These post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on in a world where everyone is vulnerable to the most beautiful and dangerous angel of all: love.

    In 2001, the mesmerizing film adaptation was released to equally glowing reviews. Brilliantly innovative and oddly endearing, Hedwig and the Angry Inch—inspired by Plato’s Symposium—is the story of “internationally ignored song stylist” Hedwig Schmidt, the victim of a gruesomely botched sex-change operation, as dazzlingly recounted by Hedwig (née Hansel) herself in the form of a lounge act, backed by the rock band The Angry Inch.

    Go behind the pen and into the psyche of dyke to watch out for Alison Bechdel--cartoon chronicler extraordinaire--as the inner workings of lesbiania's most quick-witted, longest-running social commentator are revealed.

    Miranda is, too, one who'll find her femme persona as intriguing and fuckable as she is in boy drag. Jack thinks she's hot no matter what she looks like, and after "introducing" her to a few of his friends, decides to keep her on. This is San Francisco's notorious SOMA/South of Market, a neighborhood colonized by leatherfolk long before the dot-commers and ravers arrived. From dark alleys to tastefully-appointed dungeons, from hotel penthouses to tranny bars, Randy/Miranda embraces her heart's, mind's, and body's desires with an assortment of sexes, genders, and sexual orientations. With Jack and others--all denizens of San Francisco's sexual fringes--she creates her own queer version of family. Mistress of sexual storytelling Carol Queen offers a fresh look at sexual lifestyles and choices that are misinterpreted and repudiated by the mainstream. Her perceptive and knowledgeable treatment inserts a new viewpoint into the carefully developed relationships of power play, destroying stereotypes and modeling open communication. A 1999 Firecracker Alternative Book Award-winner in the original edition (Cleis Press, 1998).

    And that includes the crucial zone below the belt, both fore and aft. There was nothing ambiguous about Tom of Finland's interest in his objects of desire: "lf I don't have an erection when I'm doing a drawing, I know it's no good", he himself said. The eroti-cism is naked, even aggressive. The poses inevitably consigned his work to the pornography shelves, and the walls of leather bars in the gay scene. So far there has been no account of the artistic virtuosity of his work.The present volume traces the life and career of this important artist. Born in southern Finland, Tom played the piano at local coffee shops to supplement his income as a graphic artist until his watercolors of male sexuality began to appear as covers on major American gay publications. His impact as an artist has since stretched far beyond the gay scene.

    The dogs, led by the cruel, charismatic bitch named Miss Dog, alternate between being brutal attack animals and loyal companions, being real and otherworldly. Some chapters draw upon the ecstatic and horrifying visions of Christian mystics; others take place in the landscapes of familiar fairytales; others in the banal settings of the late-night pick-up bars or suburban picnics. The narrator uneasily inhabits these worlds until the dogs force her to take irrevocable action."A snarling attack on the fairytale form. A good girl's fears of inadequacy materialize as a pack of vicious dogs."—Publishers Weekly"A strange and wonderful first-person voice emerges from the stories of Rebecca Brown, who strips her language of convention to lay bare the ferocious rituals of love and need."—The New York Times"Using unsentimental language that slices, pries and exposes layers of emotion and sexuality as a scalpel does a body, Brown veers into the uncharted territory."—The San Francisco Chronicle"I read everything Rebecca Brown writes, watch for her books and hunt down her short stories. She is simply one of the best contemporary lesbian writers around."—Dorothy Allison"A dry, witty, graceful—if savage—gift."—Mary GaitskillRebecca Brown is the author of other fictions, including The Terrible Girls, Annie Oakley’s Girl, and The Gifts of the Body. She is the winner of the 2003 Washington State Book Award, and was awarded a Genius Award and grant from Seattle's weekly magazine, The Stranger. She lives in Seattle.

