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Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities: Contrasting Identities, Belongings and Wellbeing (Routledge Advances in Critical Diversities)
by Eleanor FormbyThe phrase ‘LGBT community’ is often used by policy-makers, service providers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people themselves, but what does it mean? What understandings and experiences does that term suggest, and ignore? Based on a UK-wide study funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, this book explores these questions from the perspectives of over 600 research participants. Examining ideas about community ‘ownership’; ‘difference’ and diversity; relational practices within and beyond physical spaces; imagined communities and belongings; the importance of ‘ritual’ spaces and symbols, and consequences for wellbeing, the book foregrounds the lived experience of LGBT people to offer a broad analysis of commonalities and divergences in relation to LGBT identities. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective grounded in international social science research, the book will appeal to students and scholars with interests in sexual and/or gender identities in the fields of community studies, cultural studies, gender studies, geography, leisure studies, politics, psychology, sexuality studies, social policy, social work, socio-legal studies, and sociology. The book also offers implications for practice, suitable for policy-maker, practitioner, and activist audiences, as well as those with a more personal interest.
Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities: Contrasting Identities, Belongings and Wellbeing (Routledge Advances in Critical Diversities)
by Eleanor FormbyThe phrase ‘LGBT community’ is often used by policy-makers, service providers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people themselves, but what does it mean? What understandings and experiences does that term suggest, and ignore? Based on a UK-wide study funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, this book explores these questions from the perspectives of over 600 research participants. Examining ideas about community ‘ownership’; ‘difference’ and diversity; relational practices within and beyond physical spaces; imagined communities and belongings; the importance of ‘ritual’ spaces and symbols, and consequences for wellbeing, the book foregrounds the lived experience of LGBT people to offer a broad analysis of commonalities and divergences in relation to LGBT identities. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective grounded in international social science research, the book will appeal to students and scholars with interests in sexual and/or gender identities in the fields of community studies, cultural studies, gender studies, geography, leisure studies, politics, psychology, sexuality studies, social policy, social work, socio-legal studies, and sociology. The book also offers implications for practice, suitable for policy-maker, practitioner, and activist audiences, as well as those with a more personal interest.
Exquisite
by Sarah StovellShe loves me. She loves me not.Bo Luxton has it all – a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District, and a clutch of bestselling books to her name.Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend.When they meet at a writers’ retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops…Or does it?Breathlessly pacey, taut and terrifying, Exquisite is a startlingly original and unbalancing psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page.‘The characters are so untrustworthy you wont know what to believe, but you won’t put it down till you’ve found out. A superb debut’ Sunday Mirror'Cunningly constructed and gorgeously written, this is outstanding’ Express'It’s a remarkable debut in the crowded psychological thriller field, written with great sureness of touch and tone' Times Crime Club‘Slickly claustrophobic, this arch story of obsessive, forbidden love taken to the extreme will have you squirming in your seat’ Sarah Pinsborough‘Whip-smart, lushly written and truly page-turning … Sarah Stovell is a thrilling talent’ Holly Seddon‘A moving, gripping story … twists keep coming till the very last page. I loved it’ Erin Kelly‘Addictive, terrifying and beautifully written, Exquisite is up there with the best psychological thrillers I’ve ever read. Fucking awesome’ Chris Whittaker
The Extraordinaries (The Extraordinaries #1)
by T J KluneIn Nova City, there are extraordinary people, capable of feats that defy the imagination. Shadow Star protects the city and manipulates darkness, and Pyro Storm is determined to bring the city to its knees using his power over fire. And then there's Nick who . . . well, being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right? Instead of fighting crime, Nick contends with a new year at school, a father who doesn't trust him, and a best friend named Seth, who may or may not be the love of Nick's short, uneventful life. It should be enough. But after a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City's mightiest hero (and Nick's biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he'll do it with or without Seth's reluctant help . . . Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart in TJ Klune's YA debut: a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.
Eyes Guts Throat Bones
by Moïra Fowley'ONE OF MY FAVOURITE STORYTELLERS. THESE TALES LINGERED, MORPHED, CONSUMED ME'KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVEWhat will the end of the world look like?Will it be an old man slowly turned to gold, flowers raining from the sky, or a hole cut through the wire fencing that keeps the monsters out? Is it someone you love wearing your face, or a good old fashioned inter-dimensional summoning? Does it sound like a howl outside the window, or does it look like coming home? This startling and irresistibly witty collection from the phenomenally talented Moïra Fowley is an exploration of all our darkest impulses and deepest fears.
