Gay spirit : myth and meaning

Mark Thompson

Gay Spirit, the psychic and creative energies generated by people we now call gay, has always existed on the outer shores of our culture's collective consciousness. In the past, gay people were labeled heretics, perversions of nature, or categorized pseudo-scientifically. Gay people lived on the edge of the global village or worked within its mainstream in denial and disguise. But today that spirit has re-emerged and lives among us. This book of essays explores the possibilities of that spirit--suggesting ways in which gay people might find a place and purpose in human culture unique to themselves, departing with the questions asked nearly forty years ago by the Mattachine Society: Who are we? Where have we come from? Why are we here? Gay Spirit broke new ground when it first appeared, giving voice to an entire generation of gay men seeking alternative visions about the fundamental questions facing their lives. This now classic volume has been widely hailed by the Lambda Book Report as "among the 100 gay books that changed our lives." It was followed by two others, Gay Soul and Gay Body, creating a foundational trilogy that has helped shape a now international movement of spiritually aware gay men. In its deft weave of anthropology, history and sexual politics, Gay Spirit provides illuminating insight for all students of gender and religious studies.