At Swim, Two Boys is a great Irish novel, and a groundbreakg gay love story | Books | The Guardian

Contents:

• HOW IRISH GAYS BEME ‘NORMAL’ – AND WHY THE CHURCH WAS UNABLE TO DO MUCH ABOUT
• AT SWIM, TWO BOYS IS A GREAT IRISH NOVEL, AND A GROUNDBREAKG GAY LOVE STORY
• TRACKG A HISTORY OF IMAGARY QUEER OR GAY MEN MORN IRISH LERATURE

HOW IRISH GAYS BEME ‘NORMAL’ – AND WHY THE CHURCH WAS UNABLE TO DO MUCH ABOUT

Quare Fellas: New Irish Gay Wrg. 2022-releas, achillean, adult-fictn, bisexual, gay, lbian, lgbtq, mlm, nonfictn, queer, sapphic, transgenr, wlw, ya-fictn. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill (Gay Historil Fictn).

The Heart’s Invisible Furi by John Boyne (Gay Historil Fictn).

Advertisement - Contue Readg Below16Cy of Night by John Rechy16Cy of Night by John RechyNow 11% OffCred: Grove PrsTake a trip to the unrground world of gay htlers, drag queens, and sex workers this book that sndalized the lerary world when first me out but went on to bee a mt-read. Elsewhere, Early Teenage Homosexualy is marked as a dramatic text, “For two or more players” which the rollg of dice be a metaphor for the risk and reward of seekg sexual rporeal asi, there are excellent scriptns and mily throughout. Gay & Lbian Review.

AT SWIM, TWO BOYS IS A GREAT IRISH NOVEL, AND A GROUNDBREAKG GAY LOVE STORY

“Men Whout Refuge”: The Subculture of Cisg Irish Gay Short Stori 4. “Love is War”: The Irish Gay Comg-Out Novel5.

“He did not F the Bill as a Gay Man”: Narrativ of Gay Life and Inty Celtic Tiger Ireland8.

Ireland and the Uned Stat have both travelled a dizzygly fast path acceptg homosexualy and supportg same-sex marriage. The two untri, lked mon stereotype by their relig fervour and their nservative moral attus, have both gone om prevalent homophobia to wispread acceptance ls than a the Uned Stat, popular support for gay marriage has gone om ls than a quarter 1994 to nearly two-thirds by 2013.

TRACKG A HISTORY OF IMAGARY QUEER OR GAY MEN MORN IRISH LERATURE

This would be stunng before any referendum, but is all the more so sce 20 years ago, ls than 20 per cent of Irish rponnts accepted homosexualy, much ls same-sex marriage. The rapid pace of the shifts public opn only seems to crease, a s of support for gay rights and same-sex Bee of a peculiar paradox: the fact that homosexualy n be hidn mak s acceptance pecially rapid. In nservative societi, the first openly gay people a society have to be pecially brave: and are likely to be different om the rt.

They are “risk acceptant” the language of social science: willg to urt stigma and disda for their drs, behavur and mands, which are perceived as mpy, outrageo and radil by the rt of as more and more gay people e out, what is strikg about them is how “normal” they are: the neighbour or -worker wh whom we’ve shared gossip and beer out of the closet, but nothg else about them has changed.

In this suatn, most people will shift their view of homosexualy, rather than droppg a iend. In fact, recent experimental rearch shows that even a brief ntact of 20 mut or so wh a iendly dividual who reveals they are gay n have lastg effects creasg warm feelgs towards gays and votg on gay-iendly measur.

After the legalisatn of homosexualy 1993, and the revelatns of what was often seen as church hypocrisy, the atmosphere beme ls the air cleared of cense, more gays uld e out – and their polil mands had also shifted, to the most mundane and “normal”: the right to marry and to have fai.