Susan Stryker

Chronicle Books

Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies Susan Stryker

Jim Van Buskirk

A fabulous montage of word and image, this book is the first-ever to chronicle the origin and evolution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender culture. Capturing the international center of the gay experience as never before, Gay by the Bay features over 200 photos of historical memorabilia, 80 in full color.

A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area

Gay by the Bay

Jim Tushinski

A collection of creative nonfiction by queer writers exploring their attachment to another identity - a different race, religion, ethnicity, sex, nationality, class, a pop culture figure, something, anything - while wrestling with feelings of displacement, of not belonging. Humorous and hard-hitting, poignant and provocative, Identity Envy includes essays, memoir, and creative nonfiction that explore the dynamics of growing up and being grown up, of wanting to belong and of finding one's way.

Wanting to be who We're Not : Creative Nonfiction by Queer Writers

Identity Envy

Katherine V. Forrest

A love letter to the City by the Bay, from the queer writers who call it home.

Reflections of San Francisco

Love, Castro Street

Gay men and lesbians present humorous and hard-hitting accounts of the need to belong . . . somewhere Why would a lesbian raised in a Jewish home have a sudden desire to be a tough-talking Catholic girl? And why would a gay man travel to Ireland in a desperate attempt to escape his “hillbilly” roots? Identity Envy—Wanting to Be Who We’re Not explores the connections gay men and lesbians have to religions, races, ethnicities, classes, families of origin, and genders not their own. This unique anthology takes both humorous and serious looks at the identities of others as queer writers explore their own identity envies in personal essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction. Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, intersex, and other sexual minorities often feel marginalized by mainstream culture and have a need to belong somewhere, to claim a group as their own. This surprising book presents stories of identity envy that are humorous and hard-hitting, poignant and provocative, written with energy, wit, and candor by many of your favorite writers-and some exciting newcomers. Identity Envy—Wanting to Be Who We’re Not includes: Gerard Wozek’s King Fu-infused “Chasing the Grasshopper” Max Pierce’s fantasy of being a “Child Star” that helped him through a troubled family life Lori Horvitz’s “Shiksa in my Living Room” D. Travers Scott's “EuroTex” Perry Brass's “A Serene Invisibility: Turning Myself into a Christian Girl” Jim Tushinski’s ode to Lost in Space, “The Perfect Space Family” Al Cho’s unlikely identification with Laura Ingalls Wilder characters, “Farmer Boy” Irish-American John Gilgun wishes he could be one of those “Italian-American Boys” Joan Annsfire rejects her Jewish heritage to become Catholic schoolgirl Corinne O'Donnell in “The Promise of Redemption” Andrew Ramer’s “Tales of a Male Lesbian” city slicker Mike McGinty’s life with the cattle folk, “You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Helen” and much more! Identity Envy—Wanting to Be Who We’re Not is a must-read for anyone who appreciates good writing—especially gay and lesbian readers who know what it’s like to wish you were someone else.

Jim Van Buskirk

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