Gay Men, Straight Jobs

Rating:
Summary: Dan Woog Hits Home Again
Review: As one of the subjects Mr. Woog chose for the book (park ranger) I was pleased to see how he treated my very personal story. Those who know me gave me great feedback on how accurate his depiction was and, more importantly, several people who are struggling with coming out at work have contacted me for help. The writing shows compassion and humor. My friends who have read it highly recommend the book as do I. Though I was a little shy about it, I'm glad I told my story to Mr. Woog.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and Important
Review: Dan Woog has once again written an engaging and important book about being gay in America. It's tempting to call Woog the gay community's Studs Terkel, but that may not do Woog justice. The skillful manner in which he conveys his subjects' experiences makes this book fascinating reading no matter how close one is to the issue.

Rating:
Summary: A near academic look at social expectations
Review: Depending on your point of view, writer Dan Woog might be either a maverick or a pioneer. In his earlier "Jocks" series, Woog may well have essentially initiated the diaglogue that acknowledged that there are gays in pro sports. Here, in "Gay Men, Straight Jobs," Woog again takes on the challenge of portraying gays realistically: as they behave and as they are expected to behave based on societal expectations and demands. And it's from that perspective - profiling the gay man within the framework of institutional mores - that makes Woog something of an academic sociologist. An array of occupations perhaps traditionally thought to be exclusively straight are presented here by their gay workers: police officers, fire fighters, upscale Wall Streeters and even television news reporters. What emerges is how workers in those and other fields manage to balance their sexual orientation with the expectations and mores of their respective professions, and how those expectations relate to the larger society. To gain any meaningful information from this book, particularly if you're a gay man struggling to fit into your own social and occupational frameworks, it's best to read the book as something of a self-help guide. Don't expect any simmering accounts of gay sex: if you want that, look elsewhere. More important than that, you might find something here that has actual long-term benefits.

Rating:
Summary: My View
Review: I looked this book over and it is yet another example of how inaccurate portrayals of the typical gay man are. Not one of his stories seemed believable.

The author's style seems to be exploiting our gay community a bit too much.

I am an openly gay police officer and was interviewed for this book. Perhaps my interview was too believable? Of course this is only my review.

Rating:
Summary: A near academic look at social expectations
Review: Mr Woog's book lacks style and has... this big measure - "coming out". Coming out is an individual thing and personalities vary. Lives vary. Every interview was preoccupied with whether the guy was "out" or not. The problem was that the related stories showed no correlation with sexual status. The book was badly preoccupied with this one fact.

Gay Men; Straight Jobs was a very poor attempt to interview a group of interesting men. Mr Woog seemed to have a set formula (a very poor formula at that) which he followed with each man he interviewed. The book provided little insight into the interviewed men's lives and provided a very dull read. There was no attempt by the author to tie threads of commonality or diversity between the different people. Life is not whether you are out or not; its how you lead your life which is important.

Rating:
Summary: Very humdrum
Review: Mr Woog's book lacks style and has... this big measure - "coming out". Coming out is an individual thing and personalities vary. Lives vary. Every interview was preoccupied with whether the guy was "out" or not. The problem was that the related stories showed no correlation with sexual status. The book was badly preoccupied with this one fact.

Gay Men; Straight Jobs was a very poor attempt to interview a group of interesting men. Mr Woog seemed to have a set formula (a very poor formula at that) which he followed with each man he interviewed. The book provided little insight into the interviewed men's lives and provided a very dull read. There was no attempt by the author to tie threads of commonality or diversity between the different people. Life is not whether you are out or not; its how you lead your life which is important.