A 180 Degree Turn



Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology

by Amy Sonnie

Sonnie, A. (2000). Revolutionary voices: A multicultural queer youth anthology.

     Los Angeles: Alyson Publishers.



I’ve done a 180-degree turn in my life regarding homosexuality.  As a heterosexual growing up in conservative New England, where I played sports in high school and college, I held the traditional view of gays.  But later in life, I found some of my best friends and some people I respected and admired immeasurably were gays, bisexuals, etc.  Talking with them provided me with some of the best life lessons I have ever learned about acceptance, respect, and the Golden Rule.  So for decades, I have been a defender of this part of our society.

Because of this, I was anxious to read Amy Sonnie’s Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology.  I was genuinely hoping it would be a book that I could embrace as a bulwark in the battle to win universal respect and acceptance for people who are not strictly heterosexuals.  I was sorely disappointed.

First, I wish the book didn’t have to stress the word “queer.”  Too many of my gay friends find that term hurtful.  Just because other gays use it doesn’t make it any better.  Also, there were too many parts of the book that seemed to be striving for a sensationalist, in-your-face kind of realism that needlessly employed a vulgarity that plays into the hands of gay-bashers.  The gays who completely changed my views on homosexuality did so by being people I could easily admire and respect.  So, in the long, hard struggle to win acceptance for gays, this book is an anchor around their necks, when what they really need is wings.

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