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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated each year in the month of June to honour the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. This commemorative month recognizes the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

At Oxford University Press we are marking Gay Pride month by making a selection of engaging and relevant scholarly articles free to read on Oxford Scholarship Online. These chapters broaden the scope of LGBT scholarship by taking a psychological approach to sexuality, examining the arguments of biological difference, and generating important debates on the psychological impact of society’s treatment of minority sexualities.

‘Biological Perspectives on Sexual Orientation’ in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities over the Lifespan: Psychological Perspectives

What determines an individual’s sexual orientation? Is it biological, environmental, or perhaps a combination of the two? This chapter analyses the argument that sexuality is biologically-determined, carefully weighing the purported evidence, whilst still giving due respect to the often-fluid spectrum of human sexuality throughout the history of our species.

‘Students Who Are Different’ in Homophobic Bullying: Research and Theoretical Perspectives

Being “different” at school can often single a student out for harassment and abuse from their fellow pupils – whether they be of a “different” religion, race, sexuality, or special needs. Setting out the ethnic and cultural factors which influence young people’s aggressive toward behaviour at school, this chapter goes on to a detailed examination of homophobia in educational contexts.

‘The School Climate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Students’ in Toward Positive Youth Development: Transforming Schools and Community Programs

Examine the school climates out of which bullying can develop. It argues that an understanding of this is absolutely crucial for analyzing policy innovations and student wellbeing, and goes on to suggest progressive changes in school policies that could create a more positive school climate for LGBT students.

‘Gay-Friendly High Schools’ in The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality

What makes a high school gay-friendly? Positive changes have occurred not because of institutions, but because of the increasingly-progressive and inclusive attitudes of the students themselves. Whilst this chapter links the findings with other research that documents decreasing homophobia in the Western world, it also urges continual challenging of the victimization of gay youth, and sets out a masculine identity based on inclusivity, and not heteronormative exclusion.

‘Same-Sex Romantic Relationships’ in Handbook of Psychology and Sexual Orientation

Marriage equality is one of the most hotly-contested social topics currently being debated in Western society, and stirs up passionate arguments from both camps. In ‘Same-Sex Romantic Relationships’, the arguments used by the Conservative Right to prevent marriage equality are examined with empirical evidence. Stereotypically, same-sex relationships are portrayed as being unhappy, maladjusted and promiscuous – is this really the case? Does the legitimizing of same-sex relationships truly have negative social and psychological impacts on society, as opponents of marriage equality often argue?

‘History, Narrative, and Sexual Identity: Gay Liberation and Post-war Movements for Sexual Freedom in the United States’ in The Story of Sexual Identity: Narrative Perspectives on the Gay and Lesbian Life Course

Trace the conception of prejudices and stereotypes which LGBT people still face today. Providing a useful and contextual history of modern and contemporary depictions of homosexuality, this chapter reviews the changing narratives of queer sexuality – from Cold War fears of communism and sexual perversion, to the move toward liberation and acceptance during the 60s and 70s, right through to the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s and the association of homosexuality with illness and death, and the subsequent panic narratives of the 1990s.

Oxford Scholarship Online (OSO) is a vast and rapidly-expanding research library, and has grown to be one of the leading academic research resources in the world. Oxford Scholarship Online offers full-text access to scholarly works from key disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, science, medicine, and law, providing quick and easy access to award-winning Oxford University Press scholarship.

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Image credits: Flag LGBT pride Toulouse by Léna, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The post LGBT Pride Month Reading List appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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Neuroscientist Simon LeVay has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and is well-known for a 1991 study in which he reported on a difference in brain structure between gay and straight men. His forthcoming book Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation examines the evidence that suggests sexual orientation results primarily from an interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the cells of the developing body and brain. In this original post, LeVay explains how he initially reacts to new reported findings in this field.

I often lecture on the topic of sexual orientation. When I do, I sometimes mention research on finger lengths: according to several studies, the index fingers of lesbians are slightly shorter than those of straight women, when measured with respect to the other fingers. As I describe this research, I invariably see audience members examining their own fingers, as if doing so might reveal something unexpected about their sexuality. I hasten to make clear that the findings on finger lengths are based on statistical analysis of data from hundreds or thousands of subjects—they can’t be used to assess the sexual orientation of any particular individual.

