Page 24
HIGH GEAR
BOOK REVIEW
IN AKRON
AUGUST 1976
DISCO
MON.
DRAFT NIGHT
TUES.
2 AT REG. 1 AT HALF
MEN
WED.
2 AT REG.
1 FREE WOMEN
84 Speaker Disco System
Thurs.
Quadraphonic Sound
Fri. Sat. Go-Go Boys
The
LIGHT
SHOW
Parking
Where the happy people all come to meet
RELAX IN OUR NEW UPSTAIRS LOUNGE WITH SERVICE BAR
meat
Stage Coach Inn
259 E. Market St. D.J. DAVID
From Cleveland: Go south on I-77, east on 1-76, north on Rt. 8, and exit at Perkins St. Turn left at the first light onto Perkins, turn left onto North Forge and then left onto Market to the Stage Coach Inn
FOR MONEY OR LOVE
By ALAN GOULD
(For Money or Love, by Robin Lloyd, Vanguard Press, Inc., 236 pp. $8.95).
The subtitle of this book will unfortunately turn you off. It is "Boy Prostitution in America." This is an area that must be faced by all people, straight or gay. For Money or Love, by newspaper reporter Robin Lloyd, is the first in depth look at the lives of many young boys who "support" themselves by tricking, having sex with an older man.
In the July 1976 issue of High Gear there was a humorous two page spread on "chickens." (A chicken being any underaged male who engages in homosexual sex.) And it is good to laugh and have a sense of humor about this area of gay sex which is often used by straights to make homosexuals appear as "dirty old men" who seek out innocent boys. For Money or Love makes it quite clear that the stereotyped homosexual chasing after young boys is very inaccurate.
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The older men who do engage in sex with "chickens" called "chickenhawks." Like the reality that homosexuals come from all walks of life, so too, do chickenhawks. Lloyd states in his book that there are no common characteristics that typify chickenhawks. Often these men are married, with children. They also come from different economic classes, and they have very accepted lifestyles.
There are, however, characteristics that do typify chickens who are prostitutes. Many are runaways from poor families and often illiterate. Their most common characteristic is that they have never really known their fathers, or were physically or emotionally brutalized by them.
Most chickens do not consider themselves homosexuals. Lloyd states many times that these boys have girlfriends and eventually marry and bring up families. This negates the myth that older homosexuals "change" young boys into homosexuals. Often, the chicken will only engage in those sexual activities that he considers masculine.
The scope of For Money or Love is immense. The book, itself, is an education. Lloyd divides it into three sections: THE CASE, THE CAUSE, and THE CURE. In his clear and concise journalistic style he describes the environment which propogates boys who turn to prostitution. The boys are totally alienated by all of society's institutions. Even when they are supposedly being helped by our governmental agencies they are experiencing traumas, both physical and emotional. Lloyd does not direc-
tly attack the nuclear family; but it is implied that if fathers of boys who turn to prostitution cannot provide the love and affection that their sons search for, the sons may turn to older
men
for sexual attention. Perhaps, then, there is something inherently wrong with a family unit which offers only one undesirable model.
Lloyd also delves into the lives of some typical chickenhawks. Their biggest problem is the laws which
govern sex with minors. A man's good reputation is irreparable when it is revealed that he has been having sex with a willing chicken. Even among prison inmates, a convicted "child molestor" is held in very low esteem.
Lloyd does not state his sexual preference. He does state his perception of the facts. Homosexual prostitution exists, and there are grown men who pay from 25c to $20.00 and up for a mere child to relieve their sexual frustrations. The point is that Robin Lloyd is neither condoning nor condemning homosexuality per se, and he is not advocating "cure" for homosexuals. He is, in fact, more positive than many straight and even gay people, for he discusses the desireability of gay foster parents and gay Big Brothers.
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There is a very seamy side of For Money or Love, but if ignored, this would not be a true review of the all inclusive work. Lloyd discusses the horrible activities of the three men in Houston who murdered approximately 27 boys between the ages of seven and fourteen. This is a gross example of what truly twisted minds are capable of.
The abuses of our young are absolutely grotesque. But the abuses by gay people toward the young make up only a miniscule percentage. Often a man engaging in sex with a young boy does not consider himself to be a homosexual. The fact is that the violence in the world of chicken sex is sensationalized. Though boys are infrequently raped and butchered, there does exist the chickenhawk who really cares for the boy's physical and ernotional needs.
Though the subtitle of For Money or Love is a potential turn-off, the book is amazingly informative and thorough. The problem of young boys prostituting themselves is one that makes one question the capitalistic and rigidly pseudomoral basis of our society.
As gays, we must make the straight world realize that their ideas about gay sex are outrnoded and that young people are sexual beings with needs and desires which if not fulfilled at home must be satisfied elsewhere.