To end the secrecy and build open and healthy environments for all children and adolescents, this book discusses: tactics for reducing homophobia in non-gay youths promoting tolerance and understanding of sexual minorities at home and in school the effects an AIDS death has on families "coming out" about HIV/AIDS discussing homosexuality with your children, regardless of whether or not they are gay or lesbian sexual orientation and the interaction of biology with experienceBecause Family Secrets is written from the viewpoint of a parent/psychologist, it offers insights into the developmental needs of gay and lesbian children in a way that no other book has done. School counselors, psychologists, marriage and family counselors, teachers, school administrators, and the parents and siblings of gays and lesbians will all benefit from reading this honest, helpful, and encouraging book.

How do we experience attraction? What does love mean to us? When did you realise you were ace? This is the ace community in their own words. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you on an empowering, enriching journey through the rich multitudes of asexual life. With chapters spanning everything from dating, relationships and sex, to mental and emotional health, family, community and joy, the inspirational stories and personal experiences within these pages speak to aces living and loving in unique ways. Find support amongst the diverse narratives of aces sex-repulsed and sex-favourable, alongside voices exploring what it means to be black and ace, to be queer and ace, or ace and multi-partnered - and use it as a springboard for your own ace growth. Do you see a story like your own?

Focusing on the pragmatic aspects of social work with gay and lesbian persons, this book offers a knowledge base of practice that will better prepare students and practitioners for working more competently and effectively with lesbians and gay men. Written by scholars and practitioners in the social work profession, Foundations of Social Work Practice with Lesbian and Gay Persons teaches you how to develop practice approaches that are sensitive to issues of sexual orientation as well as how to work with this population in the contexts of practice with individuals, couples, families, groups, communities, and organizations. The book's sensible strategies and case studies provide you with critical information that will help you deal with homophobia and heterocentrism and enact a professional commitment to pursuing economic and social equality for diverse and at-risk client populations.A foundation-level text on social work practice with gays and lesbians, this book is designed to provide social work students, academics, and practitioners with an understanding of the values and ethics fundamental to practice with this group of clients. Foundations of Social Work Practice with Lesbian and Gay Persons summarizes the variety of issues, dynamics, and techniques required to work effectively with gay and lesbian clients who are at different points in their development and life cycles. To further help you in your practice, it also discusses: providing skilled professional assistance to gay victims of hate crimes how homophobia can prevent lesbians and gay men from receiving adequate services the obstacles social workers sometimes face when trying to integrate the core set of professional values and ethical principles into their practice practitioner self-disclosure regarding sexual identity developmental milestones for lesbian and gay persons alcohol and substance abuse among lesbians family therapy concepts of fusion and enmeshment same gender socialization assessing issues of sexual expressionCounselors, social workers, and students and academics in gay and lesbian studies will find that Foundations of Social Work Practice with Lesbian and Gay Persons greatly expands the social work knowledge base to disrupt the impact of institutional, individualized, and internal homophobia on social workers, their clients, and the institutions in which social workers practice. Its flexible and creative treatment approaches to therapy with sexual minorities are sure to help you sensitize your therapeutic techniques and improve the quality of care you deliver.

Winner of the 2010 Distinguished Book Award from the American Psychological Association's 44th Division (the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues) An in-depth, transnational primer on the current state of same-sex marriage post legalization The summer of 2008 was the summer of love and commitment for gays and lesbians in the United States. Thousands of same-sex couples stood in line for wedding licenses all over California in the first few days after same-sex marriage was legalized. On the other side of the country, Massachusetts, the very first state to give gay couples marriage rights, took the last step to full equality by allowing same-sex couples from other states to marry there as well. These happy times for same-sex couples were the hallmark of true equality for some, yet others questioned whether the very bedrock of society was crumbling. What would this new step portend? In order to find out the impact of same-sex marriage, M. V. Lee Badgett traveled to a land where it has been legal for same-sex couples to marry since 2001: the Netherlands. Badgett interviews gay couples to find out how this step has affected their lives. We learn about the often surprising changes to their relationships, the reactions of their families, and work colleagues. Moreover, Badgett is interested in the ways that the institution itself has been altered for the larger society. How has the concept of marriage changed? When Gay People Get Married gives readers a primer on the current state of the same-sex marriage debate, and a new way of framing the issue that provides valuable new insights into the political, social, and personal stakes involved. The experiences of other countries and these pioneering American states serve as a crystal ball as we grapple with this polarizing issue in the American context. The evidence shows both that marriage changes gay people more than gay people change marriage, and that it is the most liberal countries and states making the first move to recognize gay couples. In the end, Badgett compellingly shows that allowing gay couples to marry does not destroy the institution of marriage and that many gay couples do benefit, in expected as well as surprising ways, from the legal, social, and political rights that the institution offers.

