Dead Boys Can't Dance: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity, and Suicide [Paperback]

Michel Dorais (Author), Simon Louis Lajeunesse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

"Dead Boys Can't Dance" is a ground-breaking exploration of the double taboos of homosexuality and suicide and their effect on males from fourteen to twenty-five. North American society has been reluctant to recognize that there is a link between the social stigmatization of homosexuality and the high level of suicide attempts by adolescent boys who are homosexual or are identified as homosexual by their peers. By examining first-person accounts from teenage boys and young men, Michel Dorais and Simon Louis Lajeunesse shed light on why some of them attempt to take their own lives.Dorais and Lajeunesse analyse the adverse ways being stigmatized as homosexual affects personality and behaviour, discerning four types of reaction: the 'good boy', whose perfectionism and asexuality are an attempt to minimize the difference between how he is perceived and what he is supposed to be; the 'chameleon', who attempts to keep everyone from suspecting his secret but constantly feels like an impostor; the 'designated fag', who serves as a scapegoat to his peers, especially at school, and suffers a consequent rejection and lack of self-esteem; and, the 'rebel', who actively rejects any stigma based on his sexual orientation and non-conformity. They show that those who are heterosexual but suspected of being homosexual are most at risk of suicide and they make recommendations for suicide prevention.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773526544
• ISBN-13: 978-0773526549
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting study of important information, January 8, 2009

By 

Sandra Allen "pointbeingis" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Boys Can't Dance: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity, and Suicide (Paperback)

This book is based on a Canadian study that can be brought into U.S.A. classes. The information can be used in various social sciences courses. It is a good read of the information. The book is also a quick read and makes this a very good prospect for using it for more indept information for college courses studying this demographics. My students appreciated the information, as it added a good depth to our class discussions.