Metro DC
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Recommended Reading List
2005

HISTORY, RELIGION, POLITICS, AND SEXUALITY

The History of Sexuality : An Introduction by Michel Foucault.
The celebrated French thinker Foucault turns his attention to sex and why the western world is so driven to analyze and discuss it. (1990) By the same author, try: The History of Sexuality: The Use of Pleasure

Homosexuality and Civilization by Loius Crompton.
How have major civilizations over the last two millennia treated people who were attracted to their own sex? In this narrative masterpiece, Crompton examines the achievements of homosexual men and women ranging from the Christian West through Western Europe and into imperial China and Asia, against an ever-present backdrop of persecution. (2003)

Strangers at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America by Mel White.
This true tale is the journey of Mel White—evangelical minister, family man, committed Christian, and gay. In Strangers, White chronicles 25 years of being confused, exorcised, shocked (literally), and nearly driven to suicide. (1995)

The New Testament and Homosexuality by Robin Scroggs.
A first-rate biblical scholar introduces the reader to basic principles of biblical interpretation and applying those principles to the (very few) verses that seem to address homosexuality in the New Testament. (1983)

Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View by Rabbi Chaim Rapoport.
Raroport addresses homosexual issues raised from the perspective of the holy Torah, not as an attempt to provide definitive answers, but as a basis for consultation, discussion and ultimately decision making. (2004)

Queer Theory and the Jewish Question by Daniel Boyarin.
The essays in this volume boldly map the historically resonant intersections between Jewishness and queerness, between homophobia and anti-semitism, and between queer theory and theorizations of Jewishness. (2003)

Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics by Jose Esteban Munoz.
In eight essays, Munoz, an assistant professor of performance studies at NYU, explores the political and social impact of black, Latino and Asian performance artists on mainstream culture. (1999)

Same Sex Marriage and the Constitution by Evan Gerstmann.
Does the Constitution protect the right to same-sex marriage? Taking a careful look at what he calls one of the most important constitutional issues facing society, Evan Gerstmann looks at the legal debate, and asks whether, in a democratic society, the courts, rather than voters, should resolve the question. (2003)