An indispensable addition to any collection of information on homosexuality and sexuality, this major new volume focuses on the evolution of concepts of sexual and homosexual identity. Concentrating on the years 1985-1989, Homosexuality as Behavior and Identity features interviews and conversations on homosexuality and art and homosexuality and society. The dialogues of the first part extend the work of such pioneering authorities on homosexuality, film, and art as Vito Russo and James Saslow. If the dialogues of the first part make a convincing case for identifying gay and lesbian persons, themes, and issues in the arts, those in the second part reevaluate such assumptions. The striking sexological insights of James Weinrich, John De Cecco's scathing indictments of sexology, and a look at the future course for the odyssey of lesbian and gay studies further reveal the controversies that are reshaping contemporary thinking about homosexuality and sexuality.

The interviews and conversations of Homosexuality and Sexuality: Dialogues of the Sexual Revolution survey a broad cross-section of the academic and scholarly opinions that have shaped contemporary thinking about homosexuality and sexuality. They also document some of the important changes that have taken place in the study of homosexuality and sexuality in our time. This readable book enables readers to go back in time and directly experience the controversies that surrounded the publication of such landmark, representative, or notorious studies as Masters and Johnson's Homosexuality in Perspective, Judd Marmor's Homosexual Behaviors, Charles Socarides's Homosexuality, the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, John Money's Love and Love Sickness, Thomas Szasz's Sex By Prescription, or Richard Green's The “Sissy Boy Syndrome.” This major new volume will be widely read in the gay community—by academicians, scholars, and historians of the gay liberation movement, the AIDS epidemic, and the sexual revolutions of our time. The volume will also be of interest to psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, sex researchers, historians, or anyone who treats, counsels, studies, or simply wishes to know more about gay men and lesbians and their experiences.

Since his first novel with a homosexual topic, The City and the Pillar, appeared in 1948, Gore Vidal has been seen as an enfant terrible of American letters. Through his ongoing writing career, he has examined (homo)sexuality in the context of cultural, religious and socio- political developments, so that it is fascinating to revisit his critical, sometimes cynical and always wittily presented ideas which were formed at a time when Gay Liberation, Gay Literature and Gay Identity were still unheard of and to discover the meaning these ideas still hold for us today.

In this groundbreaking book, author Lois Shawver substantiates a heretofore unexamined rationale--the "etiquette of disregard"--for lifting the ban against gays in the military. Why do we have a ban on gay people in the military? Primarily it is because most of the military brass and the politicians who support them predict enormous havoc if the ban were lifted. Yet studies show that little would change if the ban were lifted, and in And the Flag Was Still There, Shawver uses both anecdotal and systematic data to present her unique perspective that is of substantial interest not only to individuals interested in this military issue, but also to those in other occupations where gay people are discriminated against either by open policy or subtle historical trend. This "etiquette of disregard" is an overlooked aspect of human sexual behavior where people who have the potential to find each other sexually attractive typically protect against this potential by simply remaining asexual. This behavior is readily apparent in other professions. Because doctors and nurses conform to this code of behavior or "etiquette of disregard," they are able to examine the bodies of naked patients without melting into an uncomfortable lust. It is the same "etiquette of disregard" used by artists in the presence of nude models. And gay people, Shawver reminds us, are the most practiced of all in this etiquette because this is what allows them to go unnoticed to heterosexuals in public rest rooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms. So are gays in the military any different? And the Flag Was Still There looks at the possibility of openly gay soldiers living and fighting in intimate situations--without incident. Readers curious about homosexuals--be they parents, spouses, or friends--will find much in this book to spark their thinking about the issue of gays in the military and their own perceptions of interactions with gay people in day-to-day life. Author Lois Shawver has served as an expert in numerous trials dealing with the issue of bodily modesty in our culture--whether between men and women or between homosexuals and heterosexuals. All readers will enjoy her reasoned body of knowledge as it informs, educates, and entertains.

This fascinating new book explores the myriad aspects of biological theories of sexual preference. Sex, Cells, and Same-Sex Desire describes, reviews, and questions recent biological research on sexual preference from the point of view of knowledgeable scientists and of scholars in the social sciences and humanities representing the emerging field of gay studies. The issues involved have a vibrant history, are wide-ranging, and remain the objects of much controversy. This book demystifies biological research on sexual preference and makes it accessible to readers unfamiliar with biological and medical research.Sex, Cells, and Same-Sex Desire is divided into several sections, each of which is introduced by an explanation of key concepts and terms found in that section. The book begins with a discussion of the history of biological theories and sociocultural concepts of gender and sexuality. The next 3 sections explore specialized areas of biological science and related issues: genetics and evaluation, hormones and the endocrine system, and brain physiology and structure. A final section discusses social stigma, science, and medicine. A glossary of terms used by the authors is included, so readers may look up those that may be unfamiliar.

This is the first book to examine the unique ways in which gay men and lesbians make the journey toward the psychic wholeness and balance needed in every life—a process C. G. Jung called individuation. Here eighteen prominent therapists and writers offer thought-provoking insights into the deep meaning of homosexuality. Contributions from: Robert A. Johnson, Christine Downing, Robert Bosnak, Joseph Henderson, John Beebe, Robert H. Hopcke, Howard Teich, Morgan Farley, Caroline T. Stevens, Will Roscoe, Karin Lofthus Carrington, Lyn Cowan, Scott Wirth, Suzy Naiberg, Donald Sandner, David J. Tacey, Eugene Monick, and Susan Griffin.

When the first edition of Queering the Pitch was published in early 1994, it was immediately hailed as a landmark and defining work in the new field of Gay Musicology. In light of the explosion of Gay Musicology since 1994, a new edition of Queering the Pitch is timely and needed. In this new work, the editors are including a landmark essay by Philip Brett on Gay Musicology, its history and scope. The essay itself has become a cause celebre, and this will be its first full appearance in print. Along with this new historical essay, the editors are contributing a new introduction that outlines the changes that have occurred over the last decade as Gay Musicology has grown.

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-attitude Gays, 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.

Here is a serious discussion of an emerging gay subculture! Take another fascinating journey into the bear's den with the latest offering from Les Wright, author of The Bear Book. The Bear Book II will show you the contrast between the media image of the fun-loving, carefree bear man and the health, image, psychological, technological, and sexual concerns of bears living in the real world. A continuation of The Bear Book (1997), this study of typically big, hairy, and bearded gay men explores bears on a societal and personal level, giving a wide voice to bears of all ages, nationalities, and cultures. Among the topics The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture discusses are: health concerns of bears bear body images self-esteem issues for bears physical and psychological bear attributes as portrayed in the media versus actual individual accounts social and sexual institutions in the bear community the role of the Internet in creating a global bear subculture The Bear Book II will help you to understand the life of a bear. This unique book, the only serious exploration of this topic, offers documentation of a subculture in the making, complete with subjective and analytical perspectives that support this example of postmodern cultural anthropology.