Polari is a secret form of language mainly used by homosexual men in London and other cities during the twentieth century. Derived in part from the slang lexicons of numerous stigmatised and itinerant groups, Polari was also a means of socialising, acting out camp performances and reconstructing a shared gay identity and worldview among its speakers. This book examines the ways in which Polari was used in order to construct 'gay identities', linking its evolution to the changing status of gay men and lesbians in the UK over the past fifty years.

eBook available with sample pages: 020316704X

Share the personal stories of gay and lesbian couples who immigrated to Australia This fascinating book examines the Australian government s innovative immigration program for same-sex couples. Covering the time from the early 1980s to 2000, Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration: Together Forever? offers a powerful glimpse into the gains and costs of immigration. Its twenty-year span offers insight into both immediate and long-term implications of this policy.Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration intertwines the personal stories of gay and lesbian immigrants, including the author, with thoughtful, detailed political analysis. This groundbreaking book analyzes the Australian government s reasons for recognizing the validity of same-sex couples. It also scrutinizes the emotional and social implications of government policies for these couples.Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration explores the issues immigrant same-sex couples faced, including: HIV/AIDS proving homosexuality migration stress dealing with bureaucracy financial dependency success and failure in relationshipsStories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration will be of interest to political scientists, historians of gay and lesbian culture, policymakers seeking to change immigration laws, and anyone interested in this aspect of gay and lesbian relationships.

Shinjuku Ni-chome is a nightlife district in central Tokyo filled with bars and clubs targeting the city's gay male community. Typically understood as a "safe space" where same-sex attracted men and women from across Japan's largest city can gather to find support from a relentlessly heteronormative society, Regimes of Desire reveals that the neighborhood may not be as welcoming as previously depicted in prior literature. Through fieldwork observation and interviews with young men who regularly frequent the neighborhood's many bars, the book reveals that the district is instead a space where only certain performances of gay identity are considered desirable. In fact, the district is highly stratified, with Shinjuku Ni-chome's bar culture privileging "hard" masculine identities as the only legitimate expression of gay desire and thus excluding all those men who supposedly "fail" to live up to these hegemonic gendered ideals. Through careful analysis of media such as pornographic videos, manga comics, lifestyle magazines, and online dating services, this book argues that the commercial imperatives of the Japanese gay media landscape and the bar culture of Shinjuku Ni-chome act together to limit the agency of young gay men so as to better exploit them economically. Exploring the direct impacts of media consumption on the lives of four key informants who frequent the district's gay bars in search of community, fun, and romance, Regimes of Desire reveals the complexity of Tokyo's most popular "gay town" and intervenes in debates over the changing nature of masculinity in contemporary Japan.

Discover the deliciously succulent homosexual world of the early 1900s The Ideal Gay Man: The Story of Der Kreis gives you the history of the influential international gay journal Der Kreis, published in Switzerland from 1932--1967. You'll gain fascinating insight into the journal's origins, its development, and the reasons for its demise. Entertaining and informative, this book points out how the events of the day relating to the gay movement were reflected in and influenced by Der Kreis. Der Kreis was the world's most important journal promoting the legal and social rights of gay men. Literary historians, gay theory scholars, and general readers will be intrigued by the generous selection of articles from the English section of the journal, as well as the English translations from the French and German sections. The Ideal Gay Man is a fascinating collection of history and entertainment.Some topics you'll explore are: the beginning of the publication Der Kreis why Der Kreis stopped publication sections on the English writers, French writers, and German writers of Der Kreis articles on morality and the public's changing perceptions of homosexuality man and boy love and the differences between leading and seduction The Ideal Gay Man studies this amazingly influential gentlemen's journal and provides you with a flattering and long overdue inclusion into gay studies material. You will explore the homosexual world during a turbulent time of intolerance and discover how the events relating to the gay movement were reflected in and influenced by Der Kreis.

