In a Queer Voice

October 1, 2012
A careful investigation into the lives of several GLBT young people, exploring how they overcame obstacles to find their voice. Sadowski, a professor of education at Bard College and former high school teacher, presents case studies based on personal interviews with out GLBT youths. The first interviews document their experiences in middle and high school, looking at the ways in which they were discouraged from exploring and accepting their sexual orientation or gender expression, whether from a hostile, homophobic school environment, nonsupportive family members, or both. The next interviews, conducted years later, explore the avenues they discovered that allowed them to become comfortable with themselves, from changing to an accepting, tolerant school to moving to a more urban environment for college. While the subjects come from different backgrounds and walks of life, their experiences are equally compelling: the transgender woman who began transitioning after high school but had to stop after health problems made it dangerous; the young woman who endured physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from her own father, who now works toward a doctorate in divinity school; the hearing-impaired young man dealing with discrimination within the GLBT community. An important contribution to the argument for a more nurturing environment for young GLBT people.

December 1, 2012

It's tough being a queer youth in North America. Despite the rise of gay-straight alliances (GSAs) and increased tolerance by society, even in relatively "liberal" communities LGBTQ students still face harassment in school, lack of support or worse at home, and higher risk for depression, suicide, and eating disorders than their heterosexual counterparts. In this thoughtful study, Sadowski (education, Bard Coll.; editor, Adolescents at School) profiles six young people whom he interviewed in their adolescence and then revisited several years later to see how they transitioned from their early isolated, insular silence regarding their gender or sexuality to their "queer voices" of strength, optimism, and defiance. The author sums up by suggesting the role that GSAs, religious organizations, and public policy can play in fostering support networks for these burgeoning voices in school and at home. VERDICT An intellectual complement to the "It Gets Better" project, this works as both a moving human document and a springboard for discussion and research in human sexuality, psychology, sociology, and linguistics.--Richard J. Violette, Victoria P.L., British Columbia

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.