Facing the Tank: A Novel
by Patrick GalePatrick Gale's FACING THE TANK is a witty, eccentric novel of clergy, scandal and English eccentrics - 'Made me laugh out loud' Sunday Times'Gale speedily unleashes his merrily black mischief. The uncovering of the sadness behind the doilies and twinsets is in the best tradition of black humour' ObserverAmerican Professor Evan Kirby, moving to Barrowcester to research Paradise after a successful book on Hell, expects a very English cathedral society of gentle clergymen and coffee mornings. What he finds instead is a town thrown into chaos by strange, supernatural events, scandalous pregnancies and a Satanic summoning of a young feral girl.
The Facts of Life: A Novel
by Patrick GalePatrick Gale's THE FACTS OF LIFE is a mesmerising, epic yet intimate novel of love, music and the life events that stay with us forever - perfect for any reader of Armistead Maupin, or E M Forster'Absorbing . . . deftly characterised, deeply involving and relevant' The TimesGerman composer Edward Pepper escapes to England just before the war begins in earnest. Struck with TB, he is recuperating in hospital when he meets Sally, a young doctor who has battled her way through medical school, despite the opposition of her parents. They fall in love and marry, settling in the fenlands of East Anglia. Years later, Edward watches as his grandchildren trip up against life and death, and realises that patterns can repeat themselves, bringing both pain and unexpected discovery.
Fadeout: Dave Brandstetter Investigation 1 (Dave Brandstetter)
by Joseph HansenAfter forty years, Hammett has a worthy successor' The TimesDave Brandstetter stands alongside Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade and Lew Archer as one of the best fictional PIs in the business. Like them, he was tough, determined, and ruthless when the case demanded it. Unlike them, he was gay. Joseph Hansen's groundbreaking novels follow Brandstetter as he investigates cases in which motives are murky, passions run high, and nothing is ever as simple as it looks. Set in 1970s and 80s California, the series is a fascinating portrait of a time and a place, with mysteries to match Chandler and Macdonald.In Fadeout, Dave is sent to investigate the death of radio personality Fox Olsen. His car is found crashed in a dry river bed. But there is no body - and as Dave looks deeper into his life, it seems as though he had good reasons to disappear.
Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen: Men in Community Queering the Masculine
by Peter HennenOver time, male homosexuality and effeminacy have become indelibly associated, sometimes even synonymous. In Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen, Peter Hennen contends that this stigma of effeminacy exerts a powerful influence on gay subcultures. Through a comparative ethnographic analysis of three communities, Hennen explores the surprising ways that conventional masculinity is being collectively challenged, subverted, or perpetuated in contemporary gay male culture. Hennen’s colorful study focuses on a trio of groups: the Radical Faeries, who parody effeminacy by playfully embracing it, donning prom dresses and glitter; the Bears, who strive to appear like “regular guys” and celebrate their larger, hairier bodies; and the Leathermen, who emulate hypermasculine biker culture, simultaneously paying homage to and undermining notions of manliness. Along with a historical analysis of the association between effeminacy and homosexuality, Hennen examines how this connection affects the groups’ sexual practices. Ultimately, he argues, while all three groups adopt innovative approaches to gender issues and sexual pleasure, masculine norms continue to constrain members of each community.
Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen: Men in Community Queering the Masculine
by Peter HennenOver time, male homosexuality and effeminacy have become indelibly associated, sometimes even synonymous. In Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen, Peter Hennen contends that this stigma of effeminacy exerts a powerful influence on gay subcultures. Through a comparative ethnographic analysis of three communities, Hennen explores the surprising ways that conventional masculinity is being collectively challenged, subverted, or perpetuated in contemporary gay male culture. Hennen’s colorful study focuses on a trio of groups: the Radical Faeries, who parody effeminacy by playfully embracing it, donning prom dresses and glitter; the Bears, who strive to appear like “regular guys” and celebrate their larger, hairier bodies; and the Leathermen, who emulate hypermasculine biker culture, simultaneously paying homage to and undermining notions of manliness. Along with a historical analysis of the association between effeminacy and homosexuality, Hennen examines how this connection affects the groups’ sexual practices. Ultimately, he argues, while all three groups adopt innovative approaches to gender issues and sexual pleasure, masculine norms continue to constrain members of each community.
Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen: Men in Community Queering the Masculine
by Peter HennenOver time, male homosexuality and effeminacy have become indelibly associated, sometimes even synonymous. In Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen, Peter Hennen contends that this stigma of effeminacy exerts a powerful influence on gay subcultures. Through a comparative ethnographic analysis of three communities, Hennen explores the surprising ways that conventional masculinity is being collectively challenged, subverted, or perpetuated in contemporary gay male culture. Hennen’s colorful study focuses on a trio of groups: the Radical Faeries, who parody effeminacy by playfully embracing it, donning prom dresses and glitter; the Bears, who strive to appear like “regular guys” and celebrate their larger, hairier bodies; and the Leathermen, who emulate hypermasculine biker culture, simultaneously paying homage to and undermining notions of manliness. Along with a historical analysis of the association between effeminacy and homosexuality, Hennen examines how this connection affects the groups’ sexual practices. Ultimately, he argues, while all three groups adopt innovative approaches to gender issues and sexual pleasure, masculine norms continue to constrain members of each community.
Failing Sideways: Queer Possibilities for Writing Assessment
by Stephanie West-Puckett Nicole I. Caswell William P. BanksFailing Sideways is an innovative and fresh approach to assessment that intersects writing studies, educational measurement, and queer rhetorics. While valuing and representing the research, theory, and practice of assessment, authors Stephanie West-Puckett, Nicole I. Caswell, and William P. Banks demonstrate the ways that students, teachers, and other interested parties can find joy and justice in the work of assessment. A failure-oriented assessment model unsettles some of the most common practices, like rubrics and portfolios, and challenges many deeply held assumptions about validity and reliability in order to ask what could happen if assessment was oriented toward possibility and potential. Working to engage a more capacious writing construct, the authors propose queer validity inquiry (QVI) as a model for assessment that values failure, affect, identity, and materiality. These overlapping lenses help teachers honor parts of writing and learning that writing studies faculty have struggled to hold onto in a world overly focused on quickness and efficiency in schools. Through programmatic and classroom examples, Failing Sideways privileges what is valued in the classroom but traditionally ignored in assessments. Reimagining what matters in the teaching and learning of writing and using assessment data differently, this book demonstrates what writing can be and could do in a more diverse and just world.
Fair Game
by Alex Blackwell Megan MauriceAlex Blackwell lived and breathed our national sport of cricket for thirty years. Starting as a kid, she spent her childhood and teen years playing and competing with her identical twin, Kate, who was equally devoted to the bat and ball. But it was Alex who went on to consolidate a spot in the national side, eventually rising to the captaincy, notching up an eye-watering list of sporting achievements and earning her a name as one of the greats of the game.But life off field brought challenges of its own. From her professional debut, Alex was unafraid to call out hypocrisy and go in to battle against the traditional hierarchies of the game. Speaking out and becoming a passionate advocate for women and LGBTIQ+ people in sport won her many fans and much respect, but it didn't come without a price. Fair Game is an unflinching account of life in Australia's most loved sporting team, told by one of its most lauded members. It reveals not only the extreme dedication and skill it takes to be the best, but also how it feels to be on the outer - even as one of the game's most decorated players. Representing Australia 251 times across Tests, one day internationals and T20 matches, no woman in history has played more matches for the Australian Women's cricket team than Alex Blackwell. And no one knows better both the extreme highs and devastating lows that come with playing this majestic but at times brutal game at the highest level.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes: The Buzziest Queer YA of 2023
by Sher LeeFake-dates, mooncakes and rich people problems. But love wasn't meant to be on the menu ... Meet Dylan Tang: he juggles school and delivery runs for his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Winning a mooncake competition could bring the publicity they need to stay afloat.Enter Theo Somers: a charming, wealthy customer who convinces Dylan to be his fake date to a family wedding full of crazy rich drama. Their romance is supposed to be just for show . . . but soon Dylan’s falling for Theo. For real.With the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being distracted by rich-people problems. Can he save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?
