Hutchins Library News Blog

          June 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that gave way to what we know now as Pride. On June 28, 1969, police stormed the Stonewall Inn, causing an uproar from the LGBT+ community. Riots ensued, lasting 5 days, led by prominent figures such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. On June 28, 1970, a year after the Stonewall Riots, a march took place on Christopher Street with similar marches in Los Angeles and Chicago — they were the first Gay Pride marches in U.S. history. As we honor Stonewall’s 50th anniversary, we lift up and celebrate the fact that the milestones achieved in the LGBT+ movement were only possible because of the trailblazers who first stood up for their rights.

Trans Kids by Tey Meadow

Call Number: 306.768 M482t 2018

ISBN: 0520275039

Publication Date: 2018-08-17

Trans Kids is a trenchant ethnographic and interview-based study of the first generation of families affirming and facilitating gender nonconformity in children. Earlier generations of parents sent such children for psychiatric treatment aimed at a cure, but today, many parents agree to call their children new names, allow them to wear whatever clothing they choose, and approach the state to alter the gender designation on their passports and birth certificates. Drawing from sociology, philosophy, psychology, and sexuality studies, sociologist Tey Meadow depicts the intricate social processes that shape gender acquisition. Where once atypical gender expression was considered a failure of gender, now it is a form of gender. Engaging and rigorously argued, Trans Kids underscores the centrality of ever more particular configurations of gender in both our physical and psychological lives, and the increasing embeddedness of personal identities in social institutions.

Before Stonewall by Vern L. Bullough; John P. Dececco

Call Number: 305.906 B415

ISBN: 1560231920

Publication Date: 2002-11-21

Explore the early history of the gay rights movement! In the words of editor Vern L. Bullough: "Although there was no single leader in the gay and lesbian community who achieved the fame and reputation of Martin Luther King, there were a large number of activists who put their careers and reputations on the line. It was a motley crew of radicals and reformers, drawn together by the cause in spite of personality and philosophical differences. Their stories are told in the following pages." Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context illuminates the lives of the courageous individuals involved in the early struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights in the United States.

Invisible Families by Mignon Moore

Call Number: 306.848 M823i 2011

ISBN: 9780520269521

Publication Date: 2011-10-17

Mignon R. Moore brings to light the family life of a group that has been largely invisible--gay women of color--in a book that challenges long-standing ideas about racial identity, family formation, and motherhood. Drawing from interviews and surveys of one hundred black gay women in New York City, Invisible Families explores the ways that race and class have influenced how these women understand their sexual orientation, find partners, and form families. In particular, the study looks at the ways in which the past experiences of women who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s shape their thinking, and have structured their lives in communities that are not always accepting of their openly gay status. Overturning generalizations about lesbian families derived largely from research focused on white, middle-class feminists, Invisible Families reveals experiences within black American and Caribbean communities as it asks how people with multiple stigmatized identities imagine and construct an individual and collective sense of self.

The Battle over Marriage by Leigh Moscowitz

Call Number: 306.848 M896b 2013

ISBN: 0252038126

Publication Date: 2013-10-31

Over the past decade, the controversial issue of gay marriage has emerged as a primary battle in the culture wars and a definitive social issue of our time. The subject moved to the forefront of mainstream public debate in 2004, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began authorizing same-sex marriage licenses, and it has remained in the forefront through three presidential campaigns and numerous state ballot initiatives. In this thorough analysis, Leigh Moscowitz examines how prominent news outlets presented this issue from 2003 to 2012, a time when intense news coverage focused unprecedented attention on gay and lesbian life. During this time, LGBT rights leaders sought to harness the power of media to advocate for marriage equality and to reform their community's public image. Building on in-depth interviews with activists and a comprehensive, longitudinal study of news stories, Moscowitz investigates these leaders' aims and how their frames, tactics, and messages evolved over time. In the end, media coverage of the gay marriage debate both aided and undermined the cause. Media exposure gave activists a platform to discuss gay and lesbian families. But it also triggered an upsurge in opposing responses and pressured activists to depict gay life in a way calculated to appeal to heterosexual audiences. Ultimately, The Battle over Marriage reveals both the promises and the limitations of commercial media as a route to social change.

