Voted Out: The Psychological Consequences of Anti-Gay Politics (Qualitative Studies in Psychology) [Paperback]

Glenda Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000 | Series: Qualitative Studies in Psychology

When, in 1992, the citizens of Colorado ratified Amendment 2, effectively stripping lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals of protection from discrimination under the state's constitution, the vote divided the state and left the gay population disspirited and angry. Their psychological predicament offered an opportunity to examine the precise intersection at which the individual meets social oppression.

Voted Out is the first to document the psychological impact of anti-gay legislation on the gay community, illustrating the range of reactions, from depression, anger, and anxiety to a sense of empowerment and a desire to mobilize, which such legislation can engender. It also offers a detailed account of an innovative team approach to the qualitative coding and analysis process. Blending traditional quantitative methods with more innovative qualitative analyses, it provides a valuable opportunity to compare quantitative and qualitative data focused on the same issue within one volume.

The volume specifically addresses researchers' use of the results of their research beyond publication and the ways in which research undertaken to examine a social issue can be returned to the community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A remarkable and innovative use of psychological methods to study and understand crucial social problems . . . Voted Out offers us a new model for action research."

-Bonnie R. Strickland,University of Massachusetts at Amherst and former President, American Psychological Association

"One of the quandaries that the plaintiffs in the court challenge to Amendment 2 faced at the outset was how to obtain an immediate injunction to prevent the amendment from taking effect when there was no proof that the enforcement of Amendment 2 would cause irreparable harm. This well-written book provides that proof: without ever having taken legal effect, Amendment 2 took an enormous psychological toll."

-Jean E. Dubofsky,lead attorney for plaintiffs in Romer v. Evans (the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held Amendement 2 unconstitutional)

"Russell's data is moving and powerful, and I would expect this book to become an essential referent for gay rights activists in the future."

-SIGNS,

About the Author

Glenda M. Russell is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies in Amherst, MA. She is coauthor of Conversations about Psychology and Sexual Orientation (also available from NYU Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814775446
• ISBN-13: 978-0814775448
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,565,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable Achievement, October 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Voted Out: The Psychological Consequences of Anti-Gay Politics (Qualitative Studies in Psychology) (Hardcover)

With this new book Dr. Glenda Russell has achieved what few scholars ever have. She has given us a solid, scholarly and rigorous accounting of her research into the effects of the passage of Colorado's notorious, homophobic Amendment 2 on gay people. In addition, she has given us many completely readable narratives that bring the devastating psychological effects down to individuals deeply harmed by the vote. (Amendment 2 was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.) If the scholarly research reporting is too much for most of us, the personal accounts are well worth the reading. One wishes that all scholars would report their findings in such friendly ways, ways that all of us can access. A splendid book, both for its careful explication of research methods and results and for its careful discriptions of how anti-gay politics really does very deep and personal damage gay people. Lay readers may not want to read this book from front to back, but it's well worth the paperback price to have it on hand for those parts that are so readable and moving. It is a bonus that Russell writes so well--clearly and concisely, unlike the authors of most academic tomes.