How well does social policy serve this understudied population?Although public policy and social programs responding to the AIDS and hate crime epidemics of the past decades are supposed to be designed for the working-class gay man, in actuality they have been based more on socioeconomic bias, stereotype, and anecdote than on social science. What do these men actually want and need? How well do programs work for them? The answers are found in Working-Class Gay and Bisexual Men, the landmark international study that is among the first to empirically examine the lives, attitudes, needs, and concerns of this hidden population. Working-Class Gay and Bisexual Men reports on research conducted throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand using a broad-based sample of working-class men. Using ethnographic techniques, researchers systematically captured and analyzed the social themes of their lives. The impressively detailed and consistent results should compel policymakers to rethink their assumptions about working-class gay men. This carefully conducted scientific research project also provides a forum where the men's own voices can be heard. Topics include: What gives them the strength to cope with violence, homophobia, AIDS, and discrimination? How can they come out to their families, friends, and coworkers? How do rural gay and bisexual men handle their isolation? What kinds of social support networks do they have? How do Latino gay men handle the double discrimination of gay and minority status? What kinds of social services would reach these men? What are the risk factors and protective factors in their lives? How do socioeconomic factors affect them?Working-Class Gay and Bisexual Men is a powerfully persuasive work of scholarship with broad-ranging implications. Social workers, policymakers, AIDS activists, and anyone else concerned with the lives of gay and bisexual men will find this informative study an essential tool for designing effective programs.
