FEBRUARY 20, 1998 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 17
EVENINGS OUT
Guide is a thorough resource for gay men's well-being
The Gay Men's Wellness Guide by Robert E. Penn
Owl Books (Henry Holt), $19.95
Reviewed by Kaizaad Kotwal
The National Lesbian and Gay Health Association, in conjunction with Robert E. Penn, have put out the first-ever Gay Men's Wellness Guide. This is a comprehensive guide where gay men can turn to for information about their health and well-being.
The health association, founded in 1978, is networked with 20,000 gay and lesbian OWL BOOKS
Robert E. Penn
health-care providers, and their primary focus is to research medical and mental health treatment for what they term the “underserved lesbian, gay male, bisexual and transgendered population." Author Robert E. Penn is a former assistant director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York.
At 594 pages, this guide is comprehensive and chock-full of references and lists of organizations serving the GLBT community. Part one of the book focuses on health care in its most holistic sense. There are several chapters focusing on primary health-care providers, and what rights and privileges gay patients have.
This section also has detailed information on common physical ailments, alternative medicine, nutrition and exercise. The book fosters the notion that physical health is related to mental well-being and several chapters are used to inform the reader about mental health issues particular to the gay male community.
The second part of the book, titled "Sex Safely: Coping in a Sex-Negative Culture,” homes in on everything from the basics of anatomy to different types of sexual encounters and issues from bisexuality to fetishes.
Titled "You are Not Alone," the third section focuses on identity issues from selfesteem and masculinity to intimacy and the range of gay male relationships. The chapters under this section address issues of youth, homelessness, intergenerational relationships, and relationships with men who are HIV positive.
Part four deals with the troublesome yet pervasive elements of heterosexism, homophobia, violence and abuse. This section also provides coping mechanisms from counseling to spiritual mechanisms.
The fifth section, “Gay Men Can Have it All!" is about finding community within the gay world and in the world at large. The book concludes with a section on "Hope" in which the author looks forward to the new millenium where gay men can live in a society with greater visibility and communities with increased education and tolerance.
While this book is text-heavy and visually
minimalist, it is undeniably extensive in its reach of issues and its comprehensiveness of resources. Each chapter has a list of additional readings, and the author provides the reader with detailed lists of resources and organizations, sometimes on a state-by-state basis.
What adds to the accessibility of the book are the personal stories and anecdotes from gay men across the countryone only wishes there were more such stories shared. The book also has internet references and scores of telephone numbers.
One of the other plus points of this book is that it takes into account differences within the gay male community, addressing issues of bisexuality and transgenderism as well as
AR
HALIO
tackling issues of age, race, religion and geography.
While there have been many improvements for gay men across America, there remain many battles yet to be fought and many victories yet to be negotiated. From the medical to the mental and from the personal to the communal, the Gay Men's Wellness Guide is a valuable resource manual for gay men of all ages, all races and all walks of life.
If indeed it is true that the wellness of a community is only as strong as the wellness of each individual, this book goes a long way in setting us on the way to a future in the "pink" of physical and mental health.
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