Gay & Lesbian Atlas

Gay & Lesbian Atlas Review

Gary Gates and Jason Ost have presented a carefully crafted volume, filled with gist for tremendous insights. Their methodology is clearly explained, and they have done an admirable job of trying to portray cartographic imagery of the gay and lesbian population of the United States.

This volume certainly belongs in every public and school library in the country.

And yet, I experienced a certain amount of frustration while poring over the state-by-state and city-by-city maps portrayed in this volume. This frustration does not stem from the admirable work of the authors, but rather from three sources largely beyond their control.

First among these sources of frustration is that the census data collected on same sex coupling, enticing as it is, leaves much to be desired. The census methodology makes the imputation of lesbian and gay populations difficult, at best. The only enumeration is of co-habiting "unmarried" partners of like gender. Left out are couples where neither is the 'head of household', couples not living in the same residence, or who are living in group quarters (such as housing complexes, nursing homes, and correctional facilities). Also left out are single gay & lesbian people, those who do not declare their relationship as an "unmarried partnership", and those who are currently cohabiting with a partner of dissimilar gender, or are in some other form of less traditional relationship status.
The limitation of our knowledge base to cohabiting couples of similar gender is frustrating when trying to imagine the exhuberant diversity of our communities as displayed across geographic space.

My second frustration stems from the difficulty in displaying information that is highly dependent on population density. In the maps these authors portray, the vast majority of the country looks as though there is a paucity of gay and lesbian couples. This is chiefly due to the fact that rural settings take up a lot of "space" on the map, while urban clusters are often barely visible, let alone the small-area variation in the prevalence of couples across the urban landscape.
The authors have tried to overcome this difficulty somewhat by displaying blow-ups of various cities (such as San Francisco, Houston, Boston, etc.), but often these maps of cities are so de-contextualized from their surroundings that it is difficult to visualize the residential patterns of similar gender couples. For example, Boston is displayed without the integrally linked cities of Cambridge and Somerville that (at least anecdotally) contain a large proportion of Boston's gay and lesbian community.

My third frustration stems from the fact that the authors have presented only one measure of gay & lesbian residental patterns (to be fair, three measures: one for gays, one for lesbians, and one combined). This is a relative measure, which is a bit more difficult to interpret than an absolute measure, such as the proportion of similar gender couple-headed households, would have been, because the 'normal' reference for each state is different, making parts of rural North Dakota look as queer-friendly as Manhattan.
Furthermore the authors have limited themselves to a single gay/lesbian index, presumably because of the prohibitive cost of producing a volume with multiple indices. The drawback to this is that a variety of audiences will be interested in more than the relative concentration of lesbian and gay households to all households. The census, for instance, has elected to present data on same sex households as a proportion of all coupled households, rather than including single person households, or households in which the adults have no stated relationship. Other viewers may wish to consider only those households where the head is over a given age.

Much of these difficulties could be overcome by creating an accompanying website which would allow a reader/viewer to zoom in and out according to their own particular preferences, and to display the index of lesbian/gay residential density of greatest interest to them.

All in all, this volume is a tremendous effort and acheivement, hampered not by the authors' originality or effort, but by inescapable quirks of census data collection, and the ability of our minds to grapple with spatial information.

Bill Jesdale, Providence RI (by the way, the finest queer community in the country...)

Gay & Lesbian Atlas Feature

• ISBN13: 9780877667216
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Gay & Lesbian Atlas Overview

While the words "we are everywhere" can be frequently heard at gay and lesbian political events, The Gay and Lesbian Atlas provides the first empirical confirmation of this rallying cry. Drawing on the most recent data from the U.S. Census, this groundbreaking work offers a detailed geographic and demographic portrait of gay and lesbian families in all 50 states plus the top 25 U.S. metropolitan areas. These results, presented in more than 250 full-color maps and charts, will both confirm and challenge anecdotal information about the spatial distribution and demographic characteristics of this community. It is probably no surprise that San Francisco, Key West, and western Massachusetts all host large gay and lesbian populations, but it might surprise some that Houston, Texas, contains one of the ten "gayest" neighborhoods in the country, or that Alaska and New Mexico have high concentrations of gay and lesbian couples in their senior populations. The Atlas is a unique and important resource for the political and public policy communities, public health officials, social scientists, and anyone interested in gay and lesbian issues.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 11, 2010 03:50:13

Tags : Watch TV Show Episodes Online Now

Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men

Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men Review

I am amazed that I missed this book until a couple months ago. Indeed, it amazes me how few people have been motivated to write a review of it.

Rotello really explains in a simple sensible understandable fashion how the AIDS epidemic resulted from changes in technology , sexual role changes among gay males , social patterns of IV drug users (those in NYC shared needles in galleries while on the West Coast most used their own works at home and escaped the epidemic) and finally how hyperpromiscuity in large cities were the core centers for spreading this epidemic.

Most importantly, Rotello sees a continuing disaster in the gay community if old patterns of multi-partner 1970s promiscuity are reverted to by today's generation.

This is a must read book for anyone touched by this disease. It should get 50 stars.

Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men Overview

ntensively researched, passionately argued, and intellectually rigorous, Sexual Ecology sounds a clarion call for the controversial revision of the gay male community's beliefs about and approaches to AIDS. It is widely agreed that Sexual Ecology is the first book since And the Band Played On to fundamentally challenge social perceptions of this virulent modern plague. Gabriel Rotello argues that a series of accepted views, such as "there are no such things as risk groups, only risky behaviors," the product of well-intentioned attempts to combat social stigma are fallacies that have hampered our attempts to study the disease. From the false security of condoms to the seeming magic bullet of protease inhibitors, simplistic ways of looking at AIDS have allowed thousands of gay men to become infected each year. Weaving together the intertwining threads of sexual politics, science, and survival, Sexual Ecology constructs an incisive, even-handed discussion that has been debated by activists and affirmed by scientists and epidemiologists, and that is relevant to all our lives.
The extremely strong response to the hardcover and wide media coverage confirms the timely nature of the subject.
Includes a new afterword by the author.

Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men Specifications

There was a time, before AIDS, when gay male culture was often synonymous with multiple partners, bathhouses, and an emphasis on youth and physical beauty. Monogamy was identified with "straight" culture and therefore something to be resisted. Even when the AIDS epidemic was at its height, the gay community promoted condom use but did little to discourage risky behavior. In his groundbreaking book Sexual Ecology, author Gabriel Rotello views the epidemic in a new way: as part of an ecological system. Rotello's approach, while unique in the study of AIDS, is one familiar to the environmental movement. He sees the disease not as a discrete element, but as part of a system of "behaviors, thoughts and feelings that made gay culture so susceptible to AIDS."

Although Rotello aims his book primarily at a gay audience, Sexual Ecology has a wider appeal. His chronicle follows the growth of promiscuity among homosexual men through its promotion by bathhouse owners and the gay media. Equally fascinating is the current trend toward more mainstream values among many gay men. Finally, his suggestions for making gay culture sustainable (in the words of environmental science) instead of self-destructive provide serious food for thought and for debate.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 10, 2010 18:54:35

See Also : Watch TV Show Episodes Online Now