"... And Then I Became Gay": Young Men's Stories.

"... And Then I Became Gay": Young Men's Stories. By Ritch C. Savin-Williams. New York: Routledge, 1998, 272 pages. Hardcover, $70.00. Paper, $19.99.

Male and female. Old and young. Black and white. Gay and straight. Blue eyed, brown eyed. The psychological study of group differences has been a cornerstone of scientific inquiry. How are men different from women? How are African Americans different from Caucasian Americans? How are persons with homosexual orientations different than those with heterosexual orientations? While this study of intergroup differences has provided us with expansive knowledge, how can we make sweeping comparisons of groups containing such diversity? Ritch Savin-Williams, in his latest book on the lives of young gay men, asserts that in looking at broad group affiliations (comparing straight with gay or old with young), the richness of individual's lives is lost, as is important knowledge in the study of diversity. In order to more fully understand human development, and the development of gay men's lives in particular, Savin-Williams believes we must intricately study the "multiplicity and heterogeneity" (p. xii) of our research participants. To this end, Savin-Williams' latest treatise is a thorough and thought-provoking description of interviews with 180 young gay and bisexual men about their identity development.

For several years, Savin-Williams' work has focused on the development of young gay men into healthy gay adults. The current work is a description of interview data he has collected on young gay men and their differential developmental trajectories, which Savin-Williams describes as "the turning points that redirect or rechannel meanings of experiences and feelings" (p. xii). As such, the work is different from anything seen in scientific journals or on the bookshelves of university bookstores. Indeed, the intriguing and eye-catching title "... And Then I Became Gay: Young Men's Stories" suggests an almost "pop-psychology" feel, not unlike "Why People Don't Heal, and How They Can," and "Listening to Prozac." Yet, the untrained layperson expecting to read personal accounts of young men's coming out stories may be disappointed, as Savin-Williams includes enough psychological jargon and scientific description to keep the more serious scientist interested, if not fully intrigued.

Savin-Williams' preface clearly lays out the book's objectives. By focusing on young men ages 18-25 who have identified themselves as gay or bisexual, Savin-Williams strives to explore the rich complexity and diversity found within a relatively small demographic group. He wishes to show the reader how these young men are similar to, and vastly different from, one another. He then hopes to "challenge the ways in which our culture thinks about sexual minority youths" (p. xii), adding a social conscious to his writing.

Generally, Savin-Williams accomplishes these objectives with skillful writing and a depth that allows the reader to know his subjects as more than numbers or percentages, while demonstrating a care and concern for the young men he interviews. Chapters are organized by developmental trajectories, including memories of same-sex attractions in childhood, labeling feelings and attractions, first gay sex, first heterosexual sex, labeling self as gay or bisexual, disclosure to others, first same-sex romance, and self-acceptance as gay or bisexual. This organization allows Savin-Williams to describe both similarities and differences among the gay and bisexual youths at each developmental trajectory.

The interviews allow us to see the myriad of developmental routes taken to healthy adulthood by boys and young men. Although most of the participants are in college or are college graduates at the time of the interviews, the variety of experiences shared suggests a rich complexity within a narrow band of demography. The stories are fascinating and real, told by young men who know Stonewall only as a date in history and the gay pride annual celebration. Indeed, this book could not have been written twenty years ago, as it would have been nearly impossible to locate so many young men willing and able to identify as gay or bisexual who could articulate their developmental stories.

The reader comes to know the interviewees and to hear their stories in their own words. The transcription of the interviews is what makes this volume unique and appealing to readers outside the scientific community. Indeed, any gay or bisexual man will recognize himself in one or several accounts. These diverse descriptions show young gay and bisexual men how their developmental experiences are similar, and how they are unique and individual while still part of a larger gay/bisexual community. The volume is also a valuable resource for clinicians, particularly those in university counseling centers or other clinics that specialize in working with young men and identity development, as a resource to share with those seeking treatment feeling confused or troubled about their developing sexual identity.

Similarly, researchers will find something of interest in the volume. As a scientist, Savin-Williams' overall presentation of his interviews is within the context of sharing knowledge about the group he is studying. He provides a thorough description of the people he has interviewed (including demographic characteristics) and, as part of the endnotes, he provides his methodology and data analysis. He compares the current study to past research conducted with gay and bisexual men (noting that no similar studies exist focusing on heterosexual men's development). All chapters and sections include summaries about his subject pool, such as "over 80 percent of interviewed youths ..." (p. 21) and "almost one-third of the youths ..." (p. 56). The author then uses interview excerpts to put a face on the statistics and percentages.

In mixing direct quotes from interviews with data analysis summaries, however, there is a potential for the volume to lose its appeal with both a wider lay population and researchers. Young gay men wanting to read about the lives of their "brothers" may not be interested in knowing what percentage of the sample was categorized one way or another. There may be a desire to read the stories in their entirety or to read about the participants in such a way that their personalities are known more fully. For those in the scientific community, a sense of dissatisfaction may arise when group differences are not more fully analyzed. With percentages not compared, t scores not given, and ANOVAs not performed, quantitative researchers will be left to wonder just what "normative" development might be, or what differences among individuals mean in advancing scientific thought.

Unfortunately, Savin-Williams does not assist us by explicitly describing his intended audience. He may not wish to appeal to anyone beyond students enrolled in graduate or undergraduate gay studies courses who may use the work as a textbook or primary source. His intent may not be the advancement of psychological science; his work appearing in scientific journals may serve this purpose. He mentions that educators, mental health care providers, parents, and sexual-minority youths have made erroneous assumptions about gay/bisexual youths, and he hopes that his volume will work to correct these misrepresentations. Still, his intended audience remains unclear.

Although this may leave some readers unsatisfied with the work as a whole, it should not diminish the work's usefulness. Educators can use the material to discuss the vast diversity among young gay and bisexual men. Mental health care providers should read this book, and recommend it to young men struggling to accept themselves, to help them recognize that their development is not unique and alienating. Parents will better understand their gay/bisexual and heterosexual children by reading the volume and learning how young people think about sexuality and sexual development in our time. Finally, sexual-minority youth, especially young gay and bisexual men, will find the work useful in learning about themselves, finding their place in the wider community, and understanding others like themselves. In this way the book can, and should, have a wide appeal and purpose outside academic towers.

Savin-Williams, as in his previous writings, has again added to our knowledge about the development of gay and bisexual men. Still, we realize all that is left to learn. Expanding the circle of participants to include more ethnic-minority youths, examining how men who come out at later ages view their development differently, and a parallel project involving young women (which, Savin-Williams comments, was planned with a colleague when he began his investigation) are all logical steps to continue this line of inquiry. As we study this topic, we will discover even more ways to expand our knowledge and learn more about human development in all its diversity.

Scott C. Strader, Ph.D., Mental Health Care, Inc., Tampa, FL 33610.