Changing World of Gay Men

Peter Robinson is taking up a lectureship in sociology at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, in July 2011. Over the last decade, he has taught courses in sociology and sexuality and gender studies at RMIT University and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. His first book, The Changing World of Gay Men was awarded the inaugural  Raewyn Connell prize in 2010 by  The Australian Sociological Association for the best first book in Australian Sociology.   Peter's research interests include the life course of gay men and ageing, sexuality and social justice, homophobia and exclusion. He is writing a second book for Palgrave Macmillan—on ageing in the gay world, which is due for submission in 2012. Tentatively entitled Ageing in the Gay World, the second book is based on an international sample of more than 90 gay men, aged 18–87. It too uses the life-story method that Ken Plummer pioneered and will continue the work that Peter began in The Changing World onthe significance of generations in understanding the lived experience of gay men, and includes interviews with men from Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Auckland, as well as from principal cities in Australia, England, and the United States.

Winner of The Raewyn Connell Prize 2010, awarded bienially for the best authored first monograph in Australian Sociology 'the most ambitious study of its kind...and one of the most enlightening' - Journal of Australian Studies '...a thoughtful and detailed work.' - Blaze '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

• Introduction Collecting and Understanding Gay Life Stories The Coming-Out Stories of the Old Cohort The Coming-Out Stories of the Middle Cohort The Coming-Out Stories of the Young Cohort The 'Scene' Community Life Couple Relationships Friends and Family Life as an Old Gay Man Conclusion Appendix 1: Interview Schedule Appendix 2: The Age Cohorts and the Interviewees