The Culture of Desire: Paradox and Perversity in Gay Lives Today

by Frank Browning

Book Overview

Is there such a thing as an American gay culture--a set of styles, values, and behaviors that arises not from ethnicity or religion but from sexual orientation? How is that culture transmitted? And how is it likely to survive the depradations of homophobia and AIDS? These questions are explored by Browning, a reporter for NPR. From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517581922
• ISBN13: 9780517581926
• Release Date: February 1993
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

This book changed my life

While it is true, that things in 2007 are far different than when this book was written, I found it to be a striking reminder of where this queer nation came from. I simply could not put this book down.

An Incisive Analysis

"An incisive analysis of what it means to be a gay man in the modern world; examines various gay communities across North America and documents the struggle of gays to define both their community values and personal identities."--© zebraz

Hit and Miss, With Emphasis on the Hits

Frank Browning's The Culture of Desire (Paradox and Perversity in Gay Lives Today) is a series of essays exploring aspects of gay men lives (no longer quite "today" as this book is bordering on a decade ago). These essays are hit and miss but there are enough little bits of interest to keep most of the readers happy and lead them successfully through the collection. It is very anecdotal and no conclusions can be truly be drawn from this book but it is successful in showing the diversity that existed in gay America and has only continued to grow since this book. It is not an important read but can be, at times, an interesting one.

Indispensable

Smart, sexy, and as cutting edge now as when it was published six years ago, "Culture of Desire" is required reading for anyone who likes to think of themselves as informed about the state of American/Western European gay male culture (if "culture" is the right word). I have yet to meet anyone who hates this book who didn't buy it for the cover.