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-- Judith Stacey, Contemporary Sociology

Why would a lesbian raised in a Jewish home have a sudden desire to be a tough-talking Catholic girl? And why would a gay man travel to Ireland in a desperate attempt to escape his "hillbilly" roots? Identity Envy--Wanting to Be Who We're Not explores the connections gay men and lesbians have to religions, races, ethnicities, classes, families of origin, and genders not their own. This unique anthology takes both humorous and serious looks at the identities of others as queer writers explore their own identity envies in personal essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction.

Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, intersex, and other sexual minorities often feel marginalized by mainstream culture and have a need to belong somewhere, to claim a group as their own. This surprising book presents stories of identity envy that are humorous and hard-hitting, poignant and provocative, written with energy, wit, and candor by many of your favorite writers-and some exciting newcomers.

Identity Envy--Wanting to Be Who We're Not includes:

Gerard Wozek's King Fu-infused "Chasing the Grasshopper"
Max Pierce's fantasy of being a "Child Star" that helped him through a troubled family life
Lori Horvitz's "Shiksa in my Living Room"
D. Travers Scott's "EuroTex"
Perry Brass's "A Serene Invisibility: Turning Myself into a Christian Girl"
Jim Tushinski's ode to Lost in Space, "The Perfect Space Family"
Al Cho's unlikely identification with Laura Ingalls Wilder characters, "Farmer Boy"
Irish-American John Gilgun wishes he could be one of those "Italian-American Boys"
Joan Annsfire rejects her Jewish heritage to become Catholic schoolgirl
Corinne O'Donnell in "The Promise of Redemption"
Andrew Ramer's "Tales of a Male Lesbian"
City slicker Mike McGinty's life with the cattle folk, "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Helen"
and much more!

Becoming Visible offers cutting-edge psychological perspectives on bisexual and queer identities and the cultural and mental health issues facing bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, and questioning individuals and their partners. Essential for any professional seeking to provide "best practice" services to this population, Becoming Visible addresses the therapeutic needs of bisexuals at every stage of the life cycle.

This volume explores why some people resist identity labels and what bisexual men and women consider exemplary and harmful in their therapeutic experiences. It also helps practitioners distinguish between the stresses brought on by being part of a sexual minority and the clinical symptoms that indicate serious mental health issues. It includes research on ethnic minority bisexuals, youth, elders, gender-variant individuals, and bisexuals engaging in alternative lifestyles and sexual practices such as polyamory and BDSM.

Edited by a psychologist who specializes in sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues and with contributions from scholars and professionals from multiple disciplines, the book embraces perspectives from the empirical to the phenomenological, and outlines both scientific and practice-based approaches to the subject while carefully considering the psychological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the issues confronting bisexual men and women.

Becoming Visible is a crucial step in the improved mental health and well-being of bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other sexual minorities. This book offers a path toward awareness and compassion for those who seek to understand, treat, and empower this underserved and frequently misunderstood group of mental health clients.

In this amazing, wide-ranging anthology of nonfiction essays, contributors write intimate and honest first-person accounts of queer experience, from coming out to "passing" as straight to growing old to living proud. These are the stories of contemporary gay and lesbian life-and by definition, are funny, sad, hopeful, and truthful. Representing a diversity of genders, ages, races, and orientations, and edited by two acclaimed writers and anthologists (who between them have written or edited almost one hundred books), First Person Queer puts the "personal" back into "queer."

Why would a man, aware of his attraction to other men, choose to marry a woman and live as a heterosexual? We can understand men from the pre-Stonewall generation deciding to live in accordance with mores of an earlier time, though in today's world, where many gay men live openly and honestly, this choice seems needless. But as author David Leddick points out, our understanding is clouded by our perception of gay men as being either in the closet or out of the closet. "Preconceived notions of why gay men marry must be thrown out the window when you read this book," Leddick reports after having interviewed forty men ranging in age from twenty-nine to eighty-eight. "Each story provides very different and individual insights into why gay men marry and whether they eventually extricate themselves from that arrangement or choose to remain married.

While it is clear that fear, cultural isolation, religion, or family expectations can play a large part in a man's decision to repress his sexuality, many of the men Leddick interviewed express a strong and sincere desire to cultivate and maintain relationships with women-and the reasons underlying their choices are far more heartfelt than society has ever appreciated. The Secret Lives of Married Men is an invaluable addition to the growing body of literature that explores the vast and varied landscape of today's family.

David Leddick is the author of three novels (Never Eat In, The Sex Squad, and My Worst Date) and many art photography books, including Naked Men, Naked Men Too, George Platt Lynes, Male Nude Now, and The Homoerotic Art of Pavel Tchelitchev. A native of Detroit, Leddick also served as the worldwide creative director for Revlon. He now lives in Miami.