BEYOND QUEER : Challenging Gay Left Orthodoxy

Rating:
Summary: A hymn to individuality -- gay or straight
Review: There is nothing more frustrating than being fully misrepresented in the sweepof fierce political debate, demonstrations, and dogmatic activism from bothsides of an issue. As a gay man who neither abuses children nor devotes all his time to "eating, sleeping, and drinking GAY," I am overlooked by both the Religious Right and the lockstep ideology of the more vocal gay activists. Finally, voices are being heard (and published!) which speak a truth that a silent majority has wanted to convey for so long: most gay people are individuals first. Despite what the higher-ups among the left-wing gay activists claim, being gay does not imply supporting a disparate array of trendy leftist ideals -- in other words, "gay Marxist" should not be assumed redundant. Paradoxically, this left-wing orthodoxy resists and opposes some of the most crucial and potentially benefitial goals gays and lesbians might work for: the right to recognized marriages or honest military service, for instance. We who support such issues, or who are not die- hard statists, are lampooned as the gay equivilant of an "Uncle Tom" by many liberals, gay or straight. Meanwhile, a vocal group on the right continues its religiously-tinged bigotry. Where to turn? Bruce Bawer's new reader is a worthy place to start. Like his earlier monograph, A PLACE AT THE TABLE, BEYOND QUEER offers a diverse selection of essays on many issues related to being gay in today's society, all unified by the idea that for most, being gay is secondary to being an individual -- and this is as it should be. That Bawer's book has been written, published, and is being read, is a heartening sign that this new focus is being noticed, and, hopefully acted upon. Anyone concerned with the dignity of the individual will find this book compelling and valuable.