I Do/I Don't: Queers on Marriage [Paperback]

Greg Wharton (Editor), Ian Philips (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2004

Everyone has an opinion, most of which aren't heard in the national media s echo chamber. Especially those from within the sprawling L(esbian)/G(ay)/B(isexual)/ T(ransgender)/I(ntersex)/Q(ueer) community. Some consider this a fight for equality. Some see it as the wrong fight. Many are anxiously waiting a chance to wed. Many others find the idea absurd. I Do/I Don't collects a diverse array of queer voices on the subject of marriage. Stars and ordinary Janes. Saints and sinners. Anarchists and poets. Journalists and dreamers. Personal essays, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, vows, rants, love letters, and sermons. Silly to serious. In favor and against. Yay and nay, in between, neither, and D) all of the above. All valid. All from inside the community. Contributors include Dorothy Allison, Shane Allison, Charlie Anders, Antler, M.J. Arcangelini, Josh Aterovis and Jon Andrews, Cheryl B., Bruce Bawer, Kevin Bentley, S. Bear Bergman, Steve Berman, Chane Binderup, Jay Blotcher, Keith O. Boykin, Christopher Bram, Tala Brandeis, Michael Bronski, Victoria A. Brownworth, Cynthia Burack and Laree Martin, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Patrick Califia, Anne Campbell, Dale Carpenter, Margaret Cho, David Christensen, Cheryl Clarke, Matthew A. Coles, Sherilyn Connelly, Dana Cory, Wayne Courtois, Dani Couture, Jameson Currier, David Cutler and Mark Ewert, Sven Davisson, Robbie Daw, Christian de la Huerta, Maggie Dolan, Neal Drinnan, Lisa Duggan, Dean Durber, Amie M. Evans, Douglas Ferguson, Steven Finch, Gay Shame San Francisco, Jim Gladstone, Thomas Glave, Robert Glück, Daphne Gottlieb, Steve Greenberg, Aaron Hamburger, Brent Hartinger, Kristie Helms, Kris Hill and Karen Stogdill, Thea Hillman, Walter Holland, Michael Huxley, Debra Hyde, Francisco Ibáñez-Carrasco, Rik Isensee, Aaron Jason, Matt Kailey, Davina Kotulski, Gil Kudrin, Greg M. Lanza, Daniel W.K. Lee, Sharon Vinnie Levin, Ali Liebegott and Anna Joy Springer, Michael T. Luongo, Jason Mahanes, Jeff Mann, Meredith Maran, Janet Mason, David McConnell, Mike McGinty, Skian McGuire, Mara McWilliams, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Sean Meriwether, Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot, Tim Miller, John Mitzel, Marshall Moore, Eileen Myles, Lesléa Newman, Geoff Parkes, Christopher Penczak, Elissa G. Perry, Felice Picano, Jeff Poniewaz, Jim Provenzano, Andy Quan, Carol Queen, Jonathan Rauch, Alan Reade, Shar Rednour, Rick R. Reed and Nicholas Reed, Alexander Renault, Eric Rofes, David Rosen, Rob Rosen, Roxxie Rosen, Richard J. Rosendall, Michael Rowe, Lawrence Schimel, Sarah Schulman, D. Travers Scott, Will Shank, Simon Sheppard, Bob Smith, Horehound Stillpoint, Meg Stone, Jackie Strano, Ron Suresha, Steve Swayne, Mattilda a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore, zak szymanski, Cecilia Tan, Tristan Taormino, Robert Taylor, Richard Tayson, Dylan Vade, Jim Van Buskirk, Jennifer Vanasco, Carmen Vazquez, Kai Venice, Norah Vincent, Jeff Walsh, Patricia Nell Warren, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Judy Wieder, Robert Williams, and Evan Wolfson.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Winner of the 2004 Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction Anthology.

About the Author

Ian Philips is the editor in chief (and mama bear) of Suspect Thoughts Press. He is also the author of two collections of literotica: Satyriasis and the Lambda Literary Award-winning See Dick Deconstruct. On February 19, 2004, he married heartthrob author-publisher Greg Wharton in San Francisco’s City Hall. On August 12, 2004, the California State Supreme Court annulled their marriage. He is uncertain whether this annulment, like Henry VIII's in days of old, means he is also a virgin once more. He's having a hard time distinguishing, let alone separating, church from state these days. Greg Wharton is the publisher of Suspect Thoughts Press. He is the author of the collection Johnny Was & Other Tall Tales and the editor of numerous other anthologies including the Lambda Literary Award Finalist The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Essays on Queer Desire and Sexuality. He lives in San Francisco with his brilliant and sexy husband Ian Philips, a cat named Chloe, and a lot of books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Suspect Thoughts Press (September 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974638870
• ISBN-13: 978-0974638874
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be scared by "Queers" on Marriage, June 4, 2006

By 

J. Mahanes "TheTinyGiant.com" (Los Angeles, California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Do/I Don't: Queers on Marriage (Paperback)

Full disclosure: I am in this book. Deep, deep, in this book (page 210).
I am not queer by any conventional definition. I am married (to a woman).

I do have an interest in the contemporary conception of marriage, one that is in no way broached by the political debate, but which is approached in an interesting way by the diverse opinions of marriage held by the gay community. The questions: what is marriage, and what does it mean to be married, are central issues in this text, and the numerous responses, especially from those for whom the idea of marriage is new, begin to paint an interesting and humane answer that is wholly different than anything else I have read on the subject. I think a lot of people with political intentions towards marriage could learn something by reading this book... if they could look past the apparently prepoliticized subtitle. Based on my own fairly conventional experience of marriage, my less conventional contribution to this book, and my ongoing curiousity regarding ideas that are often taken for granted, I recommend this book as an almost apolitical examination of a hot button cultural topic.

-- By the way, I would have preferred the book credited the editors as, "thoughtfully unedited by..." Part of what makes this book worth anything is that there are nearly 200 voices present, and nearly no discernable sculpting of the overall message. In my experience, you won't find that anywhere else.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Range of Opinions, October 24, 2004

By 

Justin Reans "drchc15" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Do/I Don't: Queers on Marriage (Paperback)

In light of media spectacle that was May 17, 2004, one might think that every gay or lesbian with a boyfriend or girlfriend wanted to go to Massachusetts to get married. This collection brings us back down to earth, showcasing the variety of opinion about gay marriage within the queer community. With so many contributers and so many styles, you never know what you're going to read next. Will it be the director of the ACLU's marriage equality unit explaining the plan of action for future court cases? Will it be the ranting of an anarchist lesbian shaming gays for submitting to the corporate state institution of oppression? Or will it simply be the recollections of a couple who were married and want to share with others the magic of their special day? You may even come across a hilarious letter to the grooms of an impending wedding from an aquaintance who has no idea who either of these people are. With such variety and diversity, you are sure to find something to make you jump out of your seat and shout "Yes!", something to make you laugh, something to make you think, and something to thoroughly enjoy, cover to cover. This book should be required reading for anyone who has anything to say about gay marriage.