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| Subjects: Sociology, LGBT Studies, Religion |
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2013 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Studies category In the Bible Belt, it’s common to see bumper stickers that claim One Man + One Woman = Marriage, church billboards that command one to “Get right with Jesus,” letters to the editor comparing gay marriage to marrying one’s dog, and nightly news about homophobic attacks from the Family Foundation. While some areas of the Unites States have made tremendous progress in securing rights for gay people, Bible Belt states lag behind. Not only do most Bible Belt gays lack domestic partner benefits, lesbians and gay men can still be fired from some places of employment in many regions of the Bible Belt for being a homosexual. In Pray the Gay Away, Bernadette Barton argues that conventions of small town life, rules which govern Southern manners, and the power wielded by Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in the Bible Belt. She explores how conservative Christian ideology reproduces homophobic attitudes and shares how Bible Belt gays negotiate these attitudes in their daily lives. Drawing on the remarkable stories of Bible Belt gays, Barton brings to the fore their thoughts, experiences and hard-won insights to explore the front lines of our national culture war over marriage, family, hate crimes, and equal rights. Pray the Gay Away illuminates their lives as both foot soldiers and casualties in the battle for gay rights. |
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| | “Bernadette Barton takes us on a vivid inside tour of Bible Belt America that us privileged gay folks from more liberal parts of the U.S. have a hard time imagining or even knew existed. The stories she tells are riveting, heartbreaking, infuriating, yet ultimately uplifting.” | | -Eric Marcus, author of Making Gay History |
| | "I highly recommend Pray the Gay Away to anyone with an interest in contemporary queer experience, in Bible Belt Christianity, and the intersection of the two. I’d go so far as to say it’s required reading for anyone who cares about what it means to be gay in America today. Whether or not you’ve ever lived in the 'toxic closet' yourself, too many of our fellow citizens still wake up there every morning. We owe it to them to listen to the stories they have so generously shared." | | -Anna J. Cook, The Feminist Librarian |
| | "[The author] draws on a trove of ethnographic data, including in-depth interviews with Bible Belt gays, visits to the Creation Museum and a local megachurch, attendance at an Exodus International conference for ex-gays, and her own experiences as an openly lesbian professor... Though Barton documents numerous cases of religious-based abuse, she is tolerant of conservative Christians." | | -Publishers Weekly |
| | "The author’s tales of gay life in this area of the country, where anti-gay evangelical Protestantism holds sway, range from the harrowing to the mundane...[The book is] worthwhile reading for anyone interested in what it means to be gay in an overtly hostile environment." | | -Kirkus Reviews |
| | "Very much worth reading, and at times moving, the book indicts the conservative wing of Christianity for promoting cruelty and intolerance."
| | -Library Journal |
| | "Pray shines a sobering light on the freedoms and comforts that many of us take for granted." | | -Instinct |
| | "Pray the Gay Away...provides some useful context for those of us trying to make a thoughtful consideration of the upcoming legal fight over California's new law--currently being challenged in the courts--that would limit the practice of "reparative therapy" to legal adults only, and require informed consent. That--and the astonishing level of empathy Barton has for people who decide to stay in their hometowns and states--makes this a must-read for the winter." | | -News Review |
| | "The book is full of interviews, analysis, and wonderment that these people have not moved to a more friendly location." | | -Sacramento Book Review |
| | "Her mission isn't to vilify those who have deeply-held beliefs, and she recognizes that their actions and concerns are based in a genuine fear for relative and friends who they think have gone astray from the fold. Yet, she is blunt about the damage that they can cause." | | -Pop Matters |
| | "A truly great book for anyone interested in the topic...Barton's arguments are refreshing and provide a 'talk back' to homophobic statements." | | -Metapsychology |
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