Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships

Robert H. Hopcke, Laura Rafaty

Council Oak Books, 2001 - Family & Relationships - 260 pages

What makes the friendship between straight women and gay men so special? And why can these friends of the opposite sex communicate so effortlessly? Combining true-life stories, psychological insight and lively commentary, Straight Women, Gay Men blasts stereotypes and celebrates these unique and wonderful friendships of grace, laughter, and above all, style!

Contents

• 1 Choosing Each Other: 19
• Lets Be Friends: 20
• The Benefits of Work: 22
• Getting Crazy: 27
• Retail Therapy and Sports: 34
• The Essentials of a Civilized Life: 37
• Superficiality Runs Deep: 45
• 2 Talking To Each Other: 52
• Speaking Freely: 58
• Ten Great Lies: 68
• 3 Coining Out as the Moment of Truth: 74
• Begin at the Beginning: 75
• Let Me Tell You Something: 81
• No Let Me Tell You Something: 88
• Bridges to the Past: 93
• The Big Secret: 99
• 4 Playing the FieldTogether: 102
• Picking Up Signals: 106
• For What Its Worth: 110
• Dishing the Dirt and Other Pastimes: 116
• Meet Mr Right: 120
• 5 Romancing Each Other: 124
• Getting Sentimental: 127
• Emotional Bravery: 129
• 6 Keeping Secrets From One Another: 135
• The Forbidden Topic: 136
• Unveiling the Mystery: 145
• 7 Flirting With Each Other: 150
• The Attraction Factor: 151
• The Generosity Quotient: 159
• Honey Drape: 163
• A Very Rich Stew: 167
• 8 Testing the Limits of Love: 172
• Seeing the Dark Side: 180
• Projections Place: 189
• 9 Dealing with Peoples Reactions: 196
• Family Dynamics: 198
• The Jealous Boyfriend: 203
• Here Comes Homophobia: 207
• Fag Hags and Other Stereotypes: 215
• The Charming Epithet: 217
• The Power of Insult: 222
• Telling It Like It Is: 230
• 11 Being There for Each Other: 234
• Facing AIDS Together: 236
• Dealing With Other Life Crises Together: 242
• 12 Understanding Each Other: 245
• The Gift of Acceptance: 250
• A Larger Vision: 252
• Notes: 255
• About the Authors: 256
• About the Press: 257

Popular passages

Page 38 - We know we are generalizing and there are scads of exceptions, but what we have heard about these friendships and know from our own experience is that the (now somewhat politically incorrect) identification of homosexuality with femininity may not necessarily be a gross error.

About the author

Robert H. Hopcke is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the bestselling author of There are No Accidents. He lives in Berkeley, California. Laura Rafaty is a Tony-nominated theatrical producer, corporate executive and attorney. She divides her time between Manhattan and San Francisco.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Straight Women, Gay Men: Absolutely Fabulous Friendships
• Authors: Robert H. Hopcke, Laura Rafaty
• Publisher: Council Oak Books, 2001
• ISBN: 1885171617, 9781885171610
• Length: 260 pages
• Subjects: Family & Relationships / Friendship; Social Science / LGBT Studies / Gay Studies; Social Science / Women's Studies