The (Fake) Dating Game
by Timothy Janovsky“Janovsky has a real flair for delivering sensually descriptive love scenes with steam to spare and a gift for crafting characters with whom readers can readily connect.' Booklist
The Fake-Up: A hilarious new rom-com with unforgettably brilliant characters
by Justin MyersTHE RIOTOUSLY FUNNY NEW NOVEL FROM JUSTIN MYERS, MASTER OF THE MODERN-DAY ROM COM'Everything I want from a rom com. It's warm, funny and whip smart' Laura Kay, author of THE SPLIT'A brilliantly funny reimagining of the romcom, full of helter-skelter twists' Adam Kay, author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT'Myers is the master of the comic metaphor' Matt Cain, author of THE SECRET LIFE OF ALBERT ENTWISTLE__________TWO EXES. ONE BIG SECRET. LET THE GAMES BEGIN... Dylan and Flo are in love. The only trouble is, they broke up months ago and everyone was delighted for them.At first, it's exciting sneaking around, hiding from disapproving friends, climbing through bedroom windows to avoid family, and concocting hilarious disguises. It's like Romeo and Juliet. With more sex and less poison.But soon it becomes harder to separate truth from lies. Dylan and Flo are in way over their heads, and the games have only just begun . . .__________What real readers are saying about The Fake-Up'The Fake-Up is a five-star read that will keep you guessing all the way through' FIVE STARS'I could not put the book down, it was a rollercoaster of a journey . . . It reminded me a lot of Sophie Kinsella . . . You will really fall in love with the characters' FIVE STARS'I love Justin Myers' writing and this book, his third, is just brilliant . . . It's enjoyable especially because the characters have flaws, they are human and their situations are not farfetched, while being fantastic. Total triumph!''A funny, laugh-out-loud story with believable and relatable characters. It gripped me from the very start and kept me up til late in the night wanting to read 'just one more chapter' FIVE STARS'Just so entertaining and gripping. Impeccable storytelling that I would strongly recommend' FIVE STARS
The Fake Wife: The gripping, shocking thriller sensation that reads like a TV boxset from the million-copies sold author
by Sharon Bolton'One thing Sharon Bolton knows how to do is write a compulsive page turner, and The Fake Wife is just that' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'OMG this latest book by Sharon Bolton is so good, definitely worth reading' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Sharon Bolton has written another cracker! The twists! The tension! The characters!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I honestly believe this is one of the best books that I've read this year!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I swear the twists and turns you will not see coming!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'You'll never guess where this book is going' SAMANTHA DOWNING 'Totally gripping, with characters who draw you in' JP DELANEY 'A thriller that had me desperate for answers. I loved it!' HARRIET TYCE Olive Anderson is dining alone at a hotel when a glamourous stranger joins her table, pretending to be her wife. What starts as a thrilling game quickly turns into something dangerous. But as much as the fake wife has her secrets, Olive just might have more . . . The Fake Wife is an unputdownable thriller that will shock and surprise you like the best television boxsets. If you enjoyed Netflix shows like Behind Her Eyes, The Stranger and Obsession you will love The Fake Wife.
Fall
by West CamelEstranged brothers are reunited over plans to develop the tower block where they grew up, but the desolate estate becomes a stage for reliving the events of one life-changing summer.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that shattered their lives, and changed everything forever…Grim, evocative and exquisitely rendered, Fall is a story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave – a triumph of a novel that will affect you long after the final page has been turned.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Praise for West Camel’s debut novel Attend‘From its opening gambit to its final line, Attend demands and rewards attention’ Foreword Reviews’With its blend of dark, gritty themes and gorgeous imagery, this is a book to make you believe there’s still magic in the world’ Heat ‘I’ve fallen in love with this absolutely glorious, spell-binding tale’ LoveReading‘It’s a genuinely pleasurable experience to encounter something couched in such alert and transparent language as West Camel’s Attend … In three hundred finely judged pages, West Camel leaves the reader eager for more from his pen’ Barry Forshaw, CrimeTime‘Lyrical and intense, the spellbinding prose is full of carefully chosen words which create an emotive and flowing’ Crime Review‘Rich, lively and intelligent, Attend is a novel of mystery, morality and meaning, but so delicately sewn together, you never notice the seams…’ Rosie Goldsmith'There is such a joy to the language. West Camel is a truly gifted wordsmith, and a beautiful storyteller’ Louise Beech
The Fall of Princes: A Novel
by Robert Goolrick#1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Goolrick brings to vivid life New York City in the 1980s, a world of excess, as Rooney looks back on a Wall Street career that began with great success and ended with a precipitous crash. It's the story of how he and a group of other young turks made it to the top in the financial world and then fell.
Falling (Oberon Modern Plays Ser.)
by Shelley SilasIf we can't have a baby, we'll have a holiday.Pete and Linda have everything, except the most fashionable accessory of the season - a baby. And it doesn't look like a stork will be flying past their house. But there's more to life than procreation... Falling is a moving and funny investigation of the modern extended family.
