Title
Becoming Who I Am : Young Men on Being Gay / Ritch C. Savin-Williams.
ISBN
9780674974586
Published
Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2017]
Copyright
©2016
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource (296 p.) : 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches
Item Number
10.4159/9780674974586 doi
Call Number
HQ76
Dewey Decimal Classification
306.76/60835
Summary
Proud, happy, grateful-gay youth describe their lives in terms that would have seemed surprising only a generation ago. Yet many adults, including parents, seem skeptical about this sea change in perceptions and attitudes. Even in an age of growing tolerance, coming out as gay is supposed to involve a crisis or struggle. This is the kind of thinking, say the young men at the heart of this book, that needs to change. Becoming Who I Am is an astute exploration of identity and sexuality as told by today's generation of gay young men. Through a series of in-depth interviews with teenagers and men in their early 20s, Ritch Savin-Williams reflects on how the life stories recorded here fulfill the promise of an affirmative, thriving gay identity outlined in his earlier book, The New Gay Teenager. He offers a contemporary perspective on gay lives viewed across key milestones: from dawning awareness of same-sex attraction to first sexual encounters; from the uncertainty and exhilaration of coming out to family and friends to the forming of adult romantic relationships; from insights into what it means to be gay today to musings on what the future may hold. The voices hail from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, but as gay men they share basic experiences in common, conveyed here with honesty, humor, and joy.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Aug 2021)
Frontmatter
Contents
Preface
Anthony
Tell Our Stories
Why Am I Gay?
First Sexual Memory
First Arousal
Sex Play
First Crush
Who's That Girl?
Who's That Boy?
The Joy of Puberty
OMG! A Wet Dream
Masturbation
First Girl Sex
First Boy Sex
I'm Gay-Prob ably, Certainly
Something to Tell You
Hey Mom, Dad, Bro, Sis
Mostly Gay
First Love
He's My Soul Man
Being Young and Gay in America
Postscript: Anthony's Return
Appendix: Methods
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index