    It gathers a wide range of evidence from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D.--above all from such literary texts as courtroom speeches, love poetry, philosophy, epigram, and history, but also graffiti and other inscriptions as well as artistic artifacts--and uses that evidence to reconstruct the contexts within which Roman texts were created and had their meaning. The book takes as its starting point the thesis that in order to understand the Roman material, we must make the effort to set aside any preconceptions we might have regarding sexuality, masculinity, and effeminacy.Williams' book argues in detail that for the writers and readers of Roman texts, the important distinctions were drawn not between homosexual and heterosexual, but between free and slave, dominant and subordinate, masculin and effeminate as conceived in specifically Roman terms. Other important questions addressed by this book include the differences between Roman and Greek practices and ideologies; the influence exerted by distinctively Roman ideals of austerity; the ways in which deviations from the norms of masculine sexual practice were negotiated both in the arena of public discourse and in real men's lives; the relationship between the rhetoric of nature and representations of sexual practices; and the extent to which same-sex marriages were publicly accepted.

    With hundreds of works by authors ranging from Ovid to James Baldwin, from Plato to Oscar Wilde, The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature presents a wide range of poetry, fiction, essays, and autobiography that depict love, friendship, intimacy, desire, and sex between men.

    

    Drawing from the remnants of real-life anecdotes--from Edgar Allan Poe's final days to the agonizing tale of Idilia Dubb--these stories are imagined descents into death's supreme indifference. A true modern inheritor of the legacy of the French Decadent writers, Wittkop spins these tales with her trademark macabre elegance and chilling humor, maneuvering in an uncertain space between dark Romanticism, Gothic Expressionism and Sadean cruelty. "Death is life's most important moment," Wittkop claimed; Exemplary Departures offers five particularly important moments for the English reader's delectation. First published as a set of three novellas in 1995, this translation is of the 2012 edition of five novellas, which include the previously unpublished "Mr. T.'s Last Secret" and "Claude and Hippolyte.

    As well as their shared interest in politics, literature, art and theatre, the letters deal often and explicitly with the subject of homosexuality and with the sometimes scandalous activities of many of their close circle. Brooke and Strachey compare observations of fellow members of the exclusive Cambridge 'Apostles' (which included James' brother Lytton Strachey, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Bertrand Russell), of mutual 'Bloomsbury' friends (such as Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and George Mallory) and of such fellow Fabian Socialists as Hugh Dalton and Beatrice Webb. The correspondence provides important new biographical, psychological and cultural insights into Rupert Brooke and his poetry, and reveals the complexities of the man behind the heroic legend that his early death inspired.

    Magically blending ancient headlines and modern myth, Merlis creates a fabulous new world where legendary heroes declare their endowments in personal ads and any panhandler may be a divinity in disguise. Comical, moving, startling in its audacity and range, An Arrow's Flight is a profound meditation on gay identity, straight power, and human liberation.

    These stories, some never before published, range in style and texture from the warmth of magical realism to disturbing modern gothic -- showcasing a rich and varied exploration of sex in worlds that might be earthtly -- to tales of the human fantasies and magical dreams to which we all succumb. From the critically acclaimed, otherwordly "Pearl Driver" to "The Game," all of Tan's stories celebrate the body and sex, revealing the positive emotions behind even the darkest desires.

    This book was made possible by a grant from the Xeric Foundation. The sequel, Curbside Boys, was published in 2002 by the award-winning Cleis Press, of San Francisco.

    It describes clearly the troubles that the "system" deliver to maintain the status-quo, and the overwhelming drive needed by both the child and the parent in overcoming these burdens and achieving success. This should be required reading for any parent of a Transgendered person. The writing style is easy and familiar and will make for a "quick read" ; one you won't want to put down

    This distinct group, known as the Ñ Generation (as coined by Bill Teck), are the bilingual children of Cuban exiles nourished by two cultural currents—the fragmented traditions and transferred nostalgia of their parents' Caribbean homeland and the very real and present America where they grew up and live.

