Random House New Releases - Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

2013-10-15T00:30:00-05:00

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

Trade Paperback, 184 pages | Beacon Press | Social Science - Media Studies; Social Science - Gender Studies; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $16.00 | 978-0-8070-0639-9 (0-8070-0639-4)

An author immerses herself in the frenzied fandom of Twilight, the young-adult vampire romance series that has captivated women of all ages

Twilight, Stephenie Meyer’s young-adult vampire romance series, has captivated women of all ages, from teenagers who swoon over the film adaptations to college-educated women who devour the novels as a guilty pleasure. All told, over 110 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, with translations into 37 languages, and the movies are some of the highest-grossing of all time. Twilight is a bona fide cultural phenomenon that has inspired a vast and unimaginably fertile fan subculture—the “fanpire,” as the members describe it.

Just what is it about Twilight that has enchanted so many women? Tanya Erzen—herself no stranger to the allure of the series—sets out to explore the irresistible pull of Twilight by immersing herself in the vibrant and diverse world of “Twi-hards,” from Edward-addition groups and “Twi-rock” music to Cullenism, a religion based on the values of Edward’s family of vegetarian vampires. Erzen interviews hundreds of fans online and in person, attends thousand-strong conventions, and watches the film premiere of New Moon with Twilight moms in Utah. Along the way, she joins a tour bus on a pilgrimage to Twilight-inspired sites, struggles through a Bella self-defense class, and surveys the sub-universe of Twilight fan-fiction (including E. L. James’s enormously popular “Master of the Universe” story, the basis for her erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey).

Erzen also takes a deeper look at the appeal of traditional gender roles in a postfeminist era saturated with narratives of girl power. If Twilight’s fantasies of romance and power reflect the fears, insecurities, and longings of the women who love it, the fanpire itself, Erzen shows, offers a space for meaningful bonding, mutual understanding, and friendship.

Part journalistic investigation and part cultural analysis, Fanpire will appeal to obsessed fans, Twilight haters, and bemused onlookers alike.

From the Hardcover edition.

Just As I Am by Robert Williams

2013-01-02T00:30:00-05:00

Just As I Am A Practical Guide to Being Out, Proud, and Christian
Written by Robert Williams

eBook, 310 pages | Crown | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $9.99 | 978-0-307-81875-1 (0-307-81875-6)

The first openly gay man to be ordained an Episcopal priest offers lesbians and gays good news about being Christian and homosexual, discussing the positive images of homosexuality in the scriptures and more.

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

2012-11-13T00:30:00-05:00

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

Trade Paperback, 200 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Religion - Christian Life - Relationships; Psychology & Psychiatry - Human Sexuality | $20.00 | 978-0-8070-0468-5 (0-8070-0468-5)

“A fascinating, troubling, and finally heartening book that subtly shows ways that Christians might reconcile their bodies with their devotion to God. Highly recommended for individual Christians but also for pastors and church groups.”—Library Journal, starred review

Stories of sexual scandals in churches throughout the nation have been downright routine in recent years, suggesting to many Americans that a deeply rooted problem plagues American Christianity—and prompting some to abandon their congregations altogether. In See Me Naked, Amy Frykholm takes us beyond simple indictments of, or blind allegiance to, Christian cultures to explore the complex, intimate intersection of sexuality and spirituality as it affects the lives of ordinary Christians.

Recounting with care and nuance the life histories of nine American Protestants, Frykholm shows us the harm done by the rules-based sexual ethic now dominant, which alternately denies and romanticizes sexuality. But she also points to how American Christians might otherwise access their spiritual tradition to heal the divide between religion and sexuality. One story examines the intricate relationship between a man’s religious faith and his sexual addiction. In another, a man defines religion as a wall that kept him from the discovery that he was gay. One young woman uses sex to defy her devout parents, while another seeks to transcend her body by going without food. Nearly everyone interviewed in See Me Naked remains a Christian, with some further on their journey than others. Yet each of them is working to understand the connection between their desires and their faith. Ultimately, their stories—stories of pain and violence, perseverance and courage—attest to the healing power of struggling through the wild and uncertain experiences of life.

See Me Naked explores the many ways that people work to recover from harmful beliefs and restores the notion that one of the key insights of Christianity is that the body, with all its struggles, pains, and difficulties, is a vehicle of the holy and can lead us into a more full relationship with God.

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

2012-10-30T00:30:00-05:00

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

Hardcover, 184 pages | Beacon Press | Social Science - Media Studies; Social Science - Gender Studies; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-0633-7 (0-8070-0633-5)

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

2012-10-30T00:30:00-05:00

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

eBook | Beacon Press | Social Science - Media Studies; Social Science - Gender Studies; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-0634-4 (0-8070-0634-3)

When God Was A Woman by Merlin Stone

2012-05-09T00:30:00-05:00

When God Was A Woman
Written by Merlin Stone

eBook, 265 pages | Doubleday | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Religion - History; Religion - Christianity - Theology - Anthropology | $13.99 | 978-0-307-81685-6 (0-307-81685-0)

Here, archaeologically documented,is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women’s roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women’s status.

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

2012-05-08T00:30:00-05:00

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

Trade Paperback, 232 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Social Science - Gay Studies; Religion - Religious Intolerance, Persecution & Conflict | $16.00 | 978-0-8070-0147-9 (0-8070-0147-3)

Does the Bible prohibit homosexuality? No, says Bible scholar and activist Jay Michaelson. But not only that: Michaelson also shows that the vast majority of our shared religious traditions support the full equality and dignity of LGBT people. In this accessible, passionate, and provocative book, Michaelson argues for equality, not despite religion but because of it.

