Download or read book Leatherfolk written by Mark Thompson and published by Alyson Books. This book was released on 1991 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its publication a decade ago, this Lambda Literary Award-nominated book has become a classic, must-read book on human sexuality and identity. Widely cited as being among the most useful books of its kind, this co-gender anthology is both historical witness to and provocative treatise on this unique and often misunderstood subculture. The diverse contributors look at the history of the gay and lesbian underground, how radical sex practice relates to their spirituality, and what S/M means to them personally.
Download or read book Folsom Street Blues written by Jim Stewart and published by Palm Drive Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stewart has written a wonderful memoir revealing how South of Market became hip SoMa in San Francisco. Leading a lusty life surfing the first wave of gay liberation up to HIV, he is an uninhibited writer spilling personal tales of sex, art, and friendship during that first decade of Gay Liberation after Stonewall.
Download or read book Sexual Myths of Modernity written by Alison M. Moore and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-11-19 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notion of sexual sadism emerged from nineteenth-century alienist attempts to imagine the pleasure of the torturer or mass killer. This was a time in which sexuality was mapped to social progress, so that perversions were always related either to degeneration or decadence. These ideas were internalized in later Freudian views of the drives within the self, and of their repression under the demands of modern European civilization. Sadism was always presented as the barbarous past that lurked within each of us, ready to burst forth into murderous violence, crime, anti-Semitism, and finally genocide. This idea maintained its currency in European thought after the Second World War as Freudian-influenced accounts of the history of philosophy configured the Marquis de Sade as a kind of Kantian “superego” in a framework that viewed the Western Enlightenment as unraveled by its own inner demons. In this way, a straight line was imagined from the late eighteenth century to the Holocaust. These ideas have had an ongoing legacy in debates about sexual perversion, feminism, genocide representation, and historical memory of Nazism. However, recent genocide research has massively debunked assumptions that perpetrators of mass violence are especially sexually motivated in their cruelty. This book considers how the late twentieth-century imagination eroticized Nazism for its own ends, but also how it has been informed by nineteenth-century formulations of the idea of mass violence as a sexual problem.
Download or read book A Special Illumination written by Rollan McCleary and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gay spirituality represents a hidden strand in Western thought that was only publically declared from the Gay Liberation of the 1970s. Since "coming out", expressions of gay spirituality have proliferated in both number and diversity. Beginning with gay theology within Christianity, the phenomenon has now reached as far as Buddhism and neo-paganism. But, so far, critical analysis of the movement has been very limited largely because gay spirituality has been treated as a political and social movement arguing for rights and acceptance within religious circles. 'A Special Illumination' offers an indepth analysis and argues that gay spirituality should be placed at the heart of religion.
Download or read book Taking It Like a Man written by David Savran and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1998-03-30 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Beat poets' incarnation of the "white Negro" through Iron John and the Men's Movement to the paranoid masculinity of Timothy McVeigh, white men in this country have increasingly imagined themselves as victims. In Taking It Like a Man, David Savran explores the social and sexual tensions that have helped to produce this phenomenon. Beginning with the 1940s, when many white, middle-class men moved into a rule-bound, corporate culture, Savran sifts through literary, cinematic, and journalistic examples that construct the white man as victimized, feminized, internally divided, and self-destructive. Savran considers how this widely perceived loss of male power has played itself out on both psychoanalytical and political levels as he draws upon various concepts of masochism--the most counterintuitive of the so-called perversions and the one most insistently associated with femininity. Savran begins with the writings and self-mythologization of Beat writers William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac. Although their independent, law-defying lifestyles seemed distinctively and ruggedly masculine, their literary art and personal relations with other men in fact allowed them to take up social and psychic positions associated with women and racial minorities. Arguing that this dissident masculinity has become increasingly central to U.S. culture, Savran analyzes the success of Sam Shepard as both writer and star, as well as the emergence of a new kind of action hero in movies like Rambo and Twister. He contends that with the limited success of the civil rights and women's movements, white masculinity has been reconfigured to reflect the fantasy that the white male has become the victim of the scant progress made by African Americans and women. Taking It Like a Man provocatively applies psychoanalysis to history. The willingness to inflict pain upon the self, for example, serves as a measure of men's attempts to take control of their situations and their ambiguous relationship to women. Discussing S/M and sexual liberation in their historical contexts enables Savran to consider not only the psychological function of masochism but also the broader issues of political and social power as experienced by both men and women.
