Customer Reviews

Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The stories told in "Farm Boys" are sometimes touching, sometimes funny, sometimes sexy and virtually always compelling. The loneliness which an emerging gay personality must feel in the solitude that characterizes most American farms must be overbearing at times. A key element in many of the stories told in this book is families which do not and cannot understand homosexuality until it comes to roost at home. Another is the strong religious background which many of the men have faced and dealt with. Not all of the stories end happily -- one of the men, for example, committed suicide shortly after the interview with him was completed. But most of the tales are affirmations of personal confidence and development, and they are bracing even to those of us who feel that the best thing about the countryside is that it is possible to return to the city from it, preferably immediately. Will Fellows has added an important contribution to gay male history, and he is to be highly praised for it. Even greater praise, however, must go to the men who have forthrightly told their tales, many of them reporting along the way that their communities are still not aware of their sexuality. That takes bravery, as does the ability to look deeply into one's own life and background. What a wonderful book.

I was more than impressed with this wonderful collection/study of over three dozen rural gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. I never had the experience of living on a farm, having lived in the city while I was growing up, so this was a real eye opener for me. These gay coming of age stories told by the individuals are spell-binding. You not only learn about their first gay experiences, what their families were like, and their everyday life on the farms, but what happened to these individuals after leaving, which most of them did, their farming lives.

This is an excellent look into the lives of these rural gay men and their isolated struggles. It should be required reading for any gay history course. It is fascinating and so well-researched. There are many books out there covering gay life in the cities. This is a wonderful and enlightening study of the rural gay man. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

"Farm Boys" is a superb work of American oral history and sociology. Author Will Fellows spoke to rural gay Midwestern men of all ages, to draw out, record and give shape to their life stories. The result is a poignant and revealing mosaic-portrait that shows the rich intersections of farm life, gay culture and the American twentieth century. Of especial interest to me were the stories of those men born nearly a century ago - we have so little written testimony of what it was like to live as a gay man "back then." And while the subject is gay men, I imagine this book would also be of interest to any reader wanting to know more about rural lives and attitudes in twentieth-century America. Thank you, Mr. Fellows for all your hard work!

I grew up and still live in a rural area but didn't work on a farm. But you could have lived in NYC all your life and still identify with some of these stories. A very raw and real book. I swear when I was reading some of what these guys said, I almost dropped the book because it was EXACTLY what I have fealt and gone through. I wish the author would write another book like this. If you have always thought of yourself as on the outside of gay culture, then you will identify with the experiences documented in the book. Couldn't put it down.

This book was very well-written, and very biographical eliciting a bitter-sweet and depthful authentic quality. Ones who peer into the book 'Farm Boys: Lives of Gay men From the Rural Midwest' may feel somewhat of a voyeur, but there is a purity concerning the content of this book that will leave you slightly melancholic but satisfied.

Farm Boys includes the first person narratives of gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. Begun as a sociological study, the book is an excellent glimpse into the lives of rural gay men and their perceptions of their urban brothers.

Divided into three parts (men born early in the century, those born after WWII but before Stonewall, and those born after Stonewall), these narratives of varying length show how each succeeding group came to grips with being gay without the assistance of role models, help groups, or even knowledge that other men and boys like them lived in the same area as they.

Although there are some differences that separate the three groups, some common themes were shared by most. One, most of these rural men gave up their religious beliefs, but not their spirituality. They saw organized faiths as being hypocritical and having a facade, but this was not enough to cause them to doubt the exsistance of a god. Two, many of these men grew up in families that could be classified as "don't talk, don't feel," especially when the subject was sex. Left on their own, many felt obligated to get married because they knew of no other way. And three, once they realized they were gay, this epiphany type revelation about themselves was often very self liberating.

Also of interest to me was the references to how media, such as Time Magazine, Life Magazine, and other outlets, addressed the topic of homosexuality 30 and 40 years ago, and how that portrayal continues to change. More of us being out, obviously, has had a cummulative effect to everyone's benefit, and will continue to do so.

A marvelous book, and highly recommended for anyone interested in the lives and history of gay men.

A friend gave me this book when it first came out. I was very impressed with each man's story.

Anyone who reads this will gain an understanding of how life was for young gay men growing up in the semi-isolation of farm life. The stories are told with feeling and show the amazing coping skills of each person. They paint an amazing picture of the life of gay people in the early/middle part of the 1900's.

This is an incredible book. I casually picked it up since it was prominently displayed in a bookstore. I ended up not wanting to put it down. To describe it defies the impact that the book could have if you read it. Fellows captures humanity beautifully without any proselytizing of his own. The men's lives portrayed in this book were so different from my own in suburban Connecticut. However, it made no difference. I loved this book.

I really enjoyed reading this collection of stories very much and learned quite a bit about lives of gay men who grew up on farms. Some of them went into more detail about farm life than others--some of them told more about their lives AFTER leaving the farm, but all in all they were real interesting. I've got to hand it to every one of them, I don't know if I could have 'cut it' on a farm. Suppose I wouldn't of had a choice if I had been born to a farm family--but I certainly do see where these fellas have a 'hard row to hoe' (yes, a pun but still serious) because if they DO like farm life, they wouldn't have such a good life being gay. So I can see where most of them would end up leaving. How could you live an open life?? I think someone growing up on a farm would have a much stronger viewpoint on life. It would be kind of like growing up during the Depression at any age or time period. So physical and demanding--nothing happening or getting done unless YOU do it!! Not like the urban city life I was born into. I really hand it to farm people and gained a new respect for them. They can proclaim like the Marines...."the few, the proud".

It's not about being gay, or living on a farm, or growing up in rural areas where your entire life is centered on a small representation of what is available. It's about identity, about what molds some people into the individuals they become. The stories run the gamut from simple and uplifting, to long and angry, representing factions within the gay community without being held back by the knowledge that it's a faction of its own. It's next to impossible not to be moved by them, and even harder not to reach a keener insight into American rural culture throughout the twentieth century. The ambling nature of the prose is a superb reflection of not only the older generations represented within the interviews, but of the environment within which they were raised.