Service Alert
Queerness in the Catholic Churchis a collection of unique personal stories by several LGBTQIA+ Catholics who share their own experiences within the Church. Although the contributors are based in Germany, their experiences connect and relate to all Catholics who have experienced marginalization, discrimination, and hurt by the Church, yet also know the love, beauty, goodness, and faith of Catholicism. "The subtitle of this collection of painfully honest essays expresses an aspiration for how the Church should look upon our queer members: wanted, loved, blessed. What a wonderful and very faithful starting point for our way of relating to every member of the Body of Christ." --from the foreword Endorsements "Often people ask me, 'How can you be Catholic and LGBTQ?' The answer is easy: LGBTQ people who have been baptized Catholic are both. But just as often these questions are asked because the questioner has no experience with, and has heard no stories from, LGBTQ Catholics. This eye-opening new volume collects many such stories of both the 'joys and hopes' and 'griefs and anxieties,' as the Second Vatican Council said, of this important community in the Church. Come to know their stories, come to know these people, come to know this community, come to know compassion, come to know God." --James Martin, SJ, author of Building a Bridge Wolfgang F. Rothewas ordained a Catholic priest in 1996. He earned a doctorate in theology and canon law. He is best known for his work in Germany against sexism and homophobia in the Church. He is currently a pastor in Munich. +
Statistically speaking, you or someone you know has experienced a sexual violation. There's also a high chance that you or someone you know caused one. Perhaps these incidents had a clear perpetrator and victim. Or maybe you've encountered one of the more complicated situations where it's not quite so obvious that one person intentionally hurt another. Violated focuses on that messy place of unintentional, thoughtless, or perhaps even reckless consent violations. It challenges us to rethink the way gender and dating norms, intentionality, and intoxication have come to frame our social understanding of sexual consent and discusses what you, your organizations, and your government can do to help reduce the scope of sexual violation. But more than anything, this book argues that we need to develop more realistic models of "good consent" for the world we actually live in.
Gay bars have operated as the most visible institutions of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States for the better part of a century, from before gay liberation until after their assumed obsolescence. In The Bars Are Ours Lucas Hilderbrand offers a panoramic history of gay bars, showing how they served as the medium for queer communities, politics, and cultures. Hilderbrand cruises from leather in Chicago and drag in Kansas City to activism against gentrification in Boston and racial discrimination in Atlanta; from New York City's bathhouses, sex clubs, and discos and Houston's legendary bar Mary's to the alternative scenes that reimagined queer nightlife in San Francisco and Latinx venues in Los Angeles. The Bars Are Ours explores these local sites (with additional stops in Denver, Detroit, Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Orlando as well as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Texas) to demonstrate the intoxicating---even world-making---roles that bars have played in queer public life across the country.
A compelling explanation of the American public's acceptance of LGBT freedoms through the lens of pop culture How did gay people go from being characterized as dangerous perverts to military heroes and respectable parents? How did the interests of the LGBT movement and the state converge to transform mainstream political and legal norms in these areas? Using civil rights narratives, pop culture, and critical theory, LGBT Inclusion in American Life tells the story of how exclusion was transformed into inclusion in US politics and society, as pop culture changed mainstream Americans thinking about "non-gay" issues, namely privacy, sex and gender norms, and family. Susan Burgess explores films such as Casablanca, various James Bond movies, and Julie and Julia, and television shows such as thirtysomething and The Americans, as well as the Broadway sensation Hamilton, as sources of growing popular support for LGBT rights. By drawing on popular culture as a rich source of public understanding, Burgess explains how the greater public came to accept and even support the three central pillars of LGBT freedoms in the post-World War II era: to have consensual adult sex without fear of criminal penalty, to serve openly in the military, and to marry legally. LGBT Inclusion in American Life argues that pop culture can help us to imagine unknown futures that lead beyond what we currently desire from contemporary politics, and in return asks now that the mainstream public has come to accept LGBT freedoms, where might the popular imagination be headed in the future?
Get to know real queer kids from all over the country--these inspiring stories of LGBTQ+ youth, written in their own words, provide crucial snapshots of what it's really like to grow up trans or queer in America. Photographer and activist Maxwell Poth has traveled all over the United States, inviting LGBTQ+ youth to share their stories as part of Project Contrast, a nonprofit that amplifies these voices and connects kids and families with the resources they need to survive and thrive. This book collects the stories and portraits of seventy-three queer kids and teenagers from fifteen different states. In their own words, these young people share the challenges they've faced coming out or coming to terms with their own identities; they write about their families, their schoolmates, their teachers, and the queer community they've found throughout their journeys; and they offer messages of love and support to their LGBTQ+ peers. Featuring a foreword by trans actress and model Isis King, this book sends a powerful message to the many LGBTQ+ kids growing up in small towns who feel isolated: We see you, we love you, you are not alone. THESE STORIES ARE VITAL: Across the United States, a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is targeting queer and transgender youth. These stories will not only help queer and trans kids everywhere feel seen and connected to one another, they will shine a much-needed light on the challenges and realities of growing up queer in America. From stories of kids surviving on their own after coming out to close-minded families, to examples of supportive parents who encourage their kids to be proud of who they are, these narratives demonstrate that growing up queer or trans in America is difficult and complicated and normal. This book is a powerful reminder that no matter what your path looks like, you deserve love. IN THEIR OWN WORDS: In this groundbreaking book, LGBTQ+ kids and teens tell their stories in their own words. The submissions that Poth and his Project Contrast team have collected are honest, articulate, and uplifting--these kids deserve to be taken seriously, and this project has given them a platform to share their truth with the world. A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE: Author and photographer Maxwell Poth has been working with LGBTQ+ kids all over the United States since 2017. He started his nonprofit, Project Contrast, to amplify the stories of queer youth and connect them with the community and resources they need to thrive, no matter where they are in the country. His work highlights the unique mental health challenges facing queer and trans young adults, and demands that we stop turning a blind eye to the harm that is caused when we single out those who are different instead of embracing and uplifting them. Perfect for: Queer and trans kids and teens who want to see their experiences reflected in print Parents and family members of LGBTQ+ youth who want to show support or learn more about their loved one's experiences Allies who are inspired by the book's mission and content Anyone interested in understanding the next generation of queer Americans
Harry Benjamin (1885?1986), a German-born endocrinologist, was a pivotal figure in the development of transgender medicine. He was physician to transgender pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen, the 1950s ?Ex-GI? turned ?Blonde Beauty? media sensation, and in turn, she and other collaborators helped to shape Benjamin?s influential 1966 book, The Transsexual Phenomenon. Alison Li?s much-needed biography of Benjamin chronicles his passion for hormones and his lifelong interest in sexology. Drawing from extensive research in archival documents, secondary sources, and interviews, Li tells the story of Benjamin?s early ventures in gerontology and his later work with over a thousand transgender patients. Benjamin?s contributions to treatment, education, research, and networking helped to create the institutional foundations of transgender medicine. Moreover, they set the stage for a radical reconsideration of gender identity, challenging us to reflect upon what it is to be male or female and to envision moving beyond these long-held categories.