The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World
by Alan Downs
from Da Capo Press
When I Knew
by Robert Trachtenberg
from HarperEntertainment
When I Knew is a collection of smart, hilarious, and often poignant stories about that revelation for all gay men and women: when they first knew. In this gorgeously illustrated, cleverly designed, and colorful book, acclaimed fashion and celeb-rity photographer Robert Trachtenberg brings humor and style to the EUREKA! moments of more than eighty contributors, including B. D. Wong, Arthur Laurents, Simon Doonan, Stephen Fry, Marc Shaiman, Michael Musto, and more. Also mixed in are tales about when parents knew and when everyone else knew, as well as laugh-out-loud coming-out stories.
Readers will fall in love with these anecdotes, from the seven-year-old who looked under the television set to sneak a peek under Tarzan's loincloth, to the inquisitive grandmother who asked her grandson, "You don't like a girl to get married? You prefer a boy?", to the courageous field trip participant who passed up the universal favorite burger-and-fry combo in favor of the fruit plate with cottage cheese.
Filled with original art by New Yorker illustrator Tom Bachtell, historical images, and personal photographs from the contributors, When I Knew is a vibrant and witty celebration of that sometimes glorious, sometimes painful, but always captivating moment when everything suddenly makes sense.
GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens
by Kelly Huegel
from Free Spirit Publishing
Are you queer or questioning? If you are, this book is for you. Do you know someone who might be queer or questioning? If so, this book is for you, too. Or are you someone who just wants to learn more about what it's like to be queer or questioning? This book is a great place to begin. Discovering that you, or someone you love, might be GLBTQ is a revelation. Accepting it is a process. One thing that can help that process is information. This book can't answer all of your questions or counter all of the misinformation, misconceptions, myths, half-truths, and outright lies you might have heard about being GLBTQ, but it's a start.
The Other Side of the Closet: The Coming-Out Crisis for Straight Spouses and Families, Revised and Expanded Edition
by Amity Pierce Buxton
from Wiley
Candid, compassionate, authoritative—a rich source of insights, information, and practical guidance… "The first major work on the topic." —Gay Community News "A much needed comprehensive study of what happens to husbands, wives, and children during the coming-out crisis.".; —The Reverend Jane E. Vennard, founder Task Force for Spouses of Gays and Lesbians "The new enlarged edition adds important factors, especially children's reactions to a parent's coming out. Well-researched and insightful." —Fritz Klein, M.D., author of The Bisexual Option "Anybody practicing in this area would be well advised to read this book." —Professor Arthur S. Leonard, New York Law School In two million marriages, one spouse is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Having a spouse or parent disclose his or her same-sex attraction is a shattering experience fraught with pain, confusion, anger, and a profound loss of self-esteem. Amity Pierce Buxton spotlights this exploding phenomenon and reports constructive coping strategies that spouses and children have used to resolve problems of sexual damage, family breakdown, deception, and homophobia. Illustrated throughout by riveting personal narratives, this expanded edition of The Other Side of the Closet traces the family's journey from initial trauma to eventual transformation. This invaluable source of information for spouses, families, and professionals is based on Dr. Buxton's eight years of research, including interviews with 1,000 straight spouses and children, her own personal experience, and her counseling work with spouses of gay, lesbian, and bisexual partners.
Lesbian Epiphanies: Women Coming Out in Later Life
by Karol Jensen
from Routledge
Exploring identity development and gender orientation, Lesbian Epiphanies: Women Coming Out in Later Life contains firsthand information about the experiences and difficulties of women who discover and reveal their newfound lesbian sexuality in later life. Psychologists, social workers, counselors, and professors will find that Lesbian Epiphanies is the first book to extensively quote from interviews of lesbians and bisexuals who had entered into heterosexual marriages. From the analysis of these 24 interviews, the psychological, erotic, and social processes of women who come out as lesbians or bisexuals after a heterosexual marriage are clearly explained so you can better assist your clients throughout this coming-out process. Discussing the personal and societal standards which clouded early self-awareness for these women, Lesbian Epiphanies lifts the veil of confusion to clearly illuminate the issues at hand to assist you in understanding and helping your clients. From the case studies in this important book, you will learn how some women came to realize their same gender attractions and the barriers they faced, including negative attitudes toward lesbian women and the lack of strong role models.