Longtime Companions: Autobiographies of Gay Male Fidelity provides a sophisticated alternative to "anything goes" gay literature. Challenging the stereotype that gay men are incapable of lasting and successful relationships, 15 long-term gay couples share slices of their own lives to give you insight into their present relationships, while some discuss life after their mates have passed on. You will find that their stories offer an inspirational and richly fulfilling alternative to an empty life of promiscuity that lacks true love.Through a treasury of autobiographical essays, Longtime Companions documents how committed gay male unions can be as enduring, nurturing, and diverse as heterosexual marriages and proves that loving commitments and life-sharing are not exclusive to heterosexual unions. A celebration of gay diversity, this book offers you insights from contributors of different ages, professions, geographic locations, and attitudes. You will learn the intimate details of the couples'lives, including: how they met their partners how soon they committed to each other how long the couples have been together--from 14 years to over 50 years their keys to leading successful, happy lives the ways in which their relationships fulfill their personal needs and contribute to community lifeYou will come to realize the true strength of these men's relationships as you share in their struggles within a society that offers them little recognition or support for their successful relationships. Co-editor Alfred Lees explains in the introduction to Longtime Companions, "We've all worked diligently to make our partnerships sound, nurturing, and enduring. We've done this without any social motivation, largely without role models, in the face of 'official'disapproval or contempt. We've told our stories here to refute--by the simple facts of our experience--the grotesque misrepresentation of gays as being incapable of stable, committed relationships." Will add more. . . Through a treasury of autobiographical essays, Longtime Companions documents how committed gay-male unions can be as enduring, nurturing, and diverse as heterosexual marriages and proves that loving commitment and life-sharing are not exclusive to heterosexual unions. A celebration of gay diversity, contributors vary in age, profession, geographic location, and attitudes. You will learn the intimate details of the couples'lives, including: how they met their partners how soon they committed to each other how they managed to collaborate on successful, fulfilling lives how some have maintained their commitment as part of an open relationshipYou will come to realize the true strength of these men's relationships as you share in their struggles within a society that offers them little recognition or support for their successful relationships. Co-Author Alfred Lees explains in the Introduction to Longtime Companions, "We've all worked diligently to make our partnerships sound, nurturing, and enduring. We've done this without any social innovation, largely without role models, in the face of 'official" disapproval or contempt. We've told our stories here to refute--by the simple facts of our experience--the grotesque misrepresentation of gays as being incapable of stable, committed relationships."

Based on long-term field research carried out over more than 15 years, Beneath the Equator examines the changing shape of male homosexuality and the emergence of diverse and vibrant gay communities in urban Brazil. Drawing on detailed ethnographic description of multiple sexual worlds organized around street cruising and impersonal sex, male prostitution, transgender performances, gay commercial markets and establishments, gay rights activism and AIDS service provision, Richard Parker examines the changing sexual identities, cultures and communities that have taken shape in Brazil in recent years.

"Contemporary Continental Philosophy "steps back from current debates comparing Continental and analytic philosophy and carefully, yet critically outlines the tradition's main philosophical views on epistemology and ontology. Forgoing obscure paraphrases, D'Amico provides a detailed, clear account and assessment of the tradition from its founding by Husserl and Heidegger to its challenge by Derrida and Foucault. Though intended as a survey of this tradition throughout the twentieth century, this study's focus is on the philosophical problems which gave it birth and even now continue to shape it.The book reexamines Husserl as an early critic of epistemological naturalism whose grasp of the philosophical importance of the theory of meaning was largely ignored. Heidegger's contrasting effort to revive ontology is examined in terms of his distinction between ontic and ontological questions. In contrast with many earlier studies, the author outlines confusions engendered by the misappropriation of the distinct philosophical agendas of Husserl and Heidegger by such famous figures as Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. The book is also original in its emphasis on how social externalism in epistemology, inspired by Karl Mannheim, influenced this tradition's structuralist and Marxist phases. The philosophical defenses of a theory of interpretation by Gadamer and Habermas are closely examined and assessed and the study concludes with a a probing yet balanced account of Foucault and Derrida as critics of philosophical autonomy. The book concludes by reassessing this century-long divide between the analytic and Continental traditions and its implication for the future of philosophy.

A recent gay widower may find that once the shock and initial confusion of losing his partner is overcome, there are still many hard, lonely, and overwhelming stages of grief to be worked through. Often, the bereaved feels isolated, and looking around for comfort, realizes that he doesn?t have many resources to turn to, but Gay Widowers: Life After the Death of a Partner is a start. By offering first-person accounts of becoming a widower, this book, the first of its kind, allows others who are about to lose or already have lost a partner to find support, validation, recognition, and fellowship. Its editor and contributors hope that by sharing their stories of loss, pain, and bewilderment, they will help others in mourning as well as make one more step forward in their own healing.Men of different ages and ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds join together in Gay Widowers to remind other gay widowers that they are not alone and that their feelings of pain, anger, and emptiness are normal and legitimate. Not solely a book about life after the loss of a partner to AIDS, this book is about rebuilding life as a bereaved gay man, regardless of the cause of your partner's death. You will find encouragement for moving your life forward, without shutting your memories away, as you read about: how homophobia can complicate a gay widower's grieving and mourning handling financial and legal matters before and after death specific mental health issues of gay widowers dating again similarities among gay widowers'responses to their partners'deaths making time for your feelings rather than avoiding them finding love after or during bereavement trauma theory's applications to gay widowersBy bringing forth these stories, Gay Widowers offers bereaved gay men, psychologists, counselors, and social workers--in a society where the mourning process is generally a heterosexual, social construct--a clinical overview of the psychodynamic issues relevant, and perhaps unique, to the mourning process of gay men.

