Due, L. (1996). Joining the tribe: Growing up gay & lesbian in the ’90s. New York City: Anchor.

OVERVIEW

Linnea Due, a fiction writer and award-winning journalist, is a lesbian activist who admits that she was far away from gay youth culture at the outset of her book. Yet, she saw a need to tell the stories of 1990s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth—without analysis. While she succeeds in telling engaging, provoking, and often heart-breaking stories, but analyses and value judgments do emerge. This book is almost a travelogue as Due journeys to different regions of the country, talking to gay youth from different races, ages, genders, and localities.

Due’s travels take her to "The Boys of Portland," the Oregon city which is torn by the fighting between the conservative Christians and the homosexual community. She visits a youth club for gay kids, outside of which Christians "abuse" gay and lesbian teens by trying to drive them back into their isolated shells. She also shares stories of gay street kids, activists, and other youth who have been estranged from society because of their sexuality. The following chapter, "High School Confidential," takes readers to Massachusetts, New Mexico, and California. Due relates stories of gay and lesbian students who are separated from their parents, friends, schools, and selves because of their homosexuality. She tells of lonely lifestyles of youth who do not feel safe "coming out," nor feel accepted as they forge new identities. Chapter three, "A Lesbian at a Women’s College," brings readers near Kansas City, Missouri and relates themes of fear and isolation, as well as estrangement from one’s religious roots. The next chapter, "Of Bars, Sodomy, and Demon Doctors," discusses rejection, isolation, and fear as lesbians come to terms with their sexuality and society’s homophobia. Due highlights how the African American community does not accept "out" black youth, as if there was guilt by associating with such individuals. Because of these attitudes, teens who remain silent often live lives of duplicity. "Queer High and the House of Bazaar" leads readers to New York City, inside the nation’s only gay high school (population 30). From the school, readers visit the world of community houses where gay youth can find relationships and belonging amidst a rejecting world. "Fear, Fame, and Fulfillment" tells the stories of two gay young men with great leadership ability from Berkeley, California and Georgia. In a postscript, Due offers practical suggestions for reforming our homophobic society. Her ideas include education, community action, support groups, and individual action.

Due poses an interesting question to the young people she meets through her journeys: can teens be saved by homosexuality? This question is asked four times. Only once does a teen answer "yes." This seems to be Due’s twist on the theology of the Christian right which she so often opposes. Yet, within Due’s anger there is truth. Gay and lesbian teens do feel isolated and rejected by their families, friends, and religious communities. How churches respond to the issues Due raises can determine whether or not gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender teens will ever feel welcomed, affirmed, and loved—by God, family, and themselves.

Joining the Tribe is provoking reading. It assumes some knowledge of gay rights history, as well as familiarity with terminology. Due’s contribution to the issue can expose people who work with youth to a variety of issues concerning homosexuality which demand serious and immediate attention.

QUOTATIONS

‘I think the gay movement is both adult- and youth-oriented in a very bizarre way…We either objectify youth or ignore them. We have a hard time figuring out how to integrate them, how to be appropriate role models and set boundaries. I get so mad at people who say, "Well, they can handle themselves. They have a lot of power as teenagers."…You don’t feel like you have power when you’re nineteen’—Frances from HMI (p. 184).

None [of the teens mentioned above] has a clear idea of how being gay or bisexual will impact their lives, because each is struggling to survive in a world where a straight ethos rules. Since they’ve seen barely a hint of alternative, the future is pretty hazy. Courage connects them. Or perhaps it is a form of faith, because they have so little idea what lies ahead. (p. 50)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Where do gay and lesbian youth fulfill their needs for belonging, community, and pride? How can the church fill these needs?
2. What, if any, are the differences between white gay youth and gay youth of color?
3. How can gay teens be integrated into the straight community?
4. Can the gay community save a person?
5. Are Christianity and homosexuality mutually exclusive? Why or why not?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Gay and lesbian youth do not always feel safe "coming out" because they feel accepted neither by the dominant culture nor by the gay culture. Gay teens need to find ways to forge their own identities.
2. Gay and lesbian youth yearn for community, belonging, and solid relationships, not just sexual intimacy.
3. American culture needs to be educated about homosexuality, violence and abuse prevention, and the heartfelt needs of gay teens.

Matthew Braddock cCYS