Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships [Paperback]

Laura Rafaty (Author), Robert H. Hopcke (Author), Robert H. Hopche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2001

In an era when men and women are alleged to be from different planets and unable to communicate with each other, gay men and straight women seem to communicate almost effortlessly. Perhaps it's because this is not a relationship undertaken for convenience or forced by societal pressure but one that is carefully chosen on the basis of common interests, mutual respect, and real affection. Or perhaps it's because, freed from the stereotypical male-female roles, gay men and straight women relate to one another simply as people. Straight Women, Gay Men celebrates the importance of these friendships.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Wildcat Canyon Press; 2nd edition (September 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885171617
• ISBN-13: 978-1885171610
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,013,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, August 2, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships (Paperback)

I was thrilled when I read the synopsis and reveiws of this book. I had been searching for some insight into the complexity and depth of the relationship I share with my homosexual best friend. For the most part, I found the descriptions of relationships in this book to be very superficial. A great deal of detail is put in to the explanation of how the friendships come to be and what we like to do together. More than 15 pages are spent disecting the term "fag hag" and explaining why it is a derrogatory term. Meanwhile, relationships in which a gay man and straight woman decide to have a child together are given a short paragraph and Laura Rafaty shows that she has little understanding of or tollerance for women who are struggling with romantic feelings for their gay friends. The idea of having romantic fantasies about one's gay friend is dismissed as silly and misguided. Every once in a while, while reading this book, I would come across one sentence that I could identify with or provided me with some insight. I would get excited that they finally got to the important stuff, only to see the subject jump right back to the superficial, surface activities that make up a very small portion of such a deep friendship. One meaningful sentence every 10-15 pages? I was hoping for more. If Rafaty and Hopcke took out the fluff and really expanded upon the emotional aspects of the friendships, gathering opinions from people outside of their backyard, they might have something, because those few sentences were right on the moeny.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative!, January 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships (Paperback)

I am a straight white male, and I found this book to be very informative. Much of the information in this book can help a straight man get along better with straight women. The theme, at least from my point of view, is that straight women would like straight men to be more like gay men, with the exception being sexual orientation.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing but the truth, October 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships (Paperback)

While reading this book, I felt like I was reading my own diary. This book is well written, but not overly done to where one can not understand it. I have yet to come across something that wasn't the whole truth. I am straight. My best friend is gay, and the majority of my friends are homosexual. They know how to treat a woman the way she should be treated - like a princess. You just can't get that from a straight man. That statement is this whole book in one sentence. It is well worth reading.