Customer Reviews

Bisexuality in the Lives of Men: Facts and Fictions

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where are the bisexual men? Why are bisexual activist usually women? If the whole world thinks bisexual men are the ones guilty of spreading AIDS to "innocent" straight women, then why are they so invisible? These are some of the questions that this anthology attempts to answer. A big and important question they pose is the following: "too often writing lumps gay and bisexual men together, so how do bisexual men differ from gay men?" The editors specifically state that they would like readers to read this book next to/along with their other book "Bisexual Men in Culture and Society." This book is the academic-scientific book compared to its more pop culture, literary companion. As much as this book complains of women dominating the bisexual rights movement, with few exceptions, the articles in this book are written by women. This book cites the stats that say Black and Latino men exhibit higher rates of bisexual behavior than white men; this book does a good job in trying to be racially-diverse. The worst article is by Paula Rust. I was so disappointed by this entry when her book "The Bisexual Challenge to Lesbian Politics" was so excellent. Finally, the cover of the book is cheap and tacky. I am glad I bought the book, but then again I'm fascinated by the subject.

I think this book deserves a look because there is so little literature in the field of bisexuality and this was an "early" book, being from 2001. The essays are primarily of the academic type, though I believe more educated readers will find it accessible.

It reflects the climate of bisexuality a few years ago, when the movement for bi identify was mostly female-dominated. That's a natural progression, and I think readers can bypass some of the "ranting" about women dominating that arena. Of course it is more balanced now.

This isn't the type of book one would sit and read in gulps, but it's ideal to take in an essay every few days and get this unique perspective on U.S. culture. Finally people are breaking free of their common beliefs about bisexuality: (1) that it's for man-hating feminists; (2) that it's gay men who haven't come out yet; (3) that it's primarily black men on the "down low."

Funny how many people believe the "Kinsey scale" of sexuality, where people fall all along the spectrum from homo to hetero, yet people have trouble believing some people are truly bi.