Download or read book Leatherfolk written by Mark Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its original publication a decade ago 'Leatherfolk' has become the most respected and widely read book on the leather subculture. Spanning the decades from the 1940s to the present day, it documents the many eras and shifts of attitude that have informed the gay and lesbian leather underground. Now updated with a new preface and bibliography, this is essential reading for all with an interest in the gay and lesbian leather scene.
Download or read book Homos written by Leo Bersani and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1996-10-01 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed for his intricate, incisive, and often controversial explorations of art, literature, and society, Leo Bersani now addresses homosexuality in America. Hardly a day goes by without the media focusing an often sympathetic beam on gay life--and, with AIDS, on gay death. Gay plays on Broadway, big book awards to authors writing on gay subjects, Hollywood movies with gay themes, gay and lesbian studies at dozens of universities, openly gay columnists and even editors at national mainstream publications, political leaders speaking in favor of gay rights: it seems that straight America has finally begun to listen to homosexual America. Still, Bersani notes, not only has homophobia grown more virulent, but many gay men and lesbians themselves are reluctant to be identified as homosexuals. In Homos, he studies the historical, political, and philosophical grounds for the current distrust, within the gay community, of self-identifying moves, for the paradoxical desire to be invisibly visible. While acknowledging the dangers of any kind of group identification (if you can be singled out, you can be disciplined), Bersani argues for a bolder presentation of what it means to be gay. In their justifiable suspicion of labels, gay men and lesbians have nearly disappeared into their own sophisticated awareness of how they have been socially constructed. By downplaying their sexuality, gays risk self-immolation--they will melt into the stifling culture they had wanted to contest. In his chapters on contemporary queer theory, on Foucault and psychoanalysis, on the politics of sadomasochism, and on the image of "the gay outlaw" in works by Gide, Proust, and Genet, Bersani raises the exciting possibility that same-sex desire by its very nature can disrupt oppressive social orders. His spectacular theory of "homo-ness" will be of interest to straights as well as gays, for it designates a mode of connecting to the world embodied in, but not reducible to, a sexual preference. The gay identity Bersani advocates is more of a force--as such, rather cool to the modest goal of social tolerance for diverse lifestyles--which can lead to a massive redefining of sociality itself, and of what we might expect from human communities.
Download or read book Out in All Directions written by Eric Marcus and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2009-09-26 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Out in All Directions takes the mystery out of gay and lesbian history, lifts the lid off pink politics and paints the town lavender with every aspect of gay life, culture and community.
Download or read book Life Leather and the Pursuit of Happiness Life History and Culture in the Leather Bdsm Fetish Community written by Steve Lenius and published by Nelson\Borhek#Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Selections from fifteen years of Leather Life columns and other writings originally published in Lavender magazine and elsewhere, newly revised and annotated"--Cover.
Download or read book Sexualities and Communication in Everyday Life written by Karen E. Lovaas and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2007 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpts from foundational work, recent journal articles and pieces written for this text about the role of communication in the construction and performance of sexualities in interpersonal contexts and public discourses.
Download or read book Another Country written by Josep-Anton Fernàndez and published by MHRA. This book was released on 2000 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies the emergence, in the late 1960s and 1970s, of a sophisticated body of gay fiction in Catalan, and examines the relation between the representation of homosexuality and the discourses on national identity that legitimate modern Catalan literature. Gay fiction, argues the author, reveals a tension between the nation and the body in Catalan literature: Catalonia is a nation different from Spain, a cultural and political minority within Europe; but the existence of sexual minorities within its boundaries reveals its inner complexity, which resists homogenization. Catalonia is another country in more ways than one. Drawing on a variety of critical discourses (gay theory, psychoanalysis, and authors such as Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, and Bourdieu), Another Country explores the intertwinings of identity, cultural politics, and desire in the work of Terenci Moix, Lluis Fernandez, Biel Mesquida, and Lluis Maria Todo. The book analyses how gay writers renegotiate identity discourses in Catalan literature in order to introduce homosexuality into them, often with destabilising effects. The role of gay authors in the process of canon construction (a crucial aspect of contemporary cultural nationalism in Catalonia) is also considered, focusing on postmodernism and the divide between high and mass culture. Finally, Another Country addresses the interplay of homosexual desire within the frame of a distinction between perversion and transgression, and proposes an alliance between queer and nationalist discourses.