Yet I myself use the “me test” as a gut reaction to any reported findings in the field. Not to figure out whether I’m really gay—I’ve been confident on that score since puberty—but as a quick, involuntary assessment of whether I believe that particular finding or not. As a teenager, for example, I read Freud’s theory of how close-binding mothers and distant or hostile fathers drive their sons toward homosexuality. This seemed to correspond to my own childhood experience: I was my mother’s favorite son, whereas I got on badly with my father. So I thought Freud must have been right. Now I believe that the direction of causation is the reverse of what Freud imagined: “pre-gay” boys tend to elicit adoration or protectiveness from their mothers, but rejection from their fathers.

Recent research has focused on gender-related traits in gay people. There have been over ninety such findings in the last couple of decades, covering personality, cognitive traits, behavior, anatomy (including the finger-length studies), physiology, and brain organization. Most have reported that gay men are shifted in the feminine direction in some traits, whereas lesbians and bisexual women are shifted in the masculine direction. As each study appears, I can’t help asking: is it true for me? Gay men (like straight women) have higher verbal fluency than straight men—check! Gay men have lower visuospatial abilities that straight men—check! Gay men have slightly shorter arms—check! I seem to be a pretty stereotypical gay man in many of these traits. Most researchers interpret these findings in terms of a biological predisposition to become gay or straight—a predisposition that results from an interaction between sex hormones and the developing brain and body. I certainly buy into that.

Other evidence has po

When Nintendo claimed that the Wii would appeal to a broad audience of consumers, they were not kidding around.  While the Nintendo Wii plays a favorite among little kids and grandmas, it has much love from the gay community.  Gay people like to stay fit and games like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, and WiiFit allow them to keep in shape so they can look sexy in hopes of scoring with a handsome hunk.  Now while gay people like to stay in shape, they are not exactly the most masculine and muscular people in the world.  Most gay people wouldn’t choose an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 because it is too heavy for them to carry around.  A gay person’s body is not built to carry around large, heavy consoles.  The Wii is small, light, white, and sleek.  Now, even though gay people might not like the Wii’s design and color as much as the GameCube’s purple purse design, it still looks nice to place in a home without worrying about it looking bad.

We did multiple polls on message boards such as Gamespot, 1UP, and IGN, asking if they were straight, gay, or bisexual.  The results were astounding.  The poll results showed that there were more gay owners who own the Wii more than any other console.  After completely the study, we asked them why they like the Wii over the 360/Playstation 3.  They told us they didn’t like how 360/PS3 games had so many dark games with brown/black/grey color palettes.  Usually straight men like games with darker colors because it makes them feel more manly and adult.  While we noticed that gay people tend to enjoy brighter color palettes such as red, yellow, orange, etc in games such as Super Mario Galaxy.  I once knew someone who was gay and he always talked about the colors and art styles of videogames.  The more stylish and artistic, the more gay people are more willing to play that game.  While another friend of mine who was straight, cared more if the visuals were realistic and looked like real life.  Straight people like graphics to look more like real life and less cartoonish.  Straight tend to enjoy games involving killing people or sports, while gay people tend to enjoy games about running around in a colorful fantasy world full of talking animals, colorful creatures, and magic.  Now, this doesn’t mean all people who enjoy games like that gay.  But I believe most of them are.

Gay people love to make great gourmet food and the Wii allows them to do that in a videogame such as Cooking Mama.  Cooking Mama is a great game for homosexuals because it allows you to be a great chef and create excellent meals.  And best of all, there is a lot of pink in the game’s visuals which is another reason gays will feel right at home with this game.