Understanding Asexuality by Anthony F. Bogaert

Call Number: 305.8 B674u 2015

ISBN: 9781442201002

Publication Date: 2015-03-06

Asexuality can be defined as an enduring lack of sexual attraction. Thus, asexual individuals do not find (and perhaps never have) others sexually appealing. Some consider asexuality as a fourth category of sexual orientation, distinct from heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. However, there is also recent evidence that the label asexual may be used in a broader way than merely as a lack of sexual attraction. People who say they have sexual attraction to others, but indicate little or no desire for sexual activity are also self-identifying as asexual. Distinct from celibacy, which refers to sexual abstinence by choice where sexual attraction and desire may still be present, asexuality is experienced by those having a lack or sexual attraction or a lack of sexual desire. More and more, those who identify as asexual are coming out, joining up, and forging a common identity. The time is right for a better understanding of this sexual orientation, written by an expert in the field who has conducted studies on asexuality and who has provided important contributions to understanding asexuality. This timely resource will be one of the first books written on the topic for general readers, and the first to look at the historical, biological, and social aspects of asexuality. It includes firsthand accounts throughout from people who identify as asexual. The study of asexuality, as it contrasts so clearly with sexuality, also holds up a lens and reveals clues to the mystery of sexuality."

Love Is Love by Phil Jimenez (Illustrator); Elsa Charretier (Illustrator); Marc Andreyko

Call Number: 741.597 L897 2017

ISBN: 9781631409394

Publication Date: 2017-01-10

The comic book industry comes together to honor those killed in Orlando this year. From IDW Publishing, with assistance from DC Entertainment, this oversize comic contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talents in comics - - mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today's world.

This month's showcase is on a graphic novel titled The Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman

"THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s. A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN is also widely considered one of the most original and artistically ambitious series of the modern age. By the time it concluded in 1996, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.."        -from the publisher

Check it out!

Sandman by Neil Gaiman (writer)

Call Number: 741.597 G141a 2006 v. 1 c. 2 (Graphic Novels -- Main Floor Circulation Area)

Now, DC Comics is proud to present this comics classic in an all-new Absolute Edition format. The first of four beautifully designed slip-cased volumes, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 collects issues #1-20 of THE SANDMAN and features completely new coloring, approved by the author on the first 18 issues, as well as a host of never-before-seen extra material including the complete original Sandman proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script for the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," together with reproductions of the issue's original pencils by Charles Vess. Also included are a new introduction by DC President and Publisher Paul Levitz and an afterword by Gaiman.

The origin of Father's Day represents a grassroots phenomenon that characterizes American reverence for the family. Although deeply rooted in North American social culture, the popularity—and, some might say, commercial exploitation—of Father's Day has crossed national boundaries to become popular in other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. Americans and Canadians set aside the third Sunday in June as the day children show their appreciation and gratitude for their fathers, but the earliest Father's Day celebration on record appears to have been held on July 5, 1908, in a church in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Father's Day was first celebrated in towns and cities scattered across America. The citizens of Vancouver, Washington, claim to have been the first to officially hold a town wide Father's Day ceremony, beginning in 1912. In 1915 the president of the Uptown Lions Club in Chicago was hailed as the “originator” of Father's Day when he suggested that the Lions hold a Father's Day celebration on the third Sunday in June.

Works cited:

Lloyd, J. H. (2013). Father's Day. In T. Riggs (Ed.), St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 285-286). Detroit: St. James Press. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2735800917/GVRL?u=berea&sid=GVRL&xid=922d9adb

See some of our titles below for more information on Father's day holiday and fatherhood:

Kevin and His Dad by Irene Smalls; Michael Hays (Illustrator)

Call Number: S6354k - Hutchins Library - Children's Picture Books (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 1999-04-01

A simple, graceful text and illustrations infused with warmth and love make this story of a day a boy and his dad spend together a special reading experience. Young boys and their fathers will relish this book that celebrates the ordinary things dads and kids can do together. Full color.