Helpful and informative, Lesbian Epiphanies explores the development of sexual identity in women in the United States today and provides you with essential information to help you improve your services to lesbian and bisexual clients by:
- examining how the role of marriage in American culture stifles a woman's self-awareness of her sexuality in order to help clients avoid the mistake of a heterosexual marriage before husbands and children are involved
- examining reasons behind the lack of valuable sexual information in America that limits a woman's general awareness of herself, her body, her sexuality, and her life options
- understanding the challenges that lesbians and bisexuals experience when attempting to establish their true identities to assist your clients in overcoming these barriers
- suggesting support groups for clients who are having a difficult time becoming used to the ideas and feelings of some same gender attractions
This insightful book knocks down the sociological and psychological barriers that keep women from realizing or acknowledging their real sexual orientation by dispelling societal and cultural myths about what it means to be a woman in the United States. Offering you invaluable advice on how to help clients effectively and happily live with their new identities, Lesbian Epiphanies provides solutions to the challenges that women experience in establishing their other-than-heterosexual orientation in a heterosexist society.
Take Me Out: A Play
by Richard Greenberg
from Faber & Faber
Darren Lemming is the star center fielder for the champion New York Empires. An extraordinary athlete, he fills both his fans and his teammates with awe at his abilities and his presence on the field and off. When he makes the matter-of-fact announcement that he’s gay, he throws his team into turmoil and confusion, while he also emboldens his closeted accountant, Mason Marzac, to come to terms with his own sexuality—and to fully experience the pure joy of watching great athletes play a sport as well as it can be played. But Darren’s announcement brings to the fore the confused and twisted hostilities of the Empires’ brilliantly talented but deeply racist and homophobic pitcher, Shane Mungitt—from whose rage tragic consequences ensue.
The American premiere of Take Me Out took place at the Public Theater in New York City in September 2002. It will move to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in February 2003.
Outing Yourself: How to Come Out as Lesbian or Gay to Your Family, Friends, and Coworkers
by Michelangelo Signorile
from Fireside
No matter how much you prepare, coming out as gay or lesbian is a difficult, emotional process -- a process that will continue long after the words are spoken and the secret is out. There's no magic formula, but Outing Yourself by Michelangelo Signorile offers structure, guidance, and straightforward advice to all those:
WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR SEXUALITY AND UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO
WHO HAVE ACCEPTED THAT THEY ARE GAY BUT ARE STILL AFRAID TO COME OUT
WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES OUT OF THE CLOSET BUT REALIZE THEY HAVE FARTHER TO GO
Signorile's 14-step program -- complete with exercises, meditation notes, and anger checks, as well as the accounts of the coming-out experiences of other lesbians and gay men -- shows how you can successfully handle this life-changing, life-renewing process. A guide for the coming-out journey, Outing Yourself will convince all who read it that, in the words of the author, "The stress of coming out will never be as hard on you as the stress of staying in was."
Early Embraces 2
from Alyson Books
An anthology like Early Embraces II is predicated on two assumptions: that we need more lesbian erotica (let's just say yes right away), and that there's something uniquely important and arousing about a first encounter--not only a first encounter between partners, but a first touch of a certain celebratory kind, the confirmation of a life direction. There simply isn't an analogous experience for straight women (e.g., "I'm straight! Now I know for sure!"), since all the cultural signposts reinforce their steps from girlhood to sexual maturity. The lesbian initiation, on the contrary, always feels like the blazing of a frontier. In "Camp Good News," Lisa E. Davis tumbles into the underbrush with her counselor at a missionary camp. In Amy J. Saruwatari's "Pass the Hershey's, Please," two women steamily consummate a relationship that began in the Personals column. Not all these stories are beautifully written, but all have the ring of truth and the thrill of the first time. --Regina Marler
Entwined (I Found My Heart in San Francisco, Book Five)
by Susan X Meagher
from Brisk Press
In Awakenings, the first of 26 novels of the series, we met Ryan OFlaherty and Jamie Evans, juniors at the University of California at Berkeley. Since then weve followed them from the first flicker of attraction to their declarations of love, struggles with their families and a long, love-filled honeymoon. Now theyre back in Berkeley, enjoying their summer vacation. But even though theyre madly in love, small issues keep cropping up to interrupt their bliss. From expensive haircuts to expensive cars, Jamie's moneyand what it can buycontinues to be a problem that she and Ryan struggle with. When Jim Evans, already in denial over his daughter's declared preference of a mate, receives a report from the bank that Jamie has given Ryan access to her checking account, he becomes more convinced than ever that the money is the only reason that Ryan has latched onto Jamie. Jamie knows her fathers suspicions are groundless, but she has a difficult time convincing him of that. Shes confident that hell love Ryan once he gets to know her. But for now Ryan has to satisfy herself with getting to know Catherine Evans, hoping that impressing her will go a long way towards reaching Jim.
Knock on Woodstock: The Uproarious, Uncensored Story of the Woodstock Festival, the Gay Man Who Made It Happen, and How He Earned His Ticket to Free
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