Download or read book Faeries Bears and Leathermen written by Peter Hennen and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over time, male homosexuality and effeminacy have become indelibly associated, sometimes even synonymous. In Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen, Peter Hennen contends that this stigma of effeminacy exerts a powerful influence on gay subcultures. Through a comparative ethnographic analysis of three communities, Hennen explores the surprising ways that conventional masculinity is being collectively challenged, subverted, or perpetuated in contemporary gay male culture. Hennen’s colorful study focuses on a trio of groups: the Radical Faeries, who parody effeminacy by playfully embracing it, donning prom dresses and glitter; the Bears, who strive to appear like “regular guys” and celebrate their larger, hairier bodies; and the Leathermen, who emulate hypermasculine biker culture, simultaneously paying homage to and undermining notions of manliness. Along with a historical analysis of the association between effeminacy and homosexuality, Hennen examines how this connection affects the groups’ sexual practices. Ultimately, he argues, while all three groups adopt innovative approaches to gender issues and sexual pleasure, masculine norms continue to constrain members of each community.
Download or read book Art Activism and Oppositionality written by Grant H. Kester and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of essays from the influential American journal of film, video and photography, exploring ideologies and institutions of the artworld; current media strategies for producing social change; and topics around gender, race and representation. I
Download or read book Queer Religion written by Donald Boisvert and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-12-13 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking and eye-opening book examines the intersections of religion and same-sex desire, from St. Augustine to Hinduism to contemporary LGBT and queer culture. Queer Religion provides a systematic and detailed overview of the challenges and issues that the intersections of religion, same-sex desire, and gender variance have generated, both now and in the past. It focuses upon the development of these areas of overlap through three distinct historical periods: modern religious history, LGBT liberation movements, and the emergence of queer theory and analysis. This two-volume collection of eclectic essays investigates the experiences of queer people and religion, providing a broad, unique, and invaluable analysis of this important cultural and theological encounter. As a group, the contributors offer brave insights and diverse perspectives on a variety of topics dealing with religion, same-sex desire, and gender expression. Some of these essays are explicitly historical in focus or scholarly articles, while others provide autobiographical viewpoints and personal reminiscences. This book provides a comprehensive look at the queer dimensions of religious practice and belief—essential reading for religious scholars; those within the LGBT community; and anyone interested in human spirituality and sexuality.
Download or read book Media Culture and the Religious Right written by Linda Kintz and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the religious right has increased in both power and visibility, there has been a commensurate growth in the prominence of Christian media. The contributors to this book provide a broad overview of the organizations, history, and media influences of the Christian right.
Download or read book Becoming Visible written by Beth A. Firestein and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Becoming Visible offers cutting-edge psychological perspectives on bisexual and queer identities and the cultural and mental health issues facing bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, and questioning individuals and their partners. Essential for any professional seeking to provide "best practice" services to this population, Becoming Visible addresses the therapeutic needs of bisexuals at every stage of the life cycle. This volume explores why some people resist identity labels and what bisexual men and women consider exemplary and harmful in their therapeutic experiences. It also helps practitioners distinguish between the stresses brought on by being part of a sexual minority and the clinical symptoms that indicate serious mental health issues. It includes research on ethnic minority bisexuals, youth, elders, gender-variant individuals, and bisexuals engaging in alternative lifestyles and sexual practices such as polyamory and BDSM. Edited by a psychologist who specializes in sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues and with contributions from scholars and professionals from multiple disciplines, the book embraces perspectives from the empirical to the phenomenological, and outlines both scientific and practice-based approaches to the subject while carefully considering the psychological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the issues confronting bisexual men and women. Becoming Visible is a crucial step in the improved mental health and well-being of bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other sexual minorities. This book offers a path toward awareness and compassion for those who seek to understand, treat, and empower this underserved and frequently misunderstood group of mental health clients.
Download or read book Law s Desire written by Carl Stychin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The law is one of the primary means through which sexuality is constructed, monitored and controlled. In this much needed book, Carl Stychin provides a critical examination of the relationship between law and sexual orientation in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The author exposes the connection between the law and sexual control through an exploration of key questions of current interest and controversy. He examines the motivations behind legal restrictions, and the impact on sexual subcultures and dominant society.
