Not Gay

A different look at heterosexuality in the twenty-first century A straight white girl can kiss a girl, like it, and still call herself straight—her boyfriend may even encourage her. But can straight white guys experience the same easy sexual fluidity, or would kissing a guy just mean that they are really gay? Not Gay thrusts deep into a world where straight guy-on-guy action is not a myth but a reality: there’s fraternity and military hazing rituals, where new recruits are made to grab each other’s penises and stick fingers up their fellow members’ anuses; online personal ads, where straight men seek other straight men to masturbate with; and, last but not least, the long and clandestine history of straight men frequenting public restrooms for sexual encounters with other men. For Jane Ward, these sexual practices reveal a unique social space where straight white men can—and do—have sex with other straight white men; in fact, she argues, to do so reaffirms rather than challenges their gender and racial identity. Ward illustrates that sex between straight white men allows them to leverage whiteness and masculinity to authenticate their heterosexuality in the context of sex with men. By understanding their same-sex sexual practice as meaningless, accidental, or even necessary, straight white men can perform homosexual contact in heterosexual ways. These sex acts are not slippages into a queer way of being or expressions of a desired but unarticulated gay identity. Instead, Ward argues, they reveal the fluidity and complexity that characterizes all human sexual desire. In the end, Ward’s analysis offers a new way to think about heterosexuality—not as the opposite or absence of homosexuality, but as its own unique mode of engaging in homosexual sex, a mode characterized by pretense, dis-identification and racial and heterosexual privilege. Daring, insightful, and brimming with wit, Not Gay is a fascinating new take on the complexities of heterosexuality in the modern era.

"I'm gay." An ever greater number of young people are deciding this is their true "identity," while at the same time demanding society usher in a host of new "civil rights" to promote the ever-expanding expression and celebration of their "gayness." But is this even true, that being "gay" is really "who you are?" Does this identity bring liberation - or a whole new burden? Does it lift the veil of secrecy - or start a new kind of struggle? "Maybe He's Not Gay" is a straight-talk resource that addresses these questions and speaks directly to each adolescent heart with compassion and truth. And now the 2nd edition of this popular book brings readers a powerful new chapter: "Maybe He's Not ... a Girl," revealing the truth behind the explosion in gender confusion. Author Linda Harvey gives hope and answers to those confused by the turmoil of adolescence, which for some, may include same-sex attractions or gender confusion. The book explodes the lies of the homosexual agenda and explains to young people what their feelings really mean - and why a new identity as "gay" may not be the final answer.

This compelling book recounts the history of black gay men from the 1950s to the 1990s, tracing how the major movements of the times—from civil rights to black power to gay liberation to AIDS activism—helped shape the cultural stigmas that surrounded race and homosexuality. In locating the rise of black gay identities in historical context, Kevin Mumford explores how activists, performers, and writers rebutted negative stereotypes and refused sexual objectification. Examining the lives of both famous and little-known black gay activists—from James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin to Joseph Beam and Brother Grant-Michael Fitzgerald—Mumford analyzes the ways in which movements for social change both inspired and marginalized black gay men. Drawing on an extensive archive of newspapers, pornography, and film, as well as government documents, organizational records, and personal papers, Mumford sheds new light on four volatile decades in the protracted battle of black gay men for affirmation and empowerment in the face of pervasive racism and homophobia.

"History" sounds really official. Like it's all fact. Like it's definitely what happened. But that's not necessarily true. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. And sometimes, those historians were biased against, didn't see, or couldn't even imagine anyone different from themselves. That means that history has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people: men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Historians have even censored the lives and loves of some of the world's most famous people, from William Shakespeare and Pharaoh Hatshepsut to Cary Grant and Eleanor Roosevelt. Join author Lee Wind for this fascinating journey through primary sources—poetry, memoir, news clippings, and images of ancient artwork—to explore the hidden (and often surprising) Queer lives and loves of two dozen historical figures.

The Pope is Not Gay! is an irreverent history of homophobic and sexist obscurantism in the Holy Roman Church and an endoscopic examination of its greatest contemporary advocate, Pope Benedict XVI. In his inimitable style, Angelo Quattrocchi traces the evolution of Joseph Ratzinger's life, beginning with the pope's childhood in Nazi Germany, his membership of the Hitler youth in Bavaria and his conscription into the German anti-aircraft corps. His has been a startling career, a story that helps explain his development as a reactionary theologian and culminates in his carefully planned election to the papacy in 2005. Quattrocchi contrasts the Pope's doctrinal rigidity on issues such as birth control, abortion, and homosexuality to his extravagant attire and his controversial relationship with his private secretary, Cardinal Georg Gnswein. Rigidity on all fronts. Illustrated throughout and including Ratzinger's key writings on homosexuality as an appendix, The Pope is Not Gay! sheds new light on the Catholic Church's sustained interference in contemporary politics and society and the hypocrisy of its pontiffs past and present.

