Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States [Hardcover]

Frederick Whitam (Author), Robin M. Mathy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0275900371 | ISBN-13: 978-0275900373

This book shows which aspects of homosexuality are culturally variable and which are not and explores the implications for current descriptions and explanations of homosexuality. Utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative material, the authors draw conclusions about the nature of homosexuality across cultural boundaries. Among their findings: homosexuals comprise approximately five percent of the population in each country no matter the degree of repressiveness or acceptance; homosexuals in different societies appear to have the same occupational and leisure-time interests; and their psycho-sexual development is similar and characterized by similar patterns of early cross-gender behavior.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[This] book demonstrates how strongly the Victorian cosmology still shapes certain of the debates in gay studies.”–Contemporary Studies

Product Details

• Hardcover: 241 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (December 15, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275900371
• ISBN-13: 978-0275900373
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,320,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars constructionism or essentialism? no answer!, December 17, 2002

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: A Cross-cultural Study of the United States, Guatemala, Brazil, the Philippines (Hardcover)

On the one hand, Mr. Whitam and the people (graduate students?) who worked under him must have had major funding to compare gay men in three different countries to those in the US. On the other, the cruddy font that was used and the lack of sophistication in the writing suggests something more amateur. This book was very informative for me when I was writing a paper on homosexuality in Brazil at Brown University. Plus, the whole constructionism vs. essentialism debate is tiresome when almost no one argues in favor of essentialism. Well, this book kinda does, and reasonably so I might add. This book basically implies that the world over, gay men are interested in art and witty gossip. This may rub many readers, and especially rigorous academics, the wrong way. Also, some of Whitam's theories lead to obvious or empty conclusions. For example, he says something to the effect of "gay males either hate sports, like sports, or are indifferent to sports." Hello! Those are the only options for everyone! One's answer would be the same despite gender or sexual identity. I love that scholars are finally writing comparative books on homosexuality in the modern world. Still, this book was a little second-rate. It may be a good addition to the libraries of those collecting books on Latino or Asian gay men, however.