Customer Reviews

Out in the World: Gay and Lesbian Life from Buenos Aires to Bangkok

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This book was great. In it, Miller visits every continent inhabited by humans and speaks with local gays about their lives. The great thing is, he makes a point of speaking to lesbians, gays of color, and the HIV-positive in all these countries. This would be a great book for gays and lesbians of color to read. There are two chapters on Thailand and this may feel a little exploitative and sex-touristy, but Miller is an obvious progressive and wouldn't mean to offend intentionally. While reading this book, you will ask yourself how Miller got the money to do so much travelling and investigating in the first place. Readers will wish they had the opportunities that the author had. This book was both informative and fun.

From my reading of gay and lesbian literature, Out in the World is a unique book. In it, Miller discusses gay and lesbian communities in many different countries, each with unique challenges and opportunities. Although the book is dated (it was first published in 1992), and although the situations may well have changed in the specific countries that are included in the study, Miller's insights are still very relevant as we deal with issues facing the gay and lesbian community today. As he states in his introduction, Miller is a journalist, and the writing style is reflective of this background. It is informative and direct without being dry or flowery. Out in the World is well worth reading.

At this point, OUT IN THE WORLD is anachronistic, but this is a blessing: the gay and lesbian movement progresses globally, and the conditions - which in some cases are quite dire - Miller relates here have changed somewhat. Published at the dawn of the internet, the change has been dramatic in at least a few instances.

OUT IN THE WORLD is still very valuable as a reminder of history, and of the struggles vast numbers of great people had to make to live with some dignity and security. In an era in which certain numbers of gay and lesbian individuals might be tempted to take certain hard-fought goals for granted, this is a vivid antidote to complacency.

For a more up-to-the-minute investigation of the state of the gay and lesbian world, take a look at the 2003 documentary DANGEROUS LIVING: Coming Out In The Developing World, which revisits much of the same territory investigated by Miller.

-David Alston