Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States

Rating:
Summary: constructionism or essentialism? no answer!
Review: On the one hand, Mr. Whitam and the people (graduate students?) who worked under him must have had major funding to compare gay men in three different countries to those in the US. On the other, the cruddy font that was used and the lack of sophistication in the writing suggests something more amateur. This book was very informative for me when I was writing a paper on homosexuality in Brazil at Brown University. Plus, the whole constructionism vs. essentialism debate is tiresome when almost no one argues in favor of essentialism. Well, this book kinda does, and reasonably so I might add. This book basically implies that the world over, gay men are interested in art and witty gossip. This may rub many readers, and especially rigorous academics, the wrong way. Also, some of Whitam's theories lead to obvious or empty conclusions. For example, he says something to the effect of "gay males either hate sports, like sports, or are indifferent to sports." Hello! Those are the only options for everyone! One's answer would be the same despite gender or sexual identity. I love that scholars are finally writing comparative books on homosexuality in the modern world. Still, this book was a little second-rate. It may be a good addition to the libraries of those collecting books on Latino or Asian gay men, however.

Rating:
Summary: constructionism or essentialism? no answer!
Review: On the one hand, Mr. Whitam and the people (graduate students?) who worked under him must have had major funding to compare gay men in three different countries to those in the US. On the other, the cruddy font that was used and the lack of sophistication in the writing suggests something more amateur. This book was very informative for me when I was writing a paper on homosexuality in Brazil at Brown University. Plus, the whole constructionism vs. essentialism debate is tiresome when almost no one argues in favor of essentialism. Well, this book kinda does, and reasonably so I might add. This book basically implies that the world over, gay men are interested in art and witty gossip. This may rub many readers, and especially rigorous academics, the wrong way. Also, some of Whitam's theories lead to obvious or empty conclusions. For example, he says something to the effect of "gay males either hate sports, like sports, or are indifferent to sports." Hello! Those are the only options for everyone! One's answer would be the same despite gender or sexual identity. I love that scholars are finally writing comparative books on homosexuality in the modern world. Still, this book was a little second-rate. It may be a good addition to the libraries of those collecting books on Latino or Asian gay men, however.