Hard Love, by Ellen Wittlinger

Wittlinger, Ellen. (1999). Hard Love. New York: Simon & Schuster. 224 pages. 

Description from Alex Sanchez's Web listing:

This very hip, very contemporary novel set in the world of homemade zines (magazines) finds 16-year-old John “Gio” Galardi, Jr., falling in love with the amazing Marisol Guzman, a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian. The two form an unlikely friendship based on zines, alienation, and dreams of escape. John questions his own sexuality as he struggles with his unrequited love for Marisol, who has no doubts at all about who she is. Hard Love is an absorbing book about loss, love, trust, family, transformation, and, interestingly, authorship. 

Available at SF Public Library.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun, by Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson, Jacqueline. (1995). From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun. New York: Scholastic. 141 pages.
 
Description from Alex Sanchez's listing of LGBTQ resources:

13-year-old Melanin Sun’s comfortable, quiet life is shattered when his mother reveals she has fallen in love with a woman. Adding even greater dimension to this story is the fact that Melanin and his mother are black, while the woman his mother has fallen in love with is white. Wonderfully written, as are all of Woodson’s books. While only a few of the author’s books deal with gay or lesbian characters, almost all deal with issues of race. 

Available at the SF Public Library. Is this a middle school book?

glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture

An online resource that students should learn to consult regularly. Features include

• Wide range of topics
• Searchable
• Each entry features a bibliography for further research
• Each entry includes links to related topics
• Each entry lists citation information at the bottom
  

Gay Pioneers, directed by Glenn Holsten

Holsten, Glenn (Director/Producer). (2004). Gay Pioneers. United States: WHYY, Equity Forum. 30 minutes.

From the film's Web site:

... Gay Pioneers is a 30-minute documentary chronicling the first organized gay and lesbian civil rights demonstrations. These "Annual Reminders" took place in front of Independence Hall each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969, paving the way for the Stonewall Uprising and the New York Pride Parade.

Available from SFUSD School Health Services. Not available at the SF Public Library. Available for purchase for $100. Teaching guide available online.

Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, directed by Victor Silverman and Susan Stryker

Silverman, Victor, & Stryker, Susan. (Directors). (2005). Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria. United States: Independent Television Service, KQED, Frameline. 57 minutes.

Erik has a copy. Also available at the SF Public Library. From the catalog description: "Screaming Queens tells the little-known story of the first known act of collective, violent resistance to the social oppression of queer people in the United States — a 1966 riot in San Francisco's impoverished Tenderloin neighborhood, three years before the famous gay riot at New York's Stonewall Inn."

Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up, directed by Debra Chasnoff and Sue Chen

Chasnoff, Debra, & Chen, Sue (Directors). (2009). Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up. United States: GroundSpark. 67 minutes.


From the production company's Web site

Filmed in the same intimate style as That’s a Family! and Let’s Get Real, the heart of Straightlaced is candid interviews with more than 50 teens from diverse backgrounds.

With a fearless look at a highly charged subject, Straightlaced unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. Their stories reflect a diversity of experiences, demonstrating how gender role expectations and homophobia are interwoven, and illustrating the different ways that these expectations connect with culture, race and class.

Not yet available at SF Public Library. Can purchase for $100 from New Day Films. Study guide being developed.

Madame Satå, directed by Karim Ainouz

Ainouz, Karim (Director). (2002). Madame Satå. Brazil/France: VideFilms. 105 minutes.

Film based on the real story of a young man in the Lapa neighborhood of Rio de Janiero in the 1930s. Very interesting questions around his sexual identity, which doesn't fit any of our contemporary standard models but which is probably not all that unusual in Brazilian culture of the period.

Available from the SF Public Library. Library summary:

Based on the life of João Francisco dos Santos, a gay performer, his triumphs and tragedies amid the violence and poverty of 1930's Brazil.

Available in DVD and streaming format from Netflix. Netflix summary:

Rio de Janeiro's Lapa neighborhood is full of outrageous personalities, but few hold a candle to the fascinating Madame Sata (Lazaro Ramos), a transvestite singer who worked the streets in order to survive day to day. Director Karim Ainouz based his film on the extraordinary life of this eccentric character (born Francisco dos Santos), who was also a murderer and spent decades in jail.

Is he gay? Is he a transvestite? Bisexual? Other? Parsing his identity would be a good student exercise. Racial issues suggested in the film are also interesting. Three brief scenes that would need to be skipped in the classroom (M2M lovemaking with nudity; bare female breasts; the naked protagonist being hosed down when he's is admitted to jail).

When the Drama Club Is Not Enough, by Jeff Perrotti and Kim Westheimer

Perrotti, Jeff, & Westheimer, Kim. (2001). When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students. Boston: Beacon Press. 227 pages.

[Erik add notes and labels?] Erik owns a copy. Available at the SF Public Library.

Dude, You're a Fag, by C. J. Pascoe

Pascoe, C. J. (2007). Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. Berkeley: University of California Press. 227 pages.

[Erik add notes and labels?] Erik owns a copy. Available at the SF Public Library.

How to Do the History of Homosexuality, by David M. Halperin

Halperin, David M. (2002). How to Do the History of Homosexuality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 208 pages.

Heavy theory, but good for defining some of the key concepts in LGBTQ historical studies. Halperin is a classicist, so he's a good source on ancient Greece and Rome. The second chapter, "The First Homosexuality," begins with a history of the term "lesbian" that could be modified for use with students. Available at the SF Public Library.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, directed by Auraeus Solito

Solito, Auraeus (Director). (2006). The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros [Feature film]. Philippines: ufo Pictures and Cinemalaya Foundation. 100 minutes.