And Then I Became Gay traces the histories of a group of young gay and bisexual North American men. The book consists of a series of narratives which chronicle the growing awareness of a sexual identity amongst young gay men from the 1980s on.

With research based on focus groups and individual interviews in the United States, as well as a thorough and integrative review of the current literature, Latino Gay Men and HIV discusses the six main sociocultural factors in Latino communities - machismo, homophobia, family cohesion, sexual silence, poverty and racism - which undermine safe sex practices. In an attempt to explain the alarmingly high incidence of unprotected intercourse in this population, this in-depth cultural and psychological analysis shows how an apparent incongruence between knowledge or intention and behaviour can possess its own sociocultural logic and meaning.

Two Spirit People is the first-ever look at social science research exploration into the lives of American Indian lesbian women and gay men. Editor Lester B. Brown posits six gender styles in traditional American Indian culture: men and women, not-men and not-women (persons of one biological sex assuming the identity of the opposite sex in some form), and gays and lesbians. He brings together chapters that emphasize American Indian spirituality, present new perspectives, and provide readers with a beginning understanding of the place of lesbian, gay, and bisexual Indians within American Indian culture and within American society. This beginning will help you understand these unique people and the special challenges and multiple prejudices they face.Traditionally, American Indian cultures showed great respect and honor for alternative gender styles, since these were believed to be part of the sacred web of life. If the Great Spirit chose to create alternative sexualities or gender roles, who was bold enough to oppose such power? If one's spiritual quest revealed one's identity to be that of not-woman, not-man, gay, or lesbian, who should defy their calling? The interpretation of contemporary American Indian religions that gay American Indians retain sacred rights within Indian cultures, and that they can share this gift with others, have implications for therapy, identity formation, social movements, and general human relations. Social workers and other human service professionals, American Indian studies students, sociologists, anthropologists, and lesbian and gay scholars will find Two Spirit People enlightening and a significant contribution to the development of professional interventions for oppressed groups that is ethnically and culturally sensitive. Only by understanding the belief systems from which these oppressed groups come will you begin to really help them achieve positive change. You will become better equipped to specifically help gay and lesbian American Indians as you gain insight into: American Indian alternative gender styles social service issues for American Indian lesbians and gay men American Indian not-men and not-women and their choosing ceremonies American Indian lesbian and gay identity development American Indian lesbian and gay literature AIDS and American IndiansTwo Spirit People helps you see that family and community acceptance of lesbians and gays is possible. The families of American Indian lesbians and gays do not usually abandon them, thus helping them face a generally unaccepting American milieu. Looking to this book and the American Indian perspective of alternative sexuality/gender styles, American society as a whole can begin to take a new approach to the treatment and understanding of other groups traditionally held to the "outside" of American mainstream society.

The Bear Book brings together an impressive range of bear--usually big, hairy men who favor full-face beards and prefer to wear jeans and flannel shirts--viewpoints to explore this unique social and cultural phenomenon that stretches from America to western Europe to Australia On the personal level, you learn what beardom means to different people in their daily lives, and on a broader level, its cultural implications for not only the gay community, but also society as a whole. As this book moves across the wide spectrum of bear identities, you learn about the defining forces of identity, the significance of differences among masculinities, and the shapings of the bear movement from different viewpoints.The Bear Book is the first compilation of sociological and cultural analytical investigations of the contemporary gay bear phenomenon. To this end, Editor Les Wright brings together both objective and subjective viewpoints to create a forum where bears can speak for themselves. Through their voices, you ll learn about: bears and sexual identity gay male iconography socializing on the Internet sexual politics (gender, class, "looks-ism," and body image) gay mass media, the single most powerful force in the current construction of "bears" bears, power, and glamor bear-as-image vs. bear-as-attitudeGays, lesbians, lesbigay scholars, bears, and social scientists are sure to find The Bear Book thought-provoking and insightful as it broaches questions such as: Are bears caught up in a utopian-romantic impulse to reinvent themselves? What was radical lesbianism's impact on the bear movement? To what extent are bears only another group of exploited consumers in a fragmented market system? And, is it possible to establish social liberation through enslavement to your sexual passions? For both your pleasure and your education, The Bear Book examines nearly every corner of beardom, including bear history, identity, social spaces, iconography, and its constituency abroad."

