Coming Out: A Handbook for Men

by Orland Outland

This is a practical and informative guide aimed at gay men coming out in the often confusing and contradictory gay world of the 21st century. Although coming out is in some ways now easier than ever... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555835147
• ISBN13: 9781555835149
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Length: 193 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A complete handbook for the gay man....

Many words came to my mind after reading 'Coming Out: A handbook for men' - amazing, thought-provoking, honest, refreshing, and basically just a big WOW! I don't ever recall reading a book about the gay world that was so honest and detailed in it's description of what being gay is all about and the gay lifestyle in general.The book may be called 'Coming out', but it is actually a handbook for all gay men - especially those who are 'coming out' and experiencing the gay world for the first time. The book describes coming out as more than telling everyone about your sexuality then marching in the next Pride march waving a rainbow flag. Coming Out first must entail coming out to yourself and accepting yourself as you truely are. For alot of us gay men, that can often be the hardest part. So the first part of this book describes this process and then goes onto discuss in detail discovering your gay self through meeting and interacting with other gay men, as well as sex, drugs and disease because often, our first forays into our gay world involves exploring our sexual sides first. At no point does the author preach or say 'that is wrong', but he provides the basics in order for the reader to make up his own mind or at the very least encourage the reader to seek further information.The second part of the book describes 'being out' - building your gay lifestyle so you can, hopefully, build a happy and nurturing enviroment with other gay men. He discusses everything from surviving your first relationship to the many different sub cultures within the gay community, to dealing with physical attacks and being scammed. If only I had read this book 10 years ago I could have saved myself a lot of grief! Whilst it may appear this book is aimed at those just coming out and experiencing their first gay contact, we 'old hands' can read it and see things from a completely different perspective and perhaps even learn something new ourselves....If you're ever in a position where someone has confided in you about being gay and wants information, tell them about this book. Not only will it give wonderful valuable information in a direct, readable and honest manner, but it may also make their journey into the gay world a little smoother by being able to avoid some of the pitfalls and traps that most of us 'old hands' have experienced....

The Book That Helped Me Come Out

For years I strugged with my sexuality, denying it to others while trying to see if I was really gay. And I decided that I was tired of feeling so in doubt so I found this book. And I'm glad I did. This books explains in plain English withoout the psychobabble about how to embrase one's sexuality, understand it and gives a unique and definate view of being gay. One of the reasons its so hard coming out is because people don't know how to be gay. This book explains activities and gives clear definitions to some gay terms and such. This book was excellent and I recommend it to anyone coming out. It helped me come out in a very positive way and everything turned out great.

An excellent companion to Signorile's "Outing Yourself"

I think that this book is a great place to read about coming out (a life-long process) and being out. It's a bit edgier than Michelangelo Signorile's "Outing Yourself." I think it makes a good companion volume to Signorile as a result. If you're coming out--buy both!

Now we have a handbook for coming out

I recently got "Coming out: A Handbook for men" and I was completely impressed with the straight forward and thoughtful advise that anyone can use. I think he captures the feelings of coming out and the values it should instill. I is a good book for all ages, gay, straight, out, or closeted. I work with Gay youth and the book captures most of what I tell them when they are coming out. I recommend this book to all those thinking of coming out, those who want to know what it take, or someone who want to help someone come out.

A Great Place to Start

This is a great place to start coming out. I recommend this book and Michelangelo Signorile's "Outing Yourself" both.