Farm Boys
3/5
(15 votes)
Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest
Homosexuality is often seen as a purely urban experience, far removed from rural and small town life.
- Format
- 360 pages, Paperback
- First published
- March 1, 2001
- Publishers
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Subjects
- Gay studies ·Rural communities·Biography·Autobiography·Biography·Autobiography·Biography·Autobiography·USA·Gay Studies·Specific Groups·Male Gay Studies·Social Science·Gay Studies·Entertainment·Performing Arts·Gener
- Language
- English
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Reviews
Very personal accounts of growing up gay on a farm. Would that I had found this book sooner!
A must read...very insightful.
Seller provided the book as his description stated; no complaint.
Good read.
Superb, the stories are deeply moving.
I read this for my FOG (Fellowship of Older Gays) Book Club here in San Diego. Reviews from all members were glowing.
Depends on what your perspective is and what you are looking to get out of this book. Its kind of depressing that some men live their lives scared but then again those are the times they grew up in.
Having grown up in a rural setting, it was easy to understand the pressures put upon these people as they struggle with everyday life as well as the pressures of being young and gay.The book is sectioned by period and it allows the reader to also view the changing world that the writers live in.
If you happen to grow up gay in the midwest, or anywhere, and want some insight in how others dealt with being "different", this is really good. It was very enjoyable and gave insights in how we truly are not alone.
It wasnt in dept at all about any real experiences that these men had each one sounded pretty much the same . no details about any of there sexual experiences, just thought it was a waste of money.
I ordered this book because I grew up in a rural farming community in Ohio. I could relate to almost every story in this book....
The intentions of this book are well thought out, yet, I feel that the stories selected distort and present a negative perverted midwestern gay male that could too easily be used to fuel a political stance that gay men are "rejected" by their fathers, sexually molested, and morbidly interested in sexual experiences with animals. - [...
One of my most cherished friends was a "farm boy" who lived near Sonora, Kentucky. He was a kind, gentle soul who worshipped the summer sun and would sometimes work his tobacco field near I-65 in the nude ( totally stark naked ).
It's not about being gay, or living on a farm, or growing up in rural areas where your entire life is centered on a small representation of what is available. It's about identity, about what molds some people into the individuals they become.
I was curious to read Farm Boys after hearing that Ang Lee had given Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal copies of it before filming Brokeback Mountain. And I certainly respect William Fellows and all the contributors for creating a truly unique work, an honest overview of how life was for many gay American men living in the rural midwest.