Queer Man on Campus: A History of Non-Heterosexual College Men, 1945-2000

This book reveals the inadequacy of a unified "gay" identity in studying the lives of queer college men. Instead, seven types of identities are discernible in the lives of non-heterosexual college males, as the author shows.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Section I: Finding My Way Chapter 1: Calling Names, Naming Tales Chapter 2: Queer Theory, Identity Development Theories and Non-Heterosexual Students Section II: Patterns of Non-Heterosexual Lives Chapter 3: Tea Rooms and No Sympathy: Homosexuals and the Closet Chapter 4: From the Margins to the Ivory Tower: Gay and Queer Students Chapter 5: Beyond Textbook Definitions: Normal and Parallel Students Section III: Making Sense of Non-Heterosexual Identity Chapter 6: Collegiate Non-Heterosexual Identities: 1945-1999 Chapter 7: On the Fluidity of Identity Appendix Bibliography

About the Author :
Patrick Dilley is Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Qualitative Research at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. A recipient of the American College Personnel Emerging Scholar Award, Dilley is currently researching the history of gay and lesbian student organizations.

Review :
"Patrick Dilley offers a creative and compassionate portrait of the historical and cultural facets of identity among non-heterosexual college men. This portrait counters many of the prevailing notions about gay men and in so doing forges provocative and empowering representations of queer lives." -- Robert Rhoads, author of Coming Out in College: The Struggle for a QueerIdentity "Patrick Dilley's study is valuable because it shows that there is not one single line of development for homosexual men, but rather multiple patterns among males who may see themselves as "gay," "queer," or "normal."...Dilley's research found common patterns ranging from homo-social emotional involvements in fraternity rituals, to anonymous orgasms in restroom trysts. These narratives display the sheer joy of sex that many of the respondents reported, often from a very early age, with other boys or older men. The positively-remembered life experiences reported here are a pronounced corrective to the stereotype of same-sex activities that are presented as tragic exploitation for young men." -- Walter L. Williams, Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California, and Editor, International Gay and LesbianReview "Patrick Dilley is not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Using historical research and extensive interview data, he argues against the essentialist position taken by most theorists that gay identity development is a linear process. The typological approach he presents as an alternative is intriguing and well documented. As he points out, the men he interviewed were as different from each other as they were from heterosexual men. Dilley convincingly illustrates how societal norms and historical conditions influence how non-heterosexual men see themselves and how these men in turn attempt to shape society. Dilley writes that "identity is messy." His work, however, brings new clarity to our understanding of its complex nature." -- Nancy J. Evans, Co-editor of Toward Acceptance: Sexual Orientation Issues on Campus "Queer Man on Campus is a smart, well written text thatadds to our understanding of gay mens lives andidentifications...This book should be of great use ofboth educators and historians, and an interesting readfor others interested in queer identities." -- Committeon Lesbian and Gay History "While this interesting book is firmly rooted in queer theory, the crux of this study are the absorbing interviews of the more than fifty men who talk about their social and sexual experiences during their undergraduate careers." -- Lambda Book Report "His work oofers a unique way to explrore the differences among those men who do not identify as heterosexual and provides new ways to avoid the oftentimes dichotomous thinking of identity." -- Patrick Dilley,Journal ofCollege Student Development