Fatherhood by William Marsiglio (Editor)

Call Number: 306.874 F2519 - Hutchins Library - Circulating (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 1995-04-03

Recent social and cultural changes - such as transformation in the workplace, shifting marriage and divorce patterns, the growth of the women′s movement and development of the men′s movement - have all served to change the traditional family role of fathers and to force a re-examination of the interaction between fathers and children. This collection of empirical and theoretical articles presents new theoretical models and the results of current research on the role of fathers in families. The articles cover differences in culture, class, nationality and custodial status and focus on legal, economic and policy questions.

 

Men Can by Donald N. S. Unger

Call Number: E-Book (Berea College only)

Publication Date: 2010-07-29

Fatherhood is evolving in America. Stay at home dads are becoming more commonplace; men are becoming more visible in domestic, caregiving activities. In Men Can, writer, teacher, and father Donald Unger uses his personal experiences, stories of real-life families, as well as representations of fathers in film, on television, and in advertising, to illuminate the role of men in the increasingly fluid domestic sphere. In thoughtful interviews, Don Unger tells the stories of a half dozen families--of varied ethnicities, geographical locations, and philosophical orientations--in which fathers are either primary or equally sharing parents, personalizing what is changing in how Americans care for their children. These stories are complemented by a discussion of how the language of parenting has evolved and how media representations of fathers have shifted over several decades.    Men Can shows how real change can take place when families divide up domestic labor on a gender-neutral basis.  The families whose stories he tells offer insights into the struggles of--and opportunities for--men caring for children. When it comes to taking up the responsibility of parenting, his argument, ultimately, is in favor of respecting personal choices and individual differences, crediting and supporting functional families, rather than trying to force every household into a one-size-fits-all mold. 

 

Fatherhood Today by Phyllis Bronstein (Editor); Carolyn Pape Cowan (Editor)

Call Number: 306.874 F252 - Hutchins Library - Circulating (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 1988-02-26

From the Foreword of Fatherhood Today "This is more than a volume about fathers. It is a book about how social science and culture interact, mutually influencing the social roles in modern society It is not clear whether the rediscovery of fathers in the 1970's by social scientists encouraged us to notice fathers' active participation in families or whether the cultural shifts in women's work roles and alterations in men's awareness of their emotional and expressive capacities led to an awakening of interest among social researchers. In either case, this volume is a marvelous testimony of the clear interdependence of science and society." --From the Foreword by Ross D. Parke

 

Fatherhood Politics in the United States by Anna Gavanas

Call Number: E-Book (Berea College only)

Publication Date: 2014-05-10

Are fathers being marginalized in the contemporary family? Responding to fears that they are, the self-proclaimed "fatherhood responsibility movement" (FRM) has worked since the mid-1990s to put fatherhood at the center of U.S. national politics. Anna Gavanas's Fatherhood Politics in the United States analyzes the processes, reveals the internal struggles, and traces the myths that drive this powerful movement. Unlike previous investigations that rely on literary or other secondary sources, Fatherhood Politics works from primary ethnographic material to represent a wider range of voices and actors. Interacting with and interviewing members of the most powerful and well-known national fatherhood organizations, Gavanas observed Promise Keeper rallies, men's workshops, and conferences on masculinity, fatherhood, and marriage. Providing a detailed overview of the different organizations involved and their various rhetorical strategies, Gavanas breaks down the FRM into two major wings. The "pro-marriage" wing sees marriage as the key to solving all social problems, while the "fragile family" organizations worry about unemployment, racism, and discrimination. Gavanas uses her extensive anthropological fieldwork as the basis for discussions of gender, sexuality, and race in her analysis of these competing voices. Taking us inside the internal struggles, tensions, and political machinations of the FRM, Gavanas offers a behind-the-scenes look at a movement having real impact on current social policy. Fatherhood Politics is an essential work for anyone interested in the politics of masculinity, parenthood, marriage, race, and sexuality.