Another game that the gay community will love in Animal Crossing: City Folk.  This game is a gay person’s dream come.  You can be a fashion designer without worrying about people calling you a derogatory names.  Just the opposite.  The animals condone you to make the best fashion around.  Want to be an interior decorator and design wallpaper and decorate the inside of your home?  This game has it.  And not only that, the better you design the interior of your house, the better scores you will get.  Another thing that gay people will love is the ability to invite their friends into the town they created, and have a voice chat session using Wii Speak technology to talk about all the cute guys at the mall, and talk about the tightness of the new pair of leather pants that they bought.

If these games do not suit you, there is one game called Cho Aniki that will make the blood of any homosexual man get horny.  This game is called Cho Aniki for the Turbo Graphix 16 system.  You can buy it on the Wii’s Virtual Console.  I could describe what the game is about, but why should I when it only needs one picture to persuade the gay community to buy a Wii for this game.

If you need any more reason that the Wii is the most gay friendly system, Nintendo is one of the few companies to make a gay character.  His name is Tingle and he likes to skip and hop around in a tight green costume and giggle when young boys ask him for advice about their quests and adventures.

When Nintendo claimed that the Wii would appeal to a broad audience of consumers, they were not kidding around.  While the Nintendo Wii plays a favorite among little kids and grandmas, it has much love from the gay community.  Gay people like to stay fit and games like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, and WiiFit allow them to keep in shape so they can look sexy in hopes of scoring with a handsome hunk.  Now while gay people like to stay in shape, they are not exactly the most masculine and muscular people in the world.  Most gay people wouldn’t choose an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 because it is too heavy for them to carry around.  A gay person’s body is not built to carry around large, heavy consoles.  The Wii is small, light, white, and sleek.  Now, even though gay people might not like the Wii’s design and color as much as the GameCube’s purple purse design, it still looks nice to place in a home without worrying about it looking bad.

We did multiple polls on message boards such as Gamespot, 1UP, and IGN, asking if they were straight, gay, or bisexual.  The results were astounding.  The poll results showed that there were more gay owners who own the Wii more than any other console.  After completely the study, we asked them why they like the Wii over the 360/Playstation 3.  They told us they didn’t like how 360/PS3 games had so many dark games with brown/black/grey color palettes.  Usually straight men like games with darker colors because it makes them feel more manly and adult.  While we noticed that gay people tend to enjoy brighter color palettes such as red, yellow, orange, etc in games such as Super Mario Galaxy.  I once knew someone who was gay and he always talked about the colors and art styles of videogames.  The more stylish and artistic, the more gay people are more willing to play that game.  While another friend of mine who was straight, cared more if the visuals were realistic and looked like real life.  Straight people like graphics to look more like real life and less cartoonish.  Straight tend to enjoy games involving killing people or sports, while gay people tend to enjoy games about running around in a colorful fantasy world full of talking animals, colorful creatures, and magic.  Now, this doesn’t mean all people who enjoy games like that gay.  But I believe most of them are.

Gay people love to make great gourmet food and the Wii allows them to do that in a videogame such as Cooking Mama.  Cooking Mama is a great game for homosexuals because it allows you to be a great chef and create excellent meals.  And best of all, there is a lot of pink in the game’s visuals which is another reason gays will feel right at home with this game.

Another game that the gay community will love in Animal Crossing: City Folk.  This game is a gay person’s dream come.  You can be a fashion designer without worrying about people calling you a derogatory names.  Just the opposite.  The animals condone you to make the best fashion around.  Want to be an interior decorator and design wallpaper and decorate the inside of your home?  This game has it.  And not only that, the better you design the interior of your house, the better scores you will get.  Another thing that gay people will love is the ability to invite their friends into the town they created, and have a voice chat session using Wii Speak technology to talk about all the cute guys at the mall, and talk about the tightness of the new pair of leather pants that they bought.

If these games do not suit you, there is one game called Cho Aniki that will make the blood of any homosexual man get horny.  This game is called Cho Aniki for the Turbo Graphix 16 system.  You can buy it on the Wii’s Virtual Console.  I could describe what the game is about, but why should I when it only needs one picture to persuade the gay community to buy a Wii for this game.

If you need any more reason that the Wii is the most gay friendly system, Nintendo is one of the few companies to make a gay character.  His name is Tingle and he likes to skip and hop around in a tight green costume and giggle when young boys ask him for advice about their quests and adventures.