The protagonist is a 12-year-old boy who would probably identify as transgender. His mother has died and he happily plays the role of housewife in his home in a poor section of Manila, where he lives with his father and two older brothers. The family is loving and supportive, and Maxi's apparent transgender nature is not an issue for them and is not sensationalized in the film. Includes brief male nudity that could be skipped over. Some violence, but generally a sweet film that provides a sympathetic portrait of a queer youth.

Available with English subtitles at the SF Public Library. Available in DVD and streaming format from Netflix. Netflix summary:

Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a sensitive 12-year-old boy whose life has deteriorated into a surrogate existence of his dead mother. Relegated to housekeeping and caring for his criminal father and brothers, Maxi is befriended by a kind and honorable policeman (J.R. Valentin) eager to show the boy a more respectable way of life. Auraeus Solito's compassionate drama filmed on the streets of Manila features music from Filipino rock legend Pepe Smith.

Beautiful Boxer, directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham

Uekrongtham, Ekacha (Director). (2005). Beautiful Boxer [Feature film]. Thailand: GMM Pictures and Regent Releasing. 118 minutes.

Based on a true story about a teenage boy who becomes a competitive kickboxer to support his family and to finance his transgender operation. The film provides insights into both the experience of being transgender and popular attitudes towards transgender people in Thailand.

Available at the SF Public Library. Available from Netflix. The Netflix summary:

Asanee Suwan portrays kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol, who's harboring an unusual secret: He's a transvestite. Inspired by a famous Thai pugilist who lived two drastically different lives, this moving film written and directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham recounts Parinya's painful attempts to exist in paradoxical worlds. To fund the sex change he longs for, Parinya earns money in the ring, participating day after day in the ultimate male sport.

Boy-Wives and Female Husbands, edited by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe

Murray, Stephen O., & Roscoe, Will (eds.). (1998). Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities. New York: St. Martin's Press. 358 pages.

Organized by region, the books includes both pre-modern history and colonial history. Less on women than one men, but a couple of chapters exclusively on women. Available at the SF Public Library.

Islamic Homosexualities, by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe

Murray, Stephen O., & Roscoe, Will. (1997). Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature. New York: New York Univesity Press. 331 pages.

Wide-ranging in geographical scope, the book is divided in three sections: literature, history, and anthropology. Not much on women. Available at the SF Public Library.

A Jihad for Love, directed by Parvez Sharma

Sharma, Parvez (Director). (2007). A Jihad for Love [Documentary film]. United States: First Run Features. 81 minutes.

Available in DVD or streaming format from Netflix. The Netflix summary:

Documenting the quandary of gay Muslims via the perspective of subjects from countries such as India, Iran and Turkey, director Parvez Sharma chronicles their struggles to square their sexual orientation with their faith, which forbids homosexuality. Relating their compelling tales to the camera, the subjects (most expatriates) cling to their Islamic ideals in the face of a sharia interpretation that imposes the death penalty for homosexual acts.

Winner of the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary, 2009. Available for purchase from First Run Features.

The Night is Young, by Héctor Carrillo

Carrillo, Héctor. (2002). The Night is Young: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of AIDS. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 371 pages.

After a chapter that presents the historical context of "Mexican sexualities," the book is divided into three sections:

• Sexual Identities
• Sexual Socialization
• AIDS and HIV prevention

Erik owns a copy. Available in Spanish at the SF Public Library. Available in English on Amazon.

With Respect to Sex, by Gayatri Reddy

Reddy, Gayatri. (2005). With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 320 pages.

An anthropological investigation. Eric owns a copy. Available at the SF Public Library.

Sapphistries, by Leila J. Rupp

Rupp, Leila J. (2009). Sapphistries: A Global History of Love between Women. New York: New York University Press. 303 pages.

A global history in the cutting-edge sense of the term, Sapphistries is organized chronologically and covers a range of global regions within each time period. Rupp challenges both male-centric analysis and Western-centric analysis.

Allison, Eric, and Pete own copies. Copies now being processed at the SF Public Library.

Different Rainbows, edited by Peter Drucker

Drucker, Peter (ed.). (2000). Different Rainbows. London: Gay Men's Press.

Although the writings date mostly from the mid-1990s, they are very well done and should be a good starting point for research on contemporary conditions in the regions addressed, which include Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Latin American in general; South Africa, Kenya, Southeast Asia, and China.

Most chapters include references to pre-modern history in the region as well as contemporary conditions. A recurring theme is the limitation of defining LGBTQ life in terms of U.S. and European experiences. The introduction and conclusion deal clearly and directly with such issues.

Pete owns a copy. Available in the SF Public Library.

Otomen, by Aya Kanno

Kanno, Aya. (2009). Otomen. San Francisco: VIZ Media. (Originally published in Japan in 2006).

A multi-volume manga series that may or may not give insights into gay sensibilities among Japanese youth. Here's how an Anime News Network review explains the word "Otomen":

"... 'otomen' is a Japlish pun that combines the Japanese word 'otome' (maiden), with the English word 'men.' A more efficient translation of the title of this romantic comedy ... would be something like 'She-Man.'"

The protagonist is Asuka Masamune, a teenage guy who both loves "girly" things (sewing, knitting, making stuffed animals, etc.) and is a martial arts expert. He seems to have a crush on a female student in his school, which suggests he isn't gay, but another character is a male writer of female manga who thinks Asuka is the ideal manifestation of the female spirit. All this may be inexplicable to a young American reader, which may make it a good example of the social construction of gender and homosexuality. Pete owns a copy. Also available at the SF Public Library.