Whitney, Catherine. Uncommon Lives: Gay Men and Straight
Women. NAL Bks. Mar. 1990. c.288p. index. ISBN
0-453-00715-5. $18.95
[SOCIAL SCIENCE]
"Dedicated to men and women who wrestle with
tradition, invent new options, take risks and live
creatively," Whitney's book will be of aid and interest to
those men and women who defy the strictures of approved societal
relationships. Whitney explores a number of unique, loving
relationships, which may include children--not an option for gay
men at one time. That is now changing, and Whitney looks at how
the disclosure of homosexuality affects relationships between gay
dads and kids. Further, as she points out, some gay men realize
that though they are more sexually attracted to men, their
primary emotional relationships are with women--a stance once
thought of as exploitation or a comfortable front. It is this
struggle between the physical and emotional that Whitney
emphasizes. Surveying more than 1000 people, she comes to no
grand conclusions yet finds that there are many who must create
new ways to live and love. A subject of wide interest. Highly
recommended.
Kevin M. Roddy, Oakland Public Library, California