Customer Reviews

Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students

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I use this book as a text book in my college course for teachers called "Gay and Lesbian Issues in the Classroom." It is a real eye-opener for what is usually a mostly straight group of teachers. The chapter on Eleanor Roosevelt alone is worth the price!

This is a great book that taught me a lot (and I know a fair amount) about gay, lesbian, bi, and transgendered [GLBT] history. It explores a wide range of stories that the average reader would NOT be familiar with and these span different cultures , times, and even ethnic groups(including Native American and Chinese, although African stories are less well documented than African-American ones and others. I think anyone who is serious about learning more about the entire range of the GLBT experience will come away a great deal more informed from reading this special book. It is deftly set up so that questions after each passage evoke questions and thought, yet it doesn't come across as very academic. It is clear that the editor has done a careful job of helping the reader sift through many facets of the GLBT experience. I look forward to more books of this type and have recommended this volume to others frequently.

I commend Jennings for his selections. I found every single one of them interesting. Even though I had read several of the selections in other books, Mr. Jennings' comments prefacing each selection shed new light on them and made them fresh reading.

Also commendable is the way he covers the issue of natural sexuality vs. social constructionism. Yes, the issue is as dry as it sounds, but Mr. Jennings does an admirable job of giving the salient point of each side and then moving on.

A list of questions and activities follows each chapter. I found these very intelligent and thought-provoking and value-added.