Here are the winners of the 2007 Cybil Awards, the nominees of which are featured on the right-hand side of his blog. The recipients are nominated and voted within the children's lit blogosphere. Considering the list of winners bears almost no resemblance to the winners of other major awards so far, it just goes to show that consensus is difficult.

Well now, I'm starting to pop up everywhere. Kind of like a ghostwriter--you read my writing, you just don't know it's me! School Library Journal reports that Greg Foley's Thank You Bear is the 2008 winner of the Charlotte Zolotow award. I gave that book a starred review way back when--a point that is mentioned in the article, and quoted.

But enough about me. Thank You Bear is a thoroughly deserving book and wonderfully represents the style and tone of Ms. Zolotow's writing. I think of titles like The Hating Book, My Friend John, and A Father Like That, where she writes about the sensitive, reflective side of childhood. She near enough spoke their language. And so does Bear. Look out for the new Bear book, Don't Worry Bear, due for release in 2008.

I should also mention that some of the runners-up were favorites in this house, too, including At Night (Jonathan Bean), A Good Day (Kevin Henkes), and Pictures From our Vacation (Lynn Rae Perkins.)

Well, thanks to one of those timely New England noreasters, I'm at home (for now.) For the last 15 minutes or so my mobile phone has been ringing with text messages announcing the big prize winners from ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia. (I wonder if it's snowing there, too.) So this is my first live blogcast!

Caldecott Medal: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Wow! Talk about breaking the mold.)
Newbery Medal: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz
Printz Award: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

And here's the rest of the best:

Sibert Medal: The Wall by Peter Sis.
Awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished
informational book published during the preceding year.

Geisel Award: There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems.
Given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.

Carnegie Award: Jump In! Produced by Disney DVD.
Awarded to honor outstanding video productions for children released during the previous year. Supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Batchelder Award Winner: VIZ Media for Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe.
This award is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

Odyssey Award Winner: Jazz, produced by Live Oak Media.
This annual award will be given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. (This is the first year for this award.)

Edwards Award: Orson Scott Card.
Recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.

Coretta Scott King: Author: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Illustrator: Let it Shine by Ashley Bryan.
Awarded annually to authors and illustrators of African descent for their distinguished books for children.

Steptoe: Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It by Sundee Frazier.
The award is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Task Force.

Schneider Winners: Picture: Kami and the Yaks.
Middle School: Reaching for Sun.
Teen: Hurt Go Happy.
Honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

Belpre Medals: Author: The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle.
Illustrator: Yuyi Morales for Los Gatos Black on Halloween.
Awarded biennially to a Latino/Latina writer and
illustrator in an outstanding work of literature for children.

Congratulations! I'm interested to see what the honor books were in the various categories. And I guess this is also a good time to see if the copy of Good Master! Sweet Ladies! has arrived yet.

The young readers book award season, which will hit the mother lode on Monday when ALA announces its big prize winners, has a new addition. Christopher Paul Curtis' (a Newbery winner for the fantastic Bud, Not Buddy) has won the Scott O'Dell award for Elijah of Buxton. The Scott O'Dell Award, named after the legendary author of Island of the Blue Dolphins, among others, is given each year to a children's or young adult novel of historical fiction.

Well done!

The Guardian reports that Brit children's authors Jacqueline Wilson and Eric Hill have been honored in this year's Queen's Honours List. Jacqueline Wilson has now earned the right to be called Dame. Eric Hill has been given an OBE (Order of the British Empire.) I'm not a big fan of Spot, but I think it's fantastic that a picture book creator has been recognized in such a way.

Honors to me, too; this is my 100th blog entry. Yay me!

The National Book Award Winners were announced last night. This year's winner for Young People's Literature was Alexie Sherman's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Well Done! I'm sorry that Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret did not win because, 1) I loved it and 2) it really challenged the boundaries of the novel as a format. And that is a noble tradition that goes all the way back to the 18th Century (Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy.) But all in all, an excellent book has been recognized, and we can all take pleasure in that!