Families – Beyond the Nuclear Ideal: Beyond The Nuclear Ideal (Science Ethics and Society)
by Daniela Cutas Sarah ChanThis book examines, through a multi-disciplinary lens, the possibilities offered by relationships and family forms that challenge the nuclear family ideal, and some of the arguments that recommend or disqualify these as legitimate units in our societies.That children should be conceived naturally, born to and raised by their two young, heterosexual, married to each other, genetic parents; that this relationship between parents is also the ideal relationship between romantic or sexual partners; and that romance and sexual intimacy ought to be at the core of our closest personal relationships - all these elements converge towards the ideal of the nuclear family.The authors consider a range of relationship and family structures that depart from this ideal: polyamory and polygamy, single and polyparenting, parenting by gay and lesbian couples, as well as families created through assisted human reproduction.
Family Abolition: Capitalism and the Communizing of Care
by M. E. O'BrienHow do we take care of each other? Who raises us as children, is with us when we are ill, provides a place to sleep when we need one? We often rely on family for the care we all need. Yet even at their best families cannot carry the impossible demands placed on them, and for many the family is a place of private horror, of coercion and personal domination. M. E. O’Brien uncovers the long history of struggles to go beyond the private family. She traces the changing family politics of racial capitalism in the industrial cities of Europe and the slavery plantations and settler frontier of North America, through the rise and fall of the housewife family. From Marx to Black and queer insurrection to today’s mass protest movements, O’Brien finds revolutionary movements seeking better ways of loving, caring, and living. Family Abolition takes us through the past and present of family politics into a speculative future of the commune, imagining how care could be organised in a free society.
A Family and Friend's Guide to Sexual Orientation: Bridging the Divide Between Gay and Straight
by Bob Powers Alan EllisA Family and Friend's Guide to Sexual Orientation helps individuals and families to bridge the divide between gay and straight, to heal wounds that often accompany individuals and families' negative feelings about lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons. Consisting of thirty stories by individuals who have come to accept and embrace their own sexuality, twelve of the stories are by heterosexuals who, in addition to talking about their own sexuality, speak of the homosexuality of a loved one. The book also includes five personal stories from two families.
A Family and Friend's Guide to Sexual Orientation: Bridging the Divide Between Gay and Straight
by Bob Powers Alan EllisA Family and Friend's Guide to Sexual Orientation helps individuals and families to bridge the divide between gay and straight, to heal wounds that often accompany individuals and families' negative feelings about lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons. Consisting of thirty stories by individuals who have come to accept and embrace their own sexuality, twelve of the stories are by heterosexuals who, in addition to talking about their own sexuality, speak of the homosexuality of a loved one. The book also includes five personal stories from two families.
Family Secrets: Gay Sons - A Mother's Story
by Jean M BakerAs a clinical psychologist, Jean Baker had always considered herself open-minded and tolerant, but found she wasn’t prepared for the revelation that her only two children were both gay. Family Secrets is an inspirational story of how she and her family learned to accept one another and overcome their internalized fears and prejudices as well as how they coped with a much greater challenge in their personal lives--HIV/AIDS. Family Secrets is more than a parenting memoir, however. It is a guide that draws upon research and scientific findings to capsize the myths and stereotypes that contribute to societal homophobia. It offers important insight into the developmental needs of gay children, and it discusses the issues faced by gay and lesbian youth and their families.Offering practical suggestions about how parents and schools can help gay, lesbian, and bisexual children grow up to be productive, psychologically healthy adults, Family Secrets discusses the effects of social prejudice and stigma on the social and emotional development of sexual minorities. As long as homophobia is running rampant in American society, gay children are going to be reluctant or afraid to confide in their parents, and parents will have trouble understanding and accepting homosexuality in their children. To end the secrecy and build open and healthy environments for all children and adolescents, this book discusses: tactics for reducing homophobia in non-gay youths promoting tolerance and understanding of sexual minorities at home and in school the effects an AIDS death has on families “coming out” about HIV/AIDS discussing homosexuality with your children, regardless of whether or not they are gay or lesbian sexual orientation and the interaction of biology with experienceBecause Family Secrets is written from the viewpoint of a parent/psychologist, it offers insights into the developmental needs of gay and lesbian children in a way that no other book has done. School counselors, psychologists, marriage and family counselors, teachers, school administrators, and the parents and siblings of gays and lesbians will all benefit from reading this honest, helpful, and encouraging book.