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Zusatztext "This powerful book demands that we look more closely at the ways we move in and structure our society! and asks vital questions that will steer the culture toward justice and equality." — Publishers Weekly ! starred review "This groundbreaking book is rich in smart! stirring! and forthright examinations of myths! negative and positive! and clarifying examples! and holds to scholarly standards while compellingly and revealingly addressing the curiosity and concerns of mainstream readers." — Booklist “One of the most complete sourcebooks about science! sociology and LGBT life out there.” — PopMatters Informationen zum Autor Michael Bronski (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has written extensively on LGBT issues for four decades. He is the author of several award-winning books, including most recently A Queer History of the United States . He is Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media in the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University. Ann Pellegrini (New York, New York) is professor of performance studies and religious studies at New York University, where she also directs NYU’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. She has written extensively about religion, sexuality, and US public life. Her publications include Performance Anxieties and the coauthored book Love the Sin . Michael Amico (New Haven, Connecticut) is a PhD candidate in American studies at Yale University, and is writing a history of the love between two men in the Civil War. He has written for LGBT youth publications, such as Young Gay America , and provided political analysis for the Boston Phoenix and other venues. Klappentext 2014 Lambda Literary Award Finalist: LGBT Nonfiction Breaks down the most commonly held misconceptions about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their lives In "You Can Tell Just by Looking" three scholars and activists come together to unpack enduring, popular, and deeply held myths about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, culture, and life in America. Myths, such as "All Religions Condemn Homosexuality" and "Transgender People Are Mentally Ill," have been used to justify discrimination and oppression of LGBT people. Others, such as "Homosexuals Are Born That Way," have been embraced by LGBT communities and their allies. In discussing and dispelling these myths-including gay-positive ones-the authors challenge readers to question their own beliefs and to grapple with the complexities of what it means to be queer in the broadest social, political, and cultural sense.Myth 7 HOMOSEXUALS ARE BORN THAT WAY Award-winning and openly lesbian actress Cynthia Nixon landed herself in hot water—twice. Her missteps? Nixon, best known for playing brainy and neurotic Miranda on Sex in the City , stated, in her acceptance of GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award in March 2010, “I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.” LGBT advocates objected to the implication that homosexuality was a choice. In a January 2012 interview with the New York Times , Nixon unapologetically stood her ground: “For me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me.” Nixon’s words went viral. Since the Stonewall riots in 1969, LGB activists have encouraged gay people to come out and speak the truth about their lives. Why were activists so angry with Nixon for boldly telling her own truth? What political, and personal, nerve had she inadvertently struck? In the past decade, the argument that homosexuals are born that way has become a major talking point used by LGB advocates to argue for equal rights. Nixon’s declaration, “For me, it’s a choice,” strayed from this carefully crafted political and legal script. Worse, it...
