The Changing World of Gay Men

This ground-breaking study focuses on the lived experiences of gay men who were born during the twentieth century. Spanning an era when homosexuality was illegal through the less repressed but no less difficult eras of gay liberation and the HIV-AIDS epidemic, an understanding of what it is to be gay is shown to be historically contingent. The men's personal stories include their experiences of being closeted in the years following World War II and the Cold War, the exuberance, and, for some, personally challenging times of gay liberation and the disco culture of the 1970s, to a time of fear and grief during the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Through a series of interviews, this book illustrates the significant shifts in sexual attitudes, culture and tolerance during a most turbulent era for homosexual men.

ISBN 0230573959   Pages 240 ISBN13 9780230573956 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Palgrave Macmillan   Weight (grammes) 406 Imprint Palgrave Macmillan   Published in Basingstoke Format Hardback   Height (mm) 222 Publication date 31 Oct 2008   Width (mm) 141 Library of Congress 2008020594   Spine width (mm) 18 DEWEY 306.7662   Academic level General, Undergraduate, Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC22

1		Collecting and Understanding Gay Life Stories		1
2		The Coming-out Stories of the Old Cohort		17
3		The Coming-out Stories of the Middle Cohort		36
4		The Coming-out Stories of the Young Cohort		54
5		The 'Scene'		72
6		Community Life		95
7		Couple Relationships		115
8		Friends and Family		134
9		Life as an Old Gay Man		153
		Conclusion		175
Appendix 1		The Interview Schedule		181
Appendix 2		The Age Cohorts and the Interviewees		183
		Notes		186
		Index		216

'the most ambitious study of its kind...and one of the most enlightening' - Journal of Australian Studies 'Here is the tale of three waves of gay men - the oldest born in 1922 and the youngest in 1980. It shows just how central age is in social life -- and how queer worlds have been radically transformed in a very short period of time. It gives us hope. Rich in detail, uplifting and unfussy, this delightful book provides an uneven but undeniable story of progress.' - Ken Plummer, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Essex. Editor of Sexualities, and author of Intimate Citizenship '...a thoughtful and detailed work.' - Blaze

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