City of Friends
A Protrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America
Simon LeVay; Elisabeth Nonas
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From Publishers Weekly
The subtitle is overly modest, for the book opens with a discussion of homosexuality throughout history and continues with a treatment of the role of science in interpreting its etiology, including its occurrence in other mammals and even insects. Turning to the U.S., the authors consider the frequency of homosexuality, rejecting Kinsey’s figure of 10% as too high; the geographical distribution of the homosexual population; and especially the diversity in that population, which has worked against unity. In the past, the authors note, that unity has been encouraged by homophobia, but they feel that such hatred has been diminishing and that the community must seek a new rallying point. They treat corollary subjects such as occupation, income, education, religion, politics, the arts, ageism and the AIDS crisis. It is difficult to see how the text of this eminently rational survey could be more complete. LeVay is co-founder of the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education in West Hollywood, Calif.; Nonas teaches fiction writing at UCLA Extension. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This well-intentioned volume attempts to be ‘a survey of what it means to be gay or lesbian; where gays and lesbians come from in history and in individual development; what are their common interests, needs, and aspirations; and a portrait of the gay community as a seething coalition of groups and subgroups that resolve ultimately into the splendid uniqueness of the gay individual.’ Nonas is a teacher of fiction writing at the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education in West Hollywood, cofounded by LeVay, the author of the controversial The Sexual Brain (MIT Pr., 1993; ‘Best Sci-Tech Books,’ LJ 3/1/94, p. 52-56). Overly ambitious, this title includes information on such topics as science, health, legal and political issues, arts, and spirituality but is compromised by peculiarly opinionated and ill-defined prose, oversimplification and generalization, errors of fact, specious interpretation, glaring omissions, redundancies, inconsistencies, and peculiarly incomplete lists for further reading. An optional purchase for gay studies collections. (Index and illustrations not seen.)?James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Details
| ISBN | 9780262121941 |
| Genre | LGBT Studies/Social Sciences |
| Publication Date | 18-Oct-95 |
| Publisher | MIT Press |
| Format | Hardcover |
| No. of Pages | 472 |
| Language | English |
| Rating | NotRated |
| Subject | Gay community; Gay men – Social conditions; Lesbian community; Lesbians – Social conditions |
| BookID | 2105 |
