Books on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Issues
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century John Boswell's highly acclaimed study of the history of attitudes toward homosexuality in the Christian West challenges received opinion and our own preconceptions about the Church's past relationship to its gay members, among whom were priests, bishops and even canonized saints. 
Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe In this long-gestated companion to his controversial landmark study, [Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality,] [John] Boswell... summarizes the histories of both heterosexual matrimony and same-sex unions in the Greco-Roman world, presents the views of early Christianity on heterosexual and same-sex couplings, traces the development of nuptial offices in the church, compares heterosexual and same-sex ceremonies of union, and discusses the checkered history of tolerance for same-sex unions during the Middle Ages.  McNeill, an ordained priest and practicing psychotherapist, reveals the freedom that lesbian and gay Christians can find by connecting with the spirit of God that dwells within.  In The Case for Same-Sex Marriage, Beltway lawyer and professor William N. Eskridge makes a compelling case for why gay people should have the "right" to marry. Eskridge blends legal arguments, historical data and Constitutional law to make his point, and his erudition and wit show through on every page. The Case for Same-Sex Marriage is informed, provocative and highly convincing.  Legal scholar Mark Strasser continues (1999) his thoughful examinations of the legal underpinnings supporting the right of same sex couples to marry in the United States.  An extensive history and a how-to guide on the controversial issue of same sex marriage, this book presents a forceful argument for legalizing same sex marriage. The authors transcend the morality issue, and instead place the debate in a civil rights context of equal treatment and nondiscrimination. The authors also include comprehensive chapters on the legal issues of both gay and lesbian parenting.  This book is designed to help lesbian and gay couples understand the laws that affect them and to take charge of the legal aspects of their lives. Much of the material covered can also be very useful for lesbians and gays who aren't in a couple.  This unprecedented collection of short memoirs by adult children of gay, lesbian, and transgender parents demonstrates once again that love cannot be policed or regulated, and that the bond between parents and children transcends petty categories. 
How should we chart a course toward legal recognition of gay rights as basic human rights? In this enlightening study, legal scholar David Richards explores the connections between gay rights and three successful civil rights movements--black civil rights, feminism, and religious toleration--to determine how these might serve as analogies for the gay rights movement. |
In this rich, often surprising portrait of the everyday world of lesbian and gay relationships, Christopher Carrington captures the experiences of creating and maintaining a home and a "chosen" family. Observing lesbians and gay men as they go about their daily routines, Carrington unveils the complex, frequently hidden, and sometimes artful ways that gay people make a family and home for themselves. 
A new (1999) look at the complete spectrum of open relationship styles from a feminist-lesbian point of view, this collection of essays has drawn high marks from reviewers.  "Bi Lives" contains 18 in-depth, revealing interviews with bisexual women. Some of them are in relationships with women, some with men, some with both, and some with neither. Some are monogamous; some are nonmonogamous. All of their stories are compelling.  Is there a "gay gene"? What if there is? And what does "gay" mean, anyway? Philosopher and queer studies instructor Edward Stein asks these questions and far more, delving deeply into our feelings about gender and sexuality in The Mismeasure of Desire, a deep but accessible examination of how we classify and study sexual orientation.  The Trouble with Normal argues passionately against same-sex marriage, but here's the twist: not because it denigrates the institution of marriage, but because it perpetuates the cultural shame attached to sex between consenting but unmarried adults. When gay men and lesbians try to claim that they're just like "normal folk," Michael Warner writes, they do a profound disservice to other queer folk who choose not to live in monogamous or matrimonial bliss and who believe that the solution to being stigmatized for your sexuality is not to pretend it doesn't exist.  Tantalizing fragments from the 17th and 18th centuries are joined with later evidence to flesh out [author Leila J.] Rupp's vision, which draws on Native American and African practices as well as the culture brought to (and imposed on) America by the Europeans. While surveying the more familiar history of gay culture in the cities, she also describes the growth of small, hidden lesbian and gay communities in places as unlikely as Salt Lake City, far removed from the urban centers of vice. Rupp also surveys changes in attitude toward same-sex love within academia in the last 50 years, as well as in American culture at large, and provides a useful bibliography.  A multi-faceted look at women who choose to define their relationships by standards other than sexuality. First person accounts and theory are woven together in this treatment of a little-discussed aspect of structuring relationships - is sex necessary?  As Our Families, Our Values turns upside-down the widely accepted notion that only heterosexual people are entitled to get married, have sex, and rear children, you gain insight into personal struggles and affirmations that testify to the spirituality, procreativity, and wholesomeness of the diverse relationships of the Lavender community. You will also learn about various ongoing efforts to give religious pride to the various configurations of gay relationships, families, and values and the disruption of popular interpretations of the Scriptures that have been used to justify the oppression of sexual minorities. |
The newest picture book about human relationships...focuses on families in which the parents are lesbians, gay men, or transgendered persons, and the children are either offspring of one of the parents or adopted or foster children of one or both parents...The thrust of the whole project is that these good families differ from those of analogous heterosexual parents only in that they do or may suffer from antigay social attitudes and antigay public policies.  The powerful voices of 31 bisexual people of faith are heard for the first time in this work. Authors speak about the intersections of their sexual orientation and their faith practice, about ritual, about community, about theology and about their personal journeys into wholeness.  A very well-received and comprehensive first-person look at the lives of those who for so long inhabited the "shadow world" between the heterosexual and homosexual communities, truly at home in neither.  Based on extensive research on gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and heterosexuals, Dual Attraction provides the first major study of bisexuality. The authors do make some fairly sweeping generalities from a relatively small (150 subjects, according to one reviewer, 800 according to another) sample, however. Worth a read if for no other reason than to see some controversial positions staked out in 1995 and see how they have withstood the test of time.  A scholarly analysis of the whys and wherefores of people who love people of both sexes, with articles by Milton Diamond, John Money, Pepper Schwartz, and Philip Blumstein.  This anthology presents a vivid collection of essays that explore the history, strategies, philosophy, and diversity of bisexual politics and theory in the United States. The 33 contributors develop a multifaceted approach to defining bisexual politics. The authors analyze different organizing strategies, formulate new bisexual political theory, provide a vision of future directions for redefining sexuality and gender, and educate activists and allies about current issues pertaining to the bisexual community.  Sexual Pathways is an introduction to the often misunderstood subject of bisexuality. It will also help you to appreciate the different kinds of sexual orientation and how they may be enacted, if they are. After reading this book you will be able to discuss with friends or partners the many forms of human sexual practice. You will become an expert in that topic most people discuss most of the time: sex! ...The biographies of thirty bisexual men and women are presented...You will discover the different patterns of bisexual behavior and how many people feel and think about bisexuality.  Despite the rapidly growing number of lesbian families, until now little discussion has emerged of the specific developmental stages and common stresses lesbian couples face. In this first-of-its-kind guide, psychotherapist Suzanne Slater looks at the wide spectrum of lesbian families and presents a five-step model of the development of lesbian relationships.  Psychiatrist Klein, founder of the Bisexual Forum in San Diego, explains the concept and the variables of sexual orientation and where bisexuality fits. |