The New Gay Teenager

Boidyke. Stem. Down low. Trannyboy. In this lively and broadly researched book, Cornell University psychologist Savin-Williams reveals that the words gay teenagers use to describe their sexual preferences have changed radically over the past 30 years, and so have their attitudes towards same-sex relationships. In fact, many of them are reluctant to define their sexuality at all. ""In some respects,"" Savin-Williams explains, ""these teenagers might relate better to their pre-labeled, pre-identified grandparents than they do with their gay-liberated parents or their gay-resigned older cousins."" ""For them 'gay' carries too much baggage,"" and apparently they get along just fine without it. Much of the volume is devoted to Savin-Williams's detailed critique of the psychological models currently used to study gay adolescence, which were developed in the 1970s and have barely changed since. These old models, Savin-Williams argues, don't reflect the diversity of the current gay adolescent experience and should be replaced with a ""differential developmental trajectories perspective."" His book is an excellent resource for professional psychologists with gay patients, but it also contains enough invigorating, real-world case studies to interest general readers.