Social Science : Gay Studies

This is a superb work of scholarship, impossible to overpraise.... It marks a milestone in the 20-year rise of gay and lesbian studies.--Martin Duberman, The Advocate The men of Renaissance Florence were so renowned for sodomy that "Florenzer" in German meant "sodomite." In the late fifteenth century, as many as one in two Florentine men had come to the attention of the authorities for sodomy by the time they were thirty. In 1432 The Office of the Night was created specifically to police sodomy in Florence. Indeed, nearly all Florentine males probably had some kind of same-sex experience as a part of their "normal" sexual life. Seventy years of denunciations, interrogations, and sentencings left an extraordinarily detailed record, which author Michael Rocke has used in his vivid depiction of this vibrant sexual culture in a world where these same-sex acts were not the deviant transgressions of a small minority, but an integral part of a normal masculine identity. Rocke roots this sexual activity in the broader context of Renaissance Florence, with its social networks of families, juvenile gangs, neighbors, patronage, workshops, and confraternities, and its busy political life from the early years of the Republic through the period of Lorenzo de' Medici, Savonarola, and the beginning of Medici princely rule. His richly detailed book paints a fascinating picture of Renaissance Florence and calls into question our modern conceptions of gender and sexual identity.  more...

Price: $25.00

This work traces the developments, people and organizations responsible for bringing homosexual issues to the public's attention. In addition to exploring such controversial issues as gays in the military and child adoption, the book discusses court decisions, pivotal events and key individuals. more...

Price: $55.00

Draws together all the important strands of gender analysis in a timely and impressive overview that is invaluable to students and academics taking courses on gender and feminist theory, sexuality and masculinity. more...

Price: $41.95

This analysis of the negative response to the discovery of the homosexual in late 19th-century America investigates the responses of the emergent medical community to this problem, and discusses how the negative reception of the homosexual impacted the future social conception of gay men and women. more...

Price: $65.00

A celebration of the most important relationship in a straight girl’s life—her gay best friend. Thanks to iconic duos such as Sex and the City’s Carrie and Stanford and the title characters of Will & Grace, the love affair between straight women and gay men has moved into the mainstream. Never before, though, has a book looked at these friendships in the real world. The editors, themselves best friends, have put together this collection of hilarious and poignant never-before-published essays that explore this unique relationship. In addition to stories about single girls and gay guys bonding over shopping sprees and brunch, these stories chronicle love and lust, infatuation and heartbreak, growing up and coming out, and family and children. Straight women and gay men alike will relate to these tales from a diverse array of contributors, ranging from literary novelists to Emmy Award winners, single girls about town to mothers of four, downtown performance artists to Hollywood scenesters. This definitive anthology, the first of its kind, proves that more durable than diamonds, straight women and gay men are each other’s true best friends. A share of the proceeds from this book will benefit The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping gay teens more...

Price: $24.95