Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest

Rating:
Summary: Hidden history
Review: "Farm Boys" is a superb work of American oral history and sociology. Author Will Fellows spoke to rural gay Midwestern men of all ages, to draw out, record and give shape to their life stories. The result is a poignant and revealing mosaic-portrait that shows the rich intersections of farm life, gay culture and the American twentieth century. Of especial interest to me were the stories of those men born nearly a century ago - we have so little written testimony of what it was like to live as a gay man "back then." And while the subject is gay men, I imagine this book would also be of interest to any reader wanting to know more about rural lives and attitudes in twentieth-century America. Thank you, Mr. Fellows for all your hard work!

Rating:
Summary: touching & true-to-life!
Review: A friend gave me this book when it first came out. I was very impressed with each man's story.

Anyone who reads this will gain an understanding of how life was for young gay men growing up in the semi-isolation of farm life. The stories are told with feeling and show the amazing coping skills of each person. They paint an amazing picture of the life of gay people in the early/middle part of the 1900's.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional documentation on rural gay men
Review: Farm Boys includes the first person narratives of gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. Begun as a sociological study, the book is an excellent glimpse into the lives of rural gay men and their perceptions of their urban brothers.

Divided into three parts (men born early in the century, those born after WWII but before Stonewall, and those born after Stonewall), these narratives of varying length show how each succeeding group came to grips with being gay without the assistance of role models, help groups, or even knowledge that other men and boys like them lived in the same area as they.

Although there are some differences that separate the three groups, some common themes were shared by most. One, most of these rural men gave up their religious beliefs, but not their spirituality. They saw organized faiths as being hypocritical and having a facade, but this was not enough to cause them to doubt the exsistance of a god. Two, many of these men grew up in families that could be classified as "don't talk, don't feel," especially when the subject was sex. Left on their own, many felt obligated to get married because they knew of no other way. And three, once they realized they were gay, this epiphany type revelation about themselves was often very self liberating.

Also of interest to me was the references to how media, such as Time Magazine, Life Magazine, and other outlets, addressed the topic of homosexuality 30 and 40 years ago, and how that portrayal continues to change. More of us being out, obviously, has had a cummulative effect to everyone's benefit, and will continue to do so.

A marvelous book, and highly recommended for anyone interested in the lives and history of gay men.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally well-contextualized stories of growing up gay
Review: Farm Boys is a fascinating collection of materials from 37 gay male oral histories of growing up on farms in the Midwest). Fellows provides succinct analysis of the changing economics of agriculture in the region (increasing industrialization of larger and more capital-intensive farms)--changes which few of his interviewees seem to be aware, though some of their natal families have been squeezed out of business and off the land. Fellows arranges the accounts by the year of birth (from 1909 to 1967), and, over the book's span of time, there seems to be a decrease of the amount of dependence on the unpaid labor of children (i.e., the hours of "chores" seem to have lessened). In addition to eliciting revealing accounts from reticent natives of the rural Midwest, Fellows gathered and reproduces photos of many of his subjects, including some who chose to use pseudonyms. Fellows's analyses of the effects of ethnicity (Germanic in contrast to Yankee), industrialization, and other social changes are astute; as are his conclusions about the costs of heterosexism. The accounts he elicited are often moving and are invariably informative about the life experiences and life worlds of heretofore invisible gay men.

Rating:
Summary: Believe me - THIS BOOK WILL MOVE YOU!
Review: I grew up and still live in a rural area but didn't work on a farm. But you could have lived in NYC all your life and still identify with some of these stories. A very raw and real book. I swear when I was reading some of what these guys said, I almost dropped the book because it was EXACTLY what I have fealt and gone through. I wish the author would write another book like this. If you have always thought of yourself as on the outside of gay culture, then you will identify with the experiences documented in the book. Couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study of Rural Gay Life!
Review: I was more than impressed with this wonderful collection/study of over three dozen rural gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. I never had the experience of living on a farm, having lived in the city while I was growing up, so this was a real eye opener for me. These gay coming of age stories told by the individuals are spell-binding. You not only learn about their first gay experiences, what their families were like, and their everyday life on the farms, but what happened to these individuals after leaving, which most of them did, their farming lives.

This is an excellent look into the lives of these rural gay men and their isolated struggles. It should be required reading for any gay history course. It is fascinating and so well-researched. There are many books out there covering gay life in the cities. This is a wonderful and enlightening study of the rural gay man. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study of Rural Gay Life!
Review: I was more than impressed with this wonderful collection/study of over three dozen rural gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. I never had the experience of living on a farm, having lived in the city while I was growing up, so this was a real eye opener for me. These gay coming of age stories told by the individuals are spell-binding. You not only learn about their first gay experiences, what their families were like, and their everyday life on the farms, but what happened to these individuals after leaving, which most of them did, their farming lives.

This is an excellent look into the lives of these rural gay men and their isolated struggles. It should be required reading for any gay history course. It is fascinating and so well-researched. There are many books out there covering gay life in the cities. This is a wonderful and enlightening study of the rural gay man. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Rating:
Summary: Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest
Review: This book was pretty good. But after awhile all of their stories started to sound the same. I think it's because they were all from pretty much the same place.
I don't know if I should recommend this book or not.
I'm gonna say no, I don't think you should read this. There's probably a better book on this same subject that deals with gay men from different backgrounds.