"Homo Economics" is the first honest account of the tense relationship between gay people and the economy. This groundbreaking collection brings together a variety of voices from the worlds of journalism, activism, academia, the arts, and public policy to address issues including the recent economic history of the gay community, the community's response to its changing economic circumstances, and the risks inherent in a narrow definition of liberation.
For the first time in U.S. history, gay men and lesbians live open lives. From nightclubs in gay city districts to political rallies and Caribbean cruises, this new community continues to reveal itself throughout the nation. However, with this growth, there are also signs of fracturing as economic forces key to its development are now threatening its future.
"Homo Economics" illustrates the ways in which modern capitalism has eroded the rigid sexual division of labor that deterred gay couples from setting up households in the past. But the book also shows how this economic system has created divisions within the gay community, channelled lesbians and gay men into particular professions, and discriminated against them in the workplace.
After a century of neglect, we have now reached the point where suddenly gay consumers are being courted by corporations, gay money is fueling political campaigns, and gay and lesbian neighborhoods are expanding. The essays in "Homo Economics" warn us however, that contrary to popular stereotypes, only a narrow segment of the gay community is enjoying economic success and the majority of gay men and lesbians actually earn less than straight men and women.
"Homo Economics" bringstogether contributors including Jeffrey Escoffier, Donna Minkowitz, Tony Kushner, Julie Matthaei, Dorothy Allison, Sean Strub, Dan Baker and Lee Badgett among others, to address the views of the gay community towards capitalism. As such, Amy Gluckman and Betsy Reed have given us the most comprehensive overview to date of this urgent and highly controversial subject.

"Homo Economics" is the first honest account of the tense relationship between gay people and the economy. This groundbreaking collection brings together a variety of voices from the worlds of journalism, activism, academia, the arts, and public policy to address issues including the recent economic history of the gay community, the community's response to its changing economic circumstances, and the risks inherent in a narrow definition of liberation.
For the first time in U.S. history, gay men and lesbians live open lives. From nightclubs in gay city districts to political rallies and Caribbean cruises, this new community continues to reveal itself throughout the nation. However, with this growth, there are also signs of fracturing as economic forces key to its development are now threatening its future.
"Homo Economics" illustrates the ways in which modern capitalism has eroded the rigid sexual division of labor that deterred gay couples from setting up households in the past. But the book also shows how this economic system has created divisions within the gay community, channelled lesbians and gay men into particular professions, and discriminated against them in the workplace.
After a century of neglect, we have now reached the point where suddenly gay consumers are being courted by corporations, gay money is fueling political campaigns, and gay and lesbian neighborhoods are expanding. The essays in "Homo Economics" warn us however, that contrary to popular stereotypes, only a narrow segment of the gay community is enjoying economic success and the majority of gay men and lesbians actually earn less than straight men and women.
"Homo Economics" bringstogether contributors including Jeffrey Escoffier, Donna Minkowitz, Tony Kushner, Julie Matthaei, Dorothy Allison, Sean Strub, Dan Baker and Lee Badgett among others, to address the views of the gay community towards capitalism. As such, Amy Gluckman and Betsy Reed have given us the most comprehensive overview to date of this urgent and highly controversial subject.

Creating a Place For Ourselves is a groundbreaking collection of essays which takes an historical look at gay life in the United States before Stonewall and the gay liberation movement. Along with examining areas with large gay communities such as New York, San Francisco and Fire Island, the contributors also consider the thriving gay populations in cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Washington D.C., Birmingham and Flint, demonstrating that gay communities are truly everywhere.

It offers an understanding of the histories of the contemporary legal tradition and their current operation using specific examples, such as the impact of a court case over an alleged breach of the peace when two men kissed in public.
The Homosexual(ity) of Law looks at how legal discourse is constructed to place homosexuality in a very specific band of regulation and focuses on gay and civil rights, equality under the law and social attitudes towards homosexuals.

eBook available with sample pages: 020341019X

Raising fundamental questions about our understanding of the term "homosexuality," "The Homosexuality of Law" is an important and original contribution on the legal regulation of identity and sexuality, providing a theoretical underpinning for the study of the treatment of homosexuals by the law. Moran offers an understanding of the histories of the contemporary legal tradition and their current operation using specific examples, such as the impact of a court case over an alleged breach of the peace when two men kissed in public. The volume explores how legal discourse is constructed to place homosexuality in a very specific band of regulation and focuses on gay and civil rights, equality under the law and social attitudes towards homosexuals.

