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"...And Then I Became Gay is about the lives of young men who express the complications, adversities, and satisfactions of being a sexual outsider in North America during the 1980s and 1990s. Consisting of narratives which chronicle developmental progression from first memories of being attracted to other males to a subsequent integration of their sexual identity with a personal identity, this book is also unique in its cross-section of men from different ethnic backgrounds. Although each story in this volume has a personal meaning to the individual youth disclosing it, aspects of these narratives can express a normative experience growing up gay or bisexual during the past two decades. For many of the contributors and readers, these stories may prove to be not only ones of coming out, but coming of age.
List of contents
1. Personal Stories and Sexuality2. Childhood: Memories of Same-Sex Attractions3. Labeling Feelings and Attractions4. First Gay Sex5. First Heterosexual Sex6. Labeling Self as Gay or Bisexual7. Disclosure to Others8. First Gay Romance9. Positive Identity10. Ethnic Youths11. The Diversity of Gay Youth
About the author
Ritch C. Savin-Williams is Professor of Clinical and Developmental Psychology at Cornell University. He is co-editor of The Lives of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals:Children to Adults (1996).
Summary
And Then I Became Gay traces the histories of a group of young gay and bisexual North American men. The book consists of a series of narratives which chronicle the growing awareness of a sexual identity amongst young gay men from the 1980s on.
Report
"It is fascinating to read the personal narratives of gay and bisexual youth in this thoughtful,spirited,stimulating study of their lives and development." -- Richard A. Isay, M.D., author of Being Homosexual and Being Gay
"It is through stories, our own and others, that we organize and give meaning to our lives and reveal the richness and diversity of human experience. It is also the best way of breaking through the crust of sexual and gender stereotypes. Professor Savin-Williams has provided the invaluable opportunity for the reader to hear the stories of gay and bisexual youth and, in doing so, he has dispelled popular myths about childhood sexual "innocence" (as if no experience is better than some) and that pre-adult sex can only be abusive and traumatic. In letting gay youth speak for itself he has opened the way for all youth of all sexual persuasions, to reclaim and give meaning to their own sexuality." -- John P. De Cecco, Center For Research & Education in Sexuality
"He demolishes the existing stereotypes of gay male development and replaces these stereotypes with real life stories." -- The Ottawa Citizen
"It is fascinating to read the personal narratives of gay and bisexual youth in this thoughtful, spirited, stimulating study of their lives and development." -- Richard A. Isay, M.D., author of Being Homosexual and Being Gay
"It is through stories, our own and others, that we organize and give meaning to our lives and reveal the richness and diversity of human experience. It is also the best way of breaking through the crust of sexual and gender stereotypes. Professor Savin-Williams has provided the invaluable opportunity for the reader to hear the stories of gay and bisexual youth and, in doing so, he has dispelled popular myths about childhood sexual 'innocence' (as if no experience is better than some) and that pre-adult sex can only be abusive and traumatic. In letting gay youth speak for itself he has opened the way for all youth of all sexual persuasions, to reclaim and give meaning to their own sexuality." -- John P. De Cecco, Center For Research & Education in Sexuality
"Recommended for academic and special collections in gay studies, human sexuality, and psychology." -- Library Journal
"This thoughtful, well-researched study provides a fresh perspective on the formative years of contemporary gay and bisexual males in our society. . . . Although the book is essentially a scholarly treatise, the sensitive treatment and personal narratives will appeal to well-informed lay readers. Recommended for academic and special collections in gay studies, human sexuality, and psychology." -- Library Journal
