Synopses & Reviews
Winner of a Books for a Better Life Literary Award in Psychology
The importance of living authenticallyaccepting ones homosexuality and embracing a positive gay identityis at the heart of Dr. Richard Isays powerful work on the psychological development of gay men. In the candid language of personal case histories, including his own, Isay shows how disguising ones sexual identity can induce anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. He looks at the dilemma of gay men who are closeting in heterosexual marriages as well as at the specific concerns of adolescents, older men, and those confronted with HIV or AIDS. Isay exposes the tenacity with which psychoanalysis has clung to outdated views of homosexuality. Becoming Gay offers great insight for students of psychology, gender studies, and sociology.
Richard Isay is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College and a faculty member of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. He is currently vice president of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association. Isay is also the author of Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development.
Winner of a "Books for a Better Life" Literary Award in Psychology
The importance of living authenticallyaccepting ones homosexuality and embracing a positive gay identityis at the heart of Dr. Richard Isays powerful work on the psychological development of gay men. In the candid language of personal case histories, including his own, Isay shows how disguising ones sexual identity can induce anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. He looks at the dilemma of gay men who are closeted in heterosexual marriages as well as at the specific concerns of adolescents, older men, and those confronted with HIV or AIDS. Isay exposes the tenacity with which psychoanalysis has clung to outdated views of homosexuality. Becoming Gay offers great insight for students of psychology, gender studies, and sociology.
“Richard Isay has made a career of the struggle to make psychoanalysis safe, available, and effective as a treatment for gay men . . . His belief in his patients inherent worth is palpable and a powerful curative agent.”The New England Journal of Medicine
Review
"Richard Isay is the doctor who rescued gay men from stereotypes and defined our health in terms of self-esteem . . . .A wound-dresser indeed, like a Whitman of the psyche. "-Paul Monette
Synopsis
Winner of a Books for a Better Life Literary Award in Psychology
The importance of living authentically—accepting ones homosexuality and embracing a positive gay identity—is at the heart of Dr. Richard Isays powerful work on the psychological development of gay men. In the candid language of personal case histories, including his own, Isay shows how disguising ones sexual identity can induce anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. He looks at the dilemma of gay men who are closeting in heterosexual marriages as well as at the specific concerns of adolescents, older men, and those confronted with HIV or AIDS. Isay exposes the tenacity with which psychoanalysis has clung to outdated views of homosexuality. Becoming Gay offers great insight for students of psychology, gender studies, and sociology.
Synopsis
In the candid language of personal case histories, including his own, Dr. Isay shows how disguising one's sexual identity can induce anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-195) and index.
About the Author
Richard Isay is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College and a faculty member of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. He is currently vice president of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association. Isay is also the author of
Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development.