Customer Reviews

Gay Skins Class Masculinity and Queer AP (Sexual Politics)

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For those who are interested in in Gay studies or the study of subcultures in Sociology, this is a great book.
For those who have an agenda (such as some American skinheads and a couple other reviewers here) it might not be so great.

Some skins take issue with the idea of gay skinheads actually even existing, imagining a necessary distinction between being Gay and embracing a subcultural construct, like "skinhead." For them such men aren't "real skinheads." Unfortunately this perspective misses the mark, and the point (in part) of the book: Gay cultural identity, as distinct from Gay being, is as much a social construct as skinhead identity, punk identity, hip hop identity, etc.. More importantly in respect to skinheads and this book, Gay cultural identity has often been about appropriating and (at times) even co-opting images of masculinity within the culture at large. This book (and a little time in London) simply point this fact out as it relates to skinhead identity.
Perhaps some skinheads feel more comfortable imagining their chosen identity is somehow intrinsic to their nature, but all one has to do to disprove this is line up a bunch of skins. One will find differing groups with differing definitions of what constitutes an authentic skinhead...racism, anti-racism, leftism, rightism, class identity, etc.. In the final analysis the only common trait IS shaving ones head, wearing docs and shouting Oi!
The beauty of this book can only be appreciated from a cultural studies perspective focused on gender identity issues and Gay issues. I guess it could also be appreciated from a strictly Gay perspective too...but probablly not much.
If you're a skinhead simply looking for a book for and by whatever kind of skin you are, then this book is not for you. Unless...of course...you're a Gay skinhead.

i bought this book a few years ago and just checked if it's still available. very astonishing how little people seem to understand that there is a difference between skinheads and boneheads. sounds like they didn't really read the book...

living in berlin, germany i do see both sides plus the gay part, and i think that this book is a good source for those who want to know a bit more about the whole thing.

I'm not sure what the previous reviewer's expectations were before he/she read the book, but I found Gay Skins to be full of interesting and valid insight on this youth culture phenomenon. In relation to the larger (and decidedly older aged) "clone" population of roughly the same time period, gay skins were part of another unique, highly stylized gay subculture. The book details how manner of dress and custom defined this group's social, sexual and political behavior. A good read and highly informative, especially in the context of how today's gay youth survive.

Bizarre book on an even more bizarre subject matter. Murray Healy never quite convinced me that Homoerotic overtones were any more present in Skinhead subculture than they were anywhere else. His critique could have been applied to anything; locker room etiquette, professional sports, etc. I got the distinct impression that most "gay skins" found the Skinhead cult attractive for it's overpowering, over the top masculine image and were confused about their own issues of sexuality/masculinity as opposed to heterosexual skinheads who seemed more pre-occupied with obtaining a cultural identity and finding ideology and belonging in a group. His description of gay Skinheads left me wondering if it wasn't the gay skinheads THEMSELVES that became involved in the subculture to prove their own masculinity, and not vice-versa. Also, by it's very nature, the Skinhead cult would seem to violently condemn homosexuality. I found it hard to believe that it would be embraced by jack-booted thugs anywhere! Murray Healy's book presented a theory, but I feel it hardly came close to proving it.

Contrary to what the reviewer below has stated, I would say it is debatable whether or not gay Skins exist. I'm sure their are gay kids who shave their heads and listen to "Oi" music but...A gay person being a skinhead is kind of like those old "Musicians Against Drugs" spots on MTV...it just does not wash! According to Murray Healy's own research, it would appear that homosexuality runs absolutely contrary to the traditional Skinhead ethos. I read this book while staying with a friend and got the impression that these kids who were gay "skins" were mimicking what they saw in the straight Skinhead/punk scene and were really just playing dress-up. Again, the pro-American, pro-gun, pro-violence, anti-immigrant, anti-homosexuality, anti-Communism theme that runs through the traditional Skinhead camps would seem to make these gay "skins" completely at odds with the Skinhead "scene". I lived in San Franisco during the mid-1980's, and anyone who lived there than can tell you of the horrific problems S.F. had with Skinheads. They would gather, 60-70 at a time and get drunk in the city parks, bashing hippies, non-whites, especially gays, etc, anyone really who was not a Skinhead. The gay community was really seriously concerned about the violence because it was so brutal and becoming terribly common. I remember those Skinheads and I can say it would have been hard to imagine any of them were gay.

The book tackles an interesting subject matter, but I feel saying these gay skinheads were indeed that, skinheads, was a real long shot.