When a gay man or woman is faced with the reality that a growing and vibrant life in Jesus Christ is incompatible with their sexual attractions, what exactly does he or she do? What steps can be taken toward leaving the gay life and identity? In this accessible book Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, explains the process and clarifies the expectations for those who are skeptical of change or frustrated by an ongoing struggle with same-sex attraction. Readers will learn how to enter into a new life in Christ set realistic and healthy expectations build authentic community learn to forgive overcome the power of sexual addiction Men and women of all ages who struggle with same-sex attraction will find Leaving Homosexuality indispensable in their own walk of faith...and an excellent resource to give to those who haven't yet heard that there is a new life of freedom beyond homosexuality available to them.

Teens need to hear the truth about homosexuality, not just the political spin. Maybe He's Not Gay gives them a step-by-step way to evaluate a potential American revolution. Is homosexuality just like any other lifestyle? Is it an inborn and unchanging identity? And what does Christianity really say about this behavior? Despite attempts to silence, distort and censor reasonable, conservative views about homosexuality, the youth of America deserve so much better. They deserve to see the complete picture. More and more young people are announcing "I'm gay" and deciding this is their identity, so it's time to take a closer look. It's a profound declaration, a new civil right (they are told) and it's "who you are." But there's a problem. Are we sure this is the truth? Does this identity bring the promised liberation and the key to a whole new life? Does it lift the burden of secrecy - or begin a different kind of struggle? Maybe He's Not Gay: Another View on Homosexuality by Linda Harvey addresses these critical questions. This book is for America's youth and the bright future they can all have, regardless of the turmoil of adolescence, which for some, may include same sex attractions or gender confusion. What do those feelings mean? Is there another possibility that transcends the seeming finality of a homosexual identity? Teens, college students, parents, youth group leaders and many others will appreciate the practical insights and faith perspective of Maybe He's Not Gay. Catalog description: Despite attempts to silence, distort and censor reasonable, conservative views about homosexuality, the youth of America deserve so much better. They deserve to see the complete picture. More and more young people are announcing, "I'm gay," and deciding this is their identity, so it's time to take a closer look. It's a profound declaration, a new civil right (they are told) and it's "who you are." But there's a problem. Are we sure this is the truth? Does this identity bring the promised liberation and the key to a whole new life? Does it lift the burden of secrecy - or begin a different kind of struggle? Maybe He's Not Gay: Another View on Homosexuality by Linda Harvey addresses these critical questions. This book is for America's youth and the bright future they can all have, regardless of the turmoil of adolescence, which for some, may include same sex attractions or gender confusion. What do those feelings mean? Is there another possibility that transcends the seeming finality of a homosexual identity? Teens, college students, parents, youth group leaders and many others will appreciate the practical insights and faith perspective of Maybe He's Not Gay.

No one raises an eyebrow if you suggest that a guy who arranges his furniture just so, rolls his eyes in exaggerated disbelief, likes techno music or show tunes, and knows all of Bette Davis's best lines by heart might, just possibly, be gay. But if you assert that male homosexuality is a cultural practice, expressive of a unique subjectivity and a distinctive relation to mainstream society, people will immediately protest. Such an idea, they will say, is just a stereotype-ridiculously simplistic, politically irresponsible, and morally suspect. The world acknowledges gay male culture as a fact but denies it as a truth. David Halperin, a pioneer of LGBTQ studies, dares to suggest that gayness is a specific way of being that gay men must learn from one another in order to become who they are. Inspired by the notorious undergraduate course of the same title that Halperin taught at the University of Michigan, provoking cries of outrage from both the right-wing media and the gay press, How To Be Gay traces gay men's cultural difference to the social meaning of style. Far from being deterred by stereotypes, Halperin concludes that the genius of gay culture resides in some of its most despised features: its aestheticism, snobbery, melodrama, adoration of glamour, caricatures of women, and obsession with mothers. The insights, impertinence, and unfazed critical intelligence displayed by gay culture, Halperin argues, have much to offer the heterosexual mainstream.

From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us. In Ross Gay’s new collection of small, daily wonders, again written over the course of a year, one of America’s most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the “nefarious” scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us. The Book of (More) Delights is a volume to savor and share.

The bestselling young adult non-fiction book on sexuality and gender! Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Transgender. Queer. Intersex. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who's ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBTQ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations. Inside this revised and updated edition, you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask, with topics like: Stereotypes—the facts and fiction Coming out as LGBT Where to meet people like you The ins and outs of gay sex How to flirt And so much more! You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don't) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter. And so does this book. This book is for: LGBTQIA+ teens, tweens, and adults Readers looking to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community Parents of gay kids and other LGBT youth Educators looking for advice about the LGBTQIA+ community Praise for This Book is Gay: A Guardian Best Book of the Year 2018 Garden State Teen Book Award Winner "The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Frank, warm, funny, USEFUL."—Patrick Ness, New York Times bestselling author "This egregious gap has now been filled to a fare-thee-well by Dawson's book."—Booklist *STARRED REVIEW*