    Susan Love). 85 photos.

    This edited volume is an outgrowth of a discussion that began on the Sociologists for Women in Society Listserve, in which participants were asked to talk about key pieces in feminist scholarship that had particularly influenced their sociological thinking. Editors Kristen A. Myers, Cynthia D. Anderson, and Barbara J. Risman have chosen articles that fall into what they consider the intellectual genres that compose feminist sociology. This collection differs from others because the editors avoid organizing material by substantive specialty areas (i.e., family, race and ethnicity, criminology, or methods). Their vision instead sees sociology as an integrated discipline, where feminist contributions have systematically influenced the shape of the whole by similarly influencing the distinct parts. In addition to simply compiling a comprehensive list of important articles from the last two decades, the editors have invited major feminist scholars to comment and reflect on the articles in each section of the book. These reflections help provide the historical and social context in which feminist scholarship has taken place. This book will be of obvious appeal to feminist scholars and gender sociologists. Yet, as feminist thought rightfully takes its place away from the margins and toward the center of the discipline, this book stands as a rich and useful resource for any contemporary theory course.

    Over a period of one hundred years, we can see the changing styles in clothes, hair, and attitudes, but what remains constant is the expression of affection and love between these men. Some may be gay, others assuredly not, but whatever the relationship, these images celebrate Walt Whitman's "dear love of comrades."

    The author, who has herself been surgically reassigned, has conducted extensive interviews with transsexuals from many walks of life. Her personal experiences, which inform this book, have given her an access to her subjects that others would likely be denied. While highlighting how the gender identity of transsexuals relates to hormonal and surgical changes in the body as well as to changes in dress, the book investigates the pressures and motivations to conform to expected gender roles, and the ways in which these are affected by social, educational, and professional status. Differences in the experiences of those who change from male to female and those who change from female to male are also examined.Sex reassignment has been the focus of considerable media attention recently, as increasing numbers of people feel able to talk frankly about their personal experiences with gender dysphoria. Strides with medical technology have given transsexuals new opportunities in their lives. This book provides unique insights into how these changes are seen by those people most affected them.

    

    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.

    Arguably contemporary Utah's most celebrated painter, Southey (originally from west Africa, formerly of the BYU art faculty, now in his own San Francisco studio) reveals much about his inner life through this stunning body of work, assembled by K. Mitchell Snow. The idealized souls that float across the canvas remind us of an inner beauty that all possess.

    -- Grace Paley"Bea Gates is a discoverer. Her poems of the lost and the found are transparently true to the time we live in. They move us because she has endured until she found words steady enough to present them. Major contemporary themes -- eros, AIDS, child abuse, friendship, homelessness -- emerge free of cliche from the hush of her unflinching awareness. Her language is wonderfully lucid -- modest and dazzling, so that we see our crimes and privileges in her view, rising out of her anguished love-affair with the real world. Her landscapes are intensely alive, peopled by those who are suffering and stricken by hope. Her discoveries allow us to imagine what else there is, once we refuse the dual anesthesia of shock and despair". -- Marie Ponsot"Bea Gates writes of 'the power of loving clear, ' and in the tough and clear-eyed poems in this book, she bravely takes the reader to wherever that phrase needs to go. This is a poet who doesn't blink yet has the power to transform the awkward and dangerous facts of our lives into healing song". -- Cornelius EadyThe poems in Gates' collection, "shocking in their nakedness" and raw beauty, plunge immediately into a language of feeling. "Major contemporary themes -- eros, AIDS, child abuse, friendship, homelessness -- emerge free of cliche". Language and experience come together in her discover of difficult truths. She has "the power to transform the awkward and dangerous facts of our lives into healing song".

    As the Weimar Republic sputtered to a close and war loomed on the horizon, the city was a magnet for talented writers and artists. It was in this now-vanished time and place that W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood lived, wrote and slept together. Norman Page tells the story of how these years shaped these important writers and, in doing so, illuminates a bygone era.