This book explores how the social and technical integration of mainstream social media into gay men's digital cultures since the mid 2000s has played out in the lives of young gay men, looking at how these convergences have influenced more recent iterations of gay men's digital culture. Focusing on platforms such as Gaydar, Facebook, Grindr and Instagram, Cassidy highlights the ways that identity and privacy management issues experienced in this context have helped to generate a culture of participatory reluctance within gay men's digital environments.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415903351

The host of Hollywood Squares asks Paul Lynde, "Why do bikers wear leather?" "Because chiffon wrinkles so easily," Lynde quips.
Since at least the end of the nineteenth century, gay culture -- its humor, its icons, its desires -- has been alive and sometimes even visible in the midst of straight American society. David Van Leer puts forward here a series of reading that aim to identify what he calls the "queening" of America, a process by which "rhetorics and situations specific to homosexual culture are presented to a general readership as if culturally neutral." In his recinsiderations of the all-American "Damn Yankees" or the gay adult classics of Patrick Dennis ("Auntie Mame, Little Me"), Van Leer overturns simplistic notions of camp as merely a humorous exaggeration of straight culture.
"The Queening" "of America" examines how the invisibility of gay male writing, especially in the popular culture of the 1950s and 1960s, facilitated the crossing of gay motifs in straight culture. Van Leer then critiques some current models of making homosexuality visible (the packaging of Joe Orton, the theories of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, the rise of gay studies), before concluding more optimistically on the possible alliances between gay culture and other minority discourses.

This book shows how different types of SEN can impact on a child's learning and what practitioners can do to help. Includes: photocopiable record sheets helpful explanations of responsibilities in relation to the Code of Practice and SENDA short case studies that illustrate how strategies work in practice.

This collection tells the stories of 11 American gay men who tried to understand their indentities in the years before the modern gay liberation movement began. From the 1920s through the 1960s, from a variety of regions and social classes, the men describe their families, early childhood experiences, coming out in settings unlike the gay neighbourhoods and communities of today, and their current romantic and sexual lives. For some men the military presented the opportunity to explore their personal and social identities; for others, a chance encounter in a seminary, an accidentally-discovered gay bar, or a hetrosexual marriage provoked them into exploring deeper needs and desires. The variety of experiences illustrates the numerous ways individuals come to know their gay selves in an often unfriendly and hostile world. Interviews with a contemporary elder of the gay movement and a heterosexual psychiatrist who argues against categorizing homosexuality as a mental disorder, supplement the original 11 stories.

This book tells the stories of 11 American gay men who tried to make sense of their identities in the years before the modern gay movement began. In their own words, these men recollect fascinating accounts of what it was like negotiate their desires within a social and psychological context in which homosexuality was marginalized. The editors carefully situate the lifestories in US culture before Stonewall and skillfully raises the issues and problems in presenting such stories.

This groundbreaking new book weaves personal portraits of lesbian and gay Southerners with interdisciplinary commentary about the impact of culture, race, and gender on the development of sexual identity. Growing Up Gay in the South is an important book that focuses on the distinct features of Southern life. It will enrich your understanding of the unique pressures faced by gay men and lesbians in this region--the pervasiveness of fundamental religious beliefs; the acceptance of racial, gender, and class community boundaries; the importance of family name and family honor; the unbending view of appropriate childhood behaviors; and the intensity of adolescent culture.You will learn what it is like to grow up gay in the South as these Southern lesbians and gay men candidly share their attitudes and feelings about themselves, their families, their schooling, and their search for a sexual identity. These insightful biographies illustrate the diversity of persons who identify themselves as gay or lesbian and depict the range of prejudice and problems they have encountered as sexual rebels. Not just a simple compilation of "coming out" stories, this landmark volume is a human testament to the process of social questioning in the search for psychological wholeness, examining the personal and social significance of acquiring a lesbian or gay identity within the Southern culture. Growing Up Gay in the South combines intriguing personal biographies with the extensive use of scholarship from lesbian and gay studies, Southern history and literature, and educational thought and practice. These features, together with an extensive bibliography and appendices of data, make this essential reading for educators and other professionals working with gay and lesbian youth.