John Dececco, Phd – författare

This well-documented book highlights some of the theories of bisexual and homosexual identities and their conceptual bases in cultural history, moral philosophy, biology, and social psychology. Some of the most respected minds in the field of human sexuality challenge traditional views on homosexuality and question the moral principles implicit in many existing psychiatric and psychological theories.

This well-documented book highlights some of the theories of bisexual and homosexual identities and their conceptual bases in cultural history, moral philosophy, biology, and social psychology. Some of the most respected minds in the field of human sexuality challenge traditional views on homosexuality and question the moral principles implicit in many existing psychiatric and psychological theories.

The debate on whether or not people are born homosexual (biological essentialist theory) or become homosexual during the course of their lives (social constructionist theory) continues as each side claims to prove the truth through research and clinical findings. This breakthrough book shows the fissures in concepts of the gay and lesbian identity and the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of both sexual and gender identity. The editors present an alternative view--sexual and gender expression is a product of complementary biological, personal, and cultural influences in If You Seduce a Straight Person, Can You Make Them Gay? Through theoretical analysis, ethnographic and empirical data, and case studies, the editors show how the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of sexual and gender identity make it difficult, if not impossible, to conceptually determine the origin of an individual’s sexual expression. This thought-provoking book covers many topics that are sure to cause readers to re-evaluate their thinking about the origins of gay and lesbian identity. Among the topics examined with this fresh perspective are:Childhood Cross-Gender Behavior and Adult Homosexuality Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Coming Out Homosexuality, Marriage, Fidelity, and the Gay Community: Case of Gay Husbands Can Seduction Make Straight Men Gay? Gay and Lesbian Identities in Non-industrialized Societies--Surinam (Dutch New Guinea), Turkey, Nicaragua, and Argentina Political-Economic Construction of Gay Male IdentitiesReaders will clearly see that the controversy over the being born gay or becoming gay debate is far from resolved. From the beginning, the book explores how human beings are less constrained by biology than many would like to believe. Social circumstances and economics cause some determination of identity, but not exclusively. Theoretical introductions to each chapter attempt to synthesize elements on both sides of this most contemporary debate.

Take a look at how narrative has shaped gay and lesbian cultureA Sea of Stories: The Shaping Power of Narrative in Gay and Lesbian Cultures: A Festschrift for John P. De Cecco is an unforgettable collection of personal narratives that explores the historical, psychological, and sociological contexts of homosexuality in locations ranging from Nazi Germany to Colorado. Some of the prominent authors in this collection include David Bergman, Louis Crew, Diana Hume George, and Ruth Vanita. Scholars in gay and lesbian studies, political movements, cultural studies, and narratology, and anyone interested in gay history will want to explore these intriguing narratives on topics such as sex and sin in the South, selling gay literature before Stonewall, growing up gay in India, and the story of an interracial male couple facing homophobic ignorance in a small town.A Sea of Stories also contains creative fiction and nonfiction love stories, war stories, oral stories, and bibliographies, and a beautiful post-Stonewell and post-modern narrative set on a South African seascape that tells the story of two professional men and the possibility of a kiss. For a complete list of contents, please visit our Web site at www.haworthpressinc.com.This book offers you a variety of narratives that cover a wide range, including:memoirs of gay Holocaust survivors and the emergence of the first lesbian and gay book club in its wake homophobia in the workplace and the use of coming-out stories to enhance workplace diversity the establishment of a gay/straight alliance in a Salt Lake City high school that is heavily dominated by Mormons gay literary heritage that examines the works of Langston Hughes as well as Martin Duberman, Paul Monette, and Edmund White in relation to the lesbian 70s creative nonfiction about a woman's love for another woman, her lifelong friend Provincetown's remarkable community response to the AIDS epidemicA collection of chapters written by the colleagues and former students of John P. De Cecco, pioneering editor of the Journal of Homosexuality, A Sea of Stories takes its title from a phrase Dr. De Cecco used in his keynote address to the “History and Memory” conference at Allegheny College in 1997. This conference sparked the idea for this collection of essays that examine the homosexual experience through historical, psychological, and sociological viewpoints and homosexuality in literature. These courageous stories will assist readers to know themselves more deeply, to identify wih others, and to interpret gay and lesbian experiences in different narrative forms.

“Those of us in our forties and fifties came of age in the 1960s and 1970s--a time when the available commentary on gay life was anything but supportive. Until 1973, homosexuality was a diagnosable mental illness.” --from the Introduction by Alan L. EllisToday, that literary blindness is being remedied. Take an in-depth look into the lives of 15 gay men and how they relate to their own aging with Gay Men at Midlife: Age Before Beauty, a fascinating new book that explores and clarifies the issues that confront gay men as they age. What happens to gay men's lives when they reach middle age?The essays in Gay Men at Midlife: Age Before Beauty offer a realistic picture of both the challenges and the joys that present themselves in the lives of gay men at midlife. The book does not gloss over the difficulties of the experience; you will truly come to understand that each gay man is not alone in confronting the pain and mourning that may accompany middle age.The people who frankly, openly, and intelligently discuss their personal lives in Gay Men at Midlife: Age Before Beauty include:psychotherapist/popular columnist Tom Moon (San Francisco, California) professor of philosophy and literature Alejandro Medina-Bermudez (Madrid, Spain) television executive George Pierson (Bethesda, Maryland) multimedia artist Trevor Southey (born in the country now known as Zimbabwe, currently working in San Francisco) activist/researcher Frank Wong (New York) . . . plus 10 more individuals from varying backgrounds!Gay Men at Midlife: Age Before Beauty provides a look at how these individuals are redefining the stereotypes of aging gay men and empowering themselves to find meaning and purpose in the second half of their lives.

The debate on whether or not people are born homosexual (biological essentialist theory) or become homosexual during the course of their lives (social constructionist theory) continues as each side claims to prove the truth through research and clinical findings. This breakthrough book shows the fissures in concepts of the gay and lesbian identity and the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of both sexual and gender identity. The editors present an alternative view--sexual and gender expression is a product of complementary biological, personal, and cultural influences in If You Seduce a Straight Person, Can You Make Them Gay? Through theoretical analysis, ethnographic and empirical data, and case studies, the editors show how the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of sexual and gender identity make it difficult, if not impossible, to conceptually determine the origin of an individual’s sexual expression. This thought-provoking book covers many topics that are sure to cause readers to re-evaluate their thinking about the origins of gay and lesbian identity. Among the topics examined with this fresh perspective are:Childhood Cross-Gender Behavior and Adult Homosexuality Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Coming Out Homosexuality, Marriage, Fidelity, and the Gay Community: Case of Gay Husbands Can Seduction Make Straight Men Gay? Gay and Lesbian Identities in Non-industrialized Societies--Surinam (Dutch New Guinea), Turkey, Nicaragua, and Argentina Political-Economic Construction of Gay Male IdentitiesReaders will clearly see that the controversy over the being born gay or becoming gay debate is far from resolved. From the beginning, the book explores how human beings are less constrained by biology than many would like to believe. Social circumstances and economics cause some determination of identity, but not exclusively. Theoretical introductions to each chapter attempt to synthesize elements on both sides of this most contemporary debate.