Identity Envy Wanting to Be Who We're Not

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

Jim Tushinski, Jim Van Buskirk

- Introduction (Jim Tushinski and Jim Van Buskirk) - Primary Wishes (Larry Connolly) - The Promise of Redemption (Joan Annsfire) - EuroTex (D. Travers Scott) - The Day My Past Came Calling: Adventures in Unexpected Multiethnicity (Jay Blotcher) - Chasing the Grasshopper (Gerard Wozeck) - When I Was a Girl/1966 (Deborah La Garbanza) - Italian-American Boys (John Gilgun) - At the Museum of Jewish Heritage (Jim Van Buskirk) - Pimp Juice (JDGuilford) - You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Helen (Mike McGinty) - Wanting (Cheryl Schoonmaker) - Mishmumken: For Those Who Cannot Choose (Rosebud Ben-Oni) - Nanna's Room (Robert Labelle) - Treasure Chest (Darin Beasley) - A Serene Invisibility: Turning Myself into a Christian Girl (Perry Brass) - Plantation Fantasies, or One Hillbilly's Journey to the Tidewater and Back (Jeff Mann) - Tania, Sometimes (Will McNamara) - Child Star (Max Pierce) - Acting American (Robert Boulanger) - Escape from the Appalachians (Frederic B. Tate) - Living Mythically (Keguro Macharia) - Who Am I? (Margaret Cleaver) - Thieves, Pimps, and Holy ProstitutesMy World (Renate Stendhal) - Tales of a Male Lesbian (Andrew Ramer) - The Perfect Space Family (Jim Tushinski) - Farmer Boy (Al Cho) - Shiksa in My Living Room (Lori Horvitz) - Connections (Daniel M. Jaffe) - About the Editors - Contributors