From Library Journal
These two books, along with Skil Hunter's Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youths and Adults: Knowledge for Human Services Practice (Sage, 1998), comprise a trio of recently released titles addressing issues of care and counseling for gay adolescents. All three approach the subject with a blend of the personal and the clinical. In Queer Kids, Owens teaches about, and advocates for, the concerns of gay teens. Observing the benign neglect of society at large in providing support and vital information for queer kids, Owens focuses on counselors, parents, and adolescents, discusses stereotypes and prejudices, and seeks to provide crucial information and viable solutions. His book serves as an excellent guide to gay community resources across the United States. Most importantly, it provides valuable techniques for care givers and family members involved with adolescents trying to define themselves emotionally and sexually. Ryan and Futterman's Lesbian and Gay Youth is a much slimmer volume but still provides copious amounts of information. The authors' mission is to provide a thorough, hands-on guide to materials pertaining to physical and mental health for gay adolescents and young adults. Comprehensive guidelines for care and counseling, a succinct review of pertinent research and information, and discussion of themes pertaining to healthcare concerns are valuable components. The compact single volume was designed to meet the needs of researchers, healthcare providers, and the general public, and it squarely meets its objective. Well written and documented, both books would be appropriate selections for public and academic libraries and should unquestionably be considered for high school counseling collections.?Michael A. Lutes, Univ. of Notre Dame Libs., IN
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kurzbeschreibung
Packed to the hilt with living narratives, scholarly research, and problem-solution scenarios, Queer Kids: The Challenges and Promise for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth examines the unique challenges faced by today's homosexual young adults. You'll learn what modern-day queer kids do to cope, survive, and find understanding in a world riddled with homophobic intolerance. Queer Kids is a lens of clarity that will help the average straight adult--and maybe even the average gay adult--see things from a kid's point of view. Its detail-oriented, well-wrought chapters will provide you with literally hundreds of stories of young people who are trying to define themselves sexually and emotionally in a society of criss-crossing judgment, stereotyping, anger, and expectation. Aimed at three target groups--counselors, parents, and youth--this book introduces you to a variety of interesting kids, offers you a look at the process of coming out, and helps you grasp the experience of queer identification. Specifically, you'll read about: queer kids and their families and peers the medical/health care profession's impact on queer kids the teachers and counselors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth how to alleviate harrassment, abuse, withdrawal, and loneliness the effects of familial denial, prejudiced counselors, and standoffish gay adults Being a kid is tough--but being a queer kid can be even tougher. Fortunately, Queer Kids is available for students, ministers, teachers, youth- and health-care workers, and especially the friends and families of teens who are working through the personal turbulence that too often accompanies sexual and emotional definition. Guided by its upfront approach and practical resource list of written, computer, and telephone aids, you'll see that a solution is not as distant as you think. Read it, and relearn what it means to be a kid again.
