THE QUEER DAD TAPES
“Important and valuable testimonies from gay fathers”
Peter Tatchell
(Cluff of Private Eye)
Out Now!
Paperback (Vols 1 & 2) – £19.99 each
E-book (Vols 1 & 2) – £9.99 each
Between 1999 and 2001, a UK-wide survey took place of fathers after marriage breakdown. From this pool of respondents, fifty-five gay fathers still in contact with their children volunteered to take marriage. Born between the 1930’s and ’60’s, they spoke with great honesty and sincerity, and often very movingly, about their lives in and out of the closet.
Inspirational, their accounts at times resemble epic journeys, with much soul-searching, confusion, internal conflict, the making of many difficult choices and yet a continual search for truth, harmony, resolution, connection, meaningfulness. Vividly and importantly, they document much of the harsh, homophobic and challenging legal and social context that was everyday reality in twentieth century Britain.
Yet the turn of the century was also a time when a new world seemed to be dawning. Social attitudes and legislation were, almost imperceptibly, changing. Over and above depictions of adversity, the stories triumph as brave, celebratory testimonies. They may speak of painful times but their enduring message is of love, courage and hope.
Volume 1
Volume 1
Part One:
Treading Water
1. Identifying as Gay
2. Thoughts on Sexual Development
3. Religious Influences
Vol 1
Part Two:
Going With the Flow
4. Getting Married
5. Having Children
6. Caring for Babies
7. Child Care During Marriage
8. Children’s Views on Sexuality
9. Three Fathers with Sole Custody
Marriage and Children
Volume 2
Volume 2
Part Three:
Choppy Waters
10. Sex and the Marriage
11. Why Marriages Ended
12. Dark Times
The Slow Drift to Separation
Vol 2
Part Four:
Turning Tides
13. Coming Out to the Children
14. Coming Out to Adults
15. Family Relationships after Separation
16. Life after Separation: Eight Stories
Navigating Change
Vol 2
Part Five:
Out on the Open Sea
17. Gay Partners
18. Gay Politics
19. Social Change
20. Weighing It All Up
Life Beyond Marriage
Reviews & Comments Welcome!
“These are not just testimonies, they’re acts of resistance, resilience, and tenderness that really resonated with me.”
“Both volumes are beautifully written, evincing both eloquence and great empathy. The interviewees gripped me with their anguished accounts of the homophobia that was so deeply and unjustly entrenched in society and the legal sphere. I felt huge sadness and anger at the inhumane treatment the men had suffered. Yet out of their pain came tales of strength, acceptance and happiness and these I found very uplifting.
The draconian attitudes of the past seem unfathomable today. Society has come far in accepting people for who they are, but there is still work to do.
I thoroughly recommend The Queer Dad Tapes as a testament to the courage of the fathers and as a brilliant depiction of the will and capacity of people to effect changes that leave society a better place to grow up and live in.
JV, Teacher of English and Special Needs”
Reviews & Comments Welcome!
THE QUEER DAD TAPES
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