Synopses & Reviews
Hailed as a cri de coeur woven into a utopian vision” by Susan Brownmiller (author of
Against Our Will),
Ties That Bind is the highly praised work of prizewinning writer and professor Sarah Schulman on familial homophobia,” a phenomenon that, until now, has not had a name but is nevertheless an integral part of most peoples experience.
Ties That Bind invites us to understand familial homophobia as a cultural crisis, rather than a personal or an individual problem.
Ambitious, original, and deeply important, Schulmans book draws on her own lived experience, her research, and her engagement with active social change to articulate a practical, attainable vision of transformation that can begin today. This highly acclaimed and groundbreaking exploration is now available in paperback for countless more to experience a fundamental text that alters our understanding of homophobia and adds a critical dimension to the political landscape of all Americans.
Review
"
Ties that Bind should be required reading for every family."
—Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal
Daring, radical, and compelling.”
—Rigoberto Gonzales, National Book Critics Circle
Visionary, deeply humane.”
—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home
[Schulman] starkly lays out the fundamental immorality of such shunning behavior and its destructive consequences for everyone involved. This is an important and original book.”
—Martin Duberman, award-winning historian and gay rights activist
Synopsis
Familial homophobia,” as prizewinning writer and professor Sarah Schulman calls it, is a phenomenon that, until now, has not had a name but is nevertheless an integral part of most peoples experience. For it is in the family that straight people and queer people first learn about homophobia, which has lasting consequences for their future relationships and sense of self.
In the same way that Susan Brownmillers Against Our Will transformed our understanding of rape by moving the stigma from the victim to the perpetrator, Schulmans Ties That Bind invites us to understand familial homophobia as a cultural crisis, not a personal or individual problem. She offers us the opportunity to intervene with violating families, community, and the state.
Ambitious, original, and deeply important, Schulmans book draws on her own lived experience, her research, and her engagement with active social change to articulate a practical, attainable vision of transformation that can begin today. The paperback edition of Ties That Bind will become a fundamental text that alters our understanding of homophobia and adds a critical dimension to the political landscape of all Americans.
About the Author
Sarah Schulman is the author of seventeen books and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright award. She is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the City University of New York, College of Staten Island, and a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University. She lives in New York City.