Growth and Intimacy for Gay Men: A Workbook is an educational workbook for gay men that covers a variety of topics, including family of origin, addiction, self-image, dating and relationships, AIDS and multiple loss, and spirituality. Each chapter provides an overview of the mental health concerns of gay men, as well as exercises the reader can do to facilitate his personal understanding of the issues covered. While the book is written in nontechnical language, making it useful to the general public, its wide selection of workbook exercises makes it useful for psychotherapists and counselors working with gay men. Growth and Intimacy for Gay Men is written to the reader--with brief examples from the author 's work as a clinical psychologist helping gay men. A central goal of the book is to normalize the feelings and experiences the reader has, as many gay men feel like they re the only ones with their feelings or experiences. The book 's problem-solving approach addresses: family of origin--provides exercises to identify and examine gay men 's role in the family, examine their childhood perceptions of being different, and help them map out family patterns and dynamics self-image--includes self-image assessment questionnaires and written exercises that challenge the reader to look at how they re affected by societal perceptions addiction--explores why gay men are vulnerable to addictive behavior and offers strategies for change and self-assessment exercises dating and relationships--covers the unique challenges faced by gay men, with exercises for single as well as coupled men AIDS and mental health--provides exercises to help the reader examine the impact of AIDS on his own life and to assess the impact of multiple loss and prolonged grief Readers can do the workbook exercises on their own, or therapists can assign chapters and exercises as homework, with clients bringing the completed assignment to therapy for more in-depth exploration and discussion. By providing informative chapters and useful exercises, Growth and Intimacy for Gay Men becomes an avenue through which gay men can understand their identity, experiences, and goals.

A genetic basis for homosexuality has been all but proved, yet Darwinism, the most widely accepted evolutionary theory, emphasises successful reproduction. How do we explain a lifetime preference for non-reproductive sex?
Whilst social constructionism offers explanations in terms of social learning and cultural preferences, the body of evidence for a genetic predisposition to homosexuality grows. Social learning argues that homosexual sex is merely misdirected and therefore futile, but far from dying out it continues through the ages and is found in different cultures.
What if there was an evolutionary advantage to homosexuality? Straight Science? Homosexuality, Evolution and Adaptation dares to ask such questions.

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Social Services for Senior Gay Men and Lesbians is an important new reference that provides those in the helping professions with practical information on how to work with the older gay and lesbian population. Although older gays and lesbians are the same in many ways as their heterosexual counterparts, they have an extra "layer" of concerns that are unique to their sexual orientation, including "coming out" to family and medical professionals, fear of discrimination, isolation, and loneliness. This new book helps social service providers address these and other concerns of the aging homosexual.Social Services for Senior Gay Men and Lesbians examines the history of homosexuality and how practitioners have developed ways to better serve this population. The book features case studies of topics that face practitioners and their older gay clients, including: housing needs of older gay and lesbian adults group therapy for older gay males long-term care dilemmas for older lesbians counseling an older gay male who is "coming out" staff development for non-gay social service providers historical review of gay and lesbian issuesBecause so little information exists in these and other areas, Social Services for Older Gay Men and Lesbians is an excellent resource for social workers, psychologists, nurses, counselors, and physicians.

eBook available with sample pages: PB:0415908590

We are Everywhere, uses primary sources to construct a record of the issues, struggles and challenges surrounding gay politics.

Against My Better Judgment: An Intimate Memoir of an Eminent Gay Psychologist is an extraordinary and moving account of the life of a gay man in his late 60s after he loses his companion of 40 years to cancer. A leading professor of psychology at Harvard University, Roger Brown bravely comes forth with his compelling story of grief, loneliness, and a relentless search for intimacy, healing, and self-acceptance. Readers gain insight into a stage of life experienced by gay men of which little is written or spoken due to the ageism that characterizes homosexual culture. Against My Better Judgment reveals deeply personal truths that will prepare gay men for what to expect in the later stages of life. Universal in nature, these truths will speak to readers from various lifestyles and of all ages. Readers will recognize the book as a story of looking for love in all the wrong places, but will also see in it a process of discovery--both internal and external. In the aftermath of his lover's death, Brown turns to prostitutes for companionship, for relieving repressed sexual energy, and even for love. Through his unique relationships with three young men, he does not find the romantic love he so desperately seeks, but discovers that his idea of human nature has been formed by his particular life position and association with people who share his values, knowledge, and privileges. Once he goes outside his social and intellectual circle, he acquires a new perspective on life and realizes how far from universal truth his notions of humanity have been.Readers of Against My Better Judgment will gain a different perspective on the complexities of love, relationships, fidelity, human nature, and the hardships of life inevitably faced by all humans--straight, gay, or bisexual. Gay men, lesbians, psychologists, widowers, therapists, and anthropologists, as well as sensitive readers of any background, will heighten their understanding of what it means to be human. This remarkable story makes a tremendous contribution to existing gay literature and the timeless struggle of art and literature to make sense of the universe and the place of humans within it. Echoing life, Against My Better Judgment, with its brutal honesty, intrigues and repels alternately, just as it elicits both sadness and laughter.