"You Can Tell Just By Looking" And 20 Other Myths about LGBT Life and People

2014 Lambda Literary Award Finalist: LGBT Nonfiction

Breaks down the most commonly held misconceptions about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their lives
 
In “You Can Tell Just by Looking” three scholars and activists come together to unpack enduring, popular, and deeply held myths about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, culture, and life in America. Myths, such as “All Religions Condemn Homosexuality” and “Transgender People Are Mentally Ill,” have been used to justify discrimination and oppression of LGBT people. Others, such as “Homosexuals Are Born That Way,” have been embraced by LGBT communities and their allies. In discussing and dispelling these myths—including gay-positive ones—the authors challenge readers to question their own beliefs and to grapple with the complexities of what it means to be queer in the broadest social, political, and cultural sense.

Michael Bronski (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has written extensively on LGBT issues for four decades. He is the author of several award-winning books, including most recently A Queer History of the United States. He is Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media in the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University.

Ann Pellegrini (New York, New York) is professor of performance studies and religious studies at New York University, where she also directs NYU’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. She has written extensively about religion, sexuality, and US public life. Her publications include Performance Anxieties and the coauthored book Love the Sin.
 
Michael Amico (New Haven, Connecticut) is a PhD candidate in American studies at Yale University, and is writing a history of the love between two men in the Civil War. He has written for LGBT youth publications, such as Young Gay America, and provided political analysis for the Boston Phoenix and other venues.

Introduction

Part 1: Living in the World
Myth 1: You Can Tell Who’s Gay Just by Looking
Myth 2: About 10 Percent of People Are Gay or Lesbian
Myth 3: All Transgender People Have Sex-Reassignment Surgery

Part 2: Cause and Effect
Myth 4: Sexual Abuse Causes Homosexuality
Myth 5: Most Homophobes Are Repressed Homosexuals
Myth 6: Transgender People Are Mentally Ill
Myth 7: Homosexuals Are Born That Way

Part 3: Troublemakers
Myth 8: LGBT Parents Are Bad for Children
Myth 9: Same-Sex Marriage Harms Traditional Marriage
Myth 10: All Religions Condemn Homosexuality
Myth 11: Gay Rights Infringe on Religious Liberty
Myth 12: People of Color Are More Homophobic Than White People

Part 4: It’s Just a Phase
Myth 13: Lesbians Do Not Have Real Sex
Myth 14: All Bisexual Men Are Actually Gay; All Bisexual Women Are Actually Straight
Myth 15: Transgender People Are Gay
Myth 16: There’s No Such Thing as a Gay or Trans Child

PART 5: Struggling in the World
Myth 17: Positive Visibility in the Media Increases Tolerance and Acceptance of LGBT People
Myth 18: Coming Out Today Is Easier Than Ever Before
Myth 19: Antidiscrimination Laws in the United States Protect LGBT People
Myth 20: Hate Crime Laws Prevent Violence against LGBT People
Myth 21: Getting Tested on a Regular Basis Helps Prevent the Spread of HIV

Acknowledgments
Notes