[Download PDF] Peacocks, Chameleons, Centaurs: Gay Suburbia and the Grammar of Social Identity Writen By Wayne Brekhus
Peacocks, Chameleons, Centaurs: Gay Suburbia and the Grammar of Social Identity
What does it mean to be a gay man living in the suburbs? Do you identify primarily as gay, or suburban, or some combination of the two? For that matter, how does anyone decide what his or her identity is?In this first-ever ethnography of American gay suburbanites, Wayne H. Brekhus demonstrates that who one is depends at least in part on where and when one is. For many urban gay men, being homosexual is key to their identity because they live, work, and socialize in almost exclusively gay circles. Brekhus calls such men "lifestylers" or peacocks. Chameleons or "commuters," on the other hand, live and work in conventional suburban settings, but lead intense gay social and sexual lives outside the suburbs. Centaurs, meanwhile, or "integrators," mix typical suburban jobs and homes with low-key gay social and sexual activities. In other words, lifestylers see homosexuality as something you are, commuters as something you do, and integrators as part of yourself. Ultimately, Brekhus shows
Product details: Peacocks, Chameleons, Centaurs: Gay Suburbia and the Grammar of Social Identity
Author : Wayne Brekhus
Pages : 272 pages
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Language :
ISBN-10 : 0226072924
ISBN-13 : 9780226072920
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