Identity Envy: Wanting to be who We're Not : Creative Nonfiction by Queer Writers

Jim Tushinski, Jim Van Buskirk

Psychology Press, 2007 - Family & Relationships - 267 pages

Gay men and lesbians present humorous and hard-hitting accounts of the need to belong . . . somewhere

Why would a lesbian raised in a Jewish home have a sudden desire to be a tough-talking Catholic girl? And why would a gay man travel to Ireland in a desperate attempt to escape his "hillbilly" roots? Identity Envy--Wanting to Be Who We're Not explores the connections gay men and lesbians have to religions, races, ethnicities, classes, families of origin, and genders not their own. This unique anthology takes both humorous and serious looks at the identities of others as queer writers explore their own identity envies in personal essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction.

Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, intersex, and other sexual minorities often feel marginalized by mainstream culture and have a need to belong somewhere, to claim a group as their own. This surprising book presents stories of identity envy that are humorous and hard-hitting, poignant and provocative, written with energy, wit, and candor by many of your favorite writers-and some exciting newcomers.

Identity Envy--Wanting to Be Who We're Not includes:

• Gerard Wozek's King Fu-infused "Chasing the Grasshopper"
  
• Max Pierce's fantasy of being a "Child Star" that helped him through a troubled family life
  
• Lori Horvitz's "Shiksa in my Living Room"
  
• D. Travers Scott's "EuroTex"
  
• Perry Brass's "A Serene Invisibility: Turning Myself into a Christian Girl"
  
• Jim Tushinski's ode to Lost in Space, "The Perfect Space Family"
  
• Al Cho's unlikely identification with Laura Ingalls Wilder characters, "Farmer Boy"
  
• Irish-American John Gilgun wishes he could be one of those "Italian-American Boys"
  
• Joan Annsfire rejects her Jewish heritage to become Catholic schoolgirl
  Corinne O'Donnell in "The Promise of Redemption"
  
• Andrew Ramer's "Tales of a Male Lesbian"
  
• city slicker Mike McGinty's life with the cattle folk, "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Helen"
  
• and much more!

Identity Envy--Wanting to Be Who We're Not is a must-read for anyone who appreciates good writing--especially gay and lesbian readers who know what it's like to wish you were someone else.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• Primary Wishes: 5
• The Promise of Redemption: 15
• EuroTex: 23
• Adventures in Unexpected Multiethnicity: 29
• Chasing the Grasshopper: 41
• When I Was a Girl1966: 49
• ItalianAmerican Boys: 55
• At the Museum of Jewish Heritage: 59
• Pimp Juice: 65
• You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Helen: 75
• Wanting: 83
• For Those Who Cannot Choose: 91
• Nannas Room: 107
• Treasure Chest: 119
• Turning Myself into a Christian Girl: 127
• Plantation Fantasies or One Hillbillys Journey to the Tidewater and Back: 133
• Tania Sometimes: 149
• Child Star: 157
• Acting American: 171
• Escape from the Appalachians: 181
• Living Mythically: 187
• Who Am I?: 197
• Thieves Pimps and Holy ProstitutesMy World: 203
• Tales of a Male Lesbian: 215
• The Perfect Space Family: 219
• Farmer Boy: 227
• Shiksa in My Living Room: 237
• Connections: 245
• About the Editors: 260
• Contributors: 261

Bibliographic information

• Title: Identity Envy: Wanting to be who We're Not : Creative Nonfiction by Queer Writers
• Authors: Jim Tushinski, Jim Van Buskirk
• Editors: Jim Tushinski, Jim Van Buskirk
• Publisher: Psychology Press, 2007
• ISBN: 156023587X, 9781560235873
• Length: 267 pages
• Subjects: Family & Relationships / Alternative Family; Literary Collections / American / General; Literary Collections / LGBTQ; Literary Criticism / American / General; Literary Criticism / LGBTQ; Psychology / General; Social Science / Gender Studies; Social Science / LGBTQ+ Studies / Gay Studies; Social Science / LGBTQ+ Studies / Lesbian Studies; Social Science / Men's Studies; Social Science / Regional Studies; Social Science / Sociology / General; Social Science / Women's Studies