    Only quite recently have psychological research and theory examined lesbian, gay, and bisexual lives within the context of families. In Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities in Families, Charlotte J. Patterson and Anthony R. D'Augelli draw together the psychological research and examine the entire multifaceted experience of such relationships. The editors bring together the most important recent scholarship and empirical research on family relationships and dynamics, and they identify directions for future research and theory in this area. The first section of the book discusses different perspectives on sexual orientation in families. It focuses on evidence relevant to genetic contributions to sexual orientation, and looks at social interactions and their development. Ethnic identity and family dynamics along with cultural influences on conceptions of sexual orientation and family lives are examined. The next section focuses on key aspects of interpersonal relationships within the families of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual individuals. The interactions between children and parents of different sexual orientations and a variety of intergenerational processes in lesbian-headed families are explored. The final section of the book focuses on community and contextual issues. It explores economic issues, antilesbian/antigay attitudes, social structures, and social policies that affect lesbian and gay family lives. This volume, one of the first to discuss the family relationships of gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women, will be of interest to psychologists, sociologists, social workers, scholars of gay/lesbian/bisexual studies, as well as laypersons.

    Eliciting powerful, frank, and sometimes troubling responses, David Shallenberger interviewed gay men and women who grew up in families that belonged to traditional religions-Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant-that rejected homosexuality as an unacceptable life-style. When these children grew into adulthood and "came out," many rejected the religion of their childhood as they sought out a more accepting gay community. But once they became comfortable with their new gay identity, they began to experience a spiritual hunger and a desire to be part of a religious community. Some sought to return to the traditions from which they came; others desired membership in new religious communities.The quest for an integration of homosexuality and spirituality is the focus of Reclaiming the Spirit. Shallenberger asks how individuals can balance both a gay and a religious identity, whether coming out is a spiritual experience, and how coming out affects an individual's relationship to a traditional religious community. Divided into chapters that correspond to the common stages of spiritual integration, Reclaiming the Spirit is immensely readable and introduces an important group of voices into the hotly contested debates surrounding religion and gay participation.

    Meet Muriel, aka Mutt, a twenty-something wayward waitress with a college degree, who has resigned herself to low standards, simple pleasures, and erotic fantasies. Though seeming to get by on margaritas and old movies, in her heart of hearts, Mutt is actually searching for true love. While Mutt chases the bars with her best friend Jeff, she is, in turn, chased by Diane, a former college classmate with a decidedly romantic agenda. When a rich, seductive Beverly Hill lawyer named Allison steals Mutt's heart, she is in trouble, and like the glamorous facade of Sunset Boulevard, things are not quite as they seem.

    Combining the best in contemporary personality development theory with a solid grasp of the central personal and social issues facing lesbian and gay people, the author provides a practical and balanced resource, even for the director approaching the subject for the first time. I highly recommend this book, which I think will take its place among the few classics on gay spirituality." --Robert Nugent, S.D.S.Co-founder of New Ways Ministry"Again and again I scribbled 'Excellent!' in the margins of this book -- unflinching in examining the gay experience, refreshing in recognizing God's handiwork there, illuminating in charting this particular path of spiritual growth, and chockfull of references creatively and insightfully used. Not only spiritual directors will welcome this book, but also counselors, teachers, religious leaders, parents, friends, and anyone seriously interested in gay spirituality, including lesbian and gay people themselves --Daniel A. Helminiak,Author of What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality and Religion and the Human SciencesJames L. Empereur, S.J., is vicar and liturgist at the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas. Founder of the Institute of Spirituality and Worship, founding editor of Modern Liturgy magazine, he was previously professor of liturgical and systematic theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and chair of the doctoral facultv in the arts, worship, and proclamation at the Graduate Theological Union. He is the author of five previous books, including The Enneagram and Spiritual Direction.

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