From the Hardcover edition.

Dreaming the Dark by Starhawk

2012-05-01T00:30:00-05:00

Dreaming the Dark
Written by Starhawk

eBook, 280 pages | Beacon Press | Body, Mind & Spirit - Occultism; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Body, Mind & Spirit - Mysticism | $18.00 | 978-0-8070-1043-3 (0-8070-1043-X)

Featuring narrative, chants, songs, and rituals, Dreaming the Dark has helped many thousands of women use magic, spirituality, and community to bring about political and social change. This anniversary edition of the best-selling classic includes a new preface reflecting on the fifteen years since the book's original publication.

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

2011-11-01T00:30:00-05:00

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

Hardcover, 208 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Religion - Christian Life - Relationships; Psychology & Psychiatry - Human Sexuality | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-0466-1 (0-8070-0466-9)

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

2011-11-01T00:30:00-05:00

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

eBook | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Religion - Christian Life - Relationships; Psychology & Psychiatry - Human Sexuality | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-0467-8 (0-8070-0467-7)

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

2011-10-25T00:30:00-05:00

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

eBook | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Social Science - Gay Studies; Social Science - Lesbian Studies | $25.95 | 978-0-8070-0160-8 (0-8070-0160-0)

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

2011-10-25T00:30:00-05:00

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

Hardcover, 232 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Social Science - Gay Studies; Social Science - Lesbian Studies | $25.95 | 978-0-8070-0159-2 (0-8070-0159-7)

Out of a Far Country by Kay Warren

2011-05-03T00:30:00-05:00

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.
Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan
Foreword by Kay Warren

eBook, 240 pages | WaterBrook Press | Religion - Christian Life; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Health & Fitness - Sexuality | $13.99 | 978-0-307-72936-1 (0-307-72936-2)

Coming Out, Then Coming Home

Christopher Yuan, the son of Chinese immigrants, discovered at an early age that he was different. He was attracted to other boys. As he grew into adulthood, his mother, Angela, hoped to control the situation. Instead, she found that her son and her life were spiraling out of control—and her own personal demons were determined to defeat her.

Years of heartbreak, confusion, and prayer followed before the Yuans found a place of complete surrender, which is God’s desire for all families. Their amazing story, told from the perspectives of both mother and son, offers hope for anyone affected by homosexuality.

God calls all who are lost to come home to him. Casting a compelling vision for holy sexuality, Out of a Far Country speaks to prodigals, parents of prodigals, and those wanting to minister to the gay community.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” - Luke 15:20

Includes a discussion guide for personal reflection and group use.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Out of a Far Country by Kay Warren

2011-05-03T00:30:00-05:00

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.
Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan
Foreword by Kay Warren

Trade Paperback, 240 pages | WaterBrook Press | Religion - Christian Life; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Health & Fitness - Sexuality | $14.99 | 978-0-307-72935-4 (0-307-72935-4)

Balancing on the Mechitza by Noach Dzmura

2010-06-01T00:30:00-05:00

Balancing on the Mechitza Transgender in Jewish Community
Edited by Noach Dzmura

Trade Paperback, 288 pages | North Atlantic Books | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Religion - Judaism | $16.95 | 978-1-55643-813-4 (1-55643-813-3)

***WINNER, 2011 Lambda Literary Award - Transgender Non-Fiction

While the Jewish mainstream still argues about homosexuality, transgender and gender-variant people have emerged as a distinct Jewish population and as a new chorus of voices. Inspired and nurtured by the successes of the feminist and LGBT movements in the Jewish world, Jews who identify with the “T” now sit in the congregation, marry under the chuppah, and create Jewish families. Balancing on the Mechitza offers a multifaceted portrait of this increasingly visible community.

The contributors—activists, theologians, scholars, and other transgender Jews—share for the first time in a printed volume their theoretical contemplations as well as rite-of-passage and other transformative stories. Balancing on the Mechitza introduces readers to a secular transwoman who interviews her Israeli and Palestinian peers and provides cutting-edge theory about the construction of Jewish personhood in Israel; a transman who serves as legal witness for a man (a role not typically open to persons designated female at birth) during a conversion ritual; a man deprived of testosterone by an illness who comes to identify himself with passion and pride as a Biblical eunuch; and a gender-variant person who explores how to adapt the masculine and feminine pronouns in Hebrew to reflect a non-binary gender reality.

Keep Your Wives Away from Them by Miryam Kabakov

2010-05-11T00:30:00-05:00

Keep Your Wives Away from Them Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires
Edited by Miryam Kabakov

Trade Paperback, 192 pages | North Atlantic Books | Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; Social Science - Jewish Studies; Family & Relationships - Mores | $16.95 | 978-1-55643-879-0 (1-55643-879-6)

***WINNER, 2011 Golden Crown Literary Award - Anthology

Reconciling queerness with religion has always been an enormous challenge. When the religion is Orthodox Judaism, the task is even more daunting. This anthology takes on that challenge by giving voice to genderqueer Jewish women who were once silenced—and effectively rendered invisible—by their faith. Keep Your Wives Away from Them tells the story of those who have come out, who are still closeted, living double lives, or struggling to maintain an integrated "single life" in relationship to traditional Judaism—personal stories that are both enlightening and edifying. While a number of films and books have explored the lives of queer people in Orthodox and observant Judaism, only this one explores in depth what happens after the struggle, when the real work of building integrated lives begins. The candor of these insightful stories in Keep Your Wives Away from Them makes the book appealing to a general audience and students of women’s, gender, and LGBTQ studies, as well as for anyone struggling personally with the same issue. Contributors include musician and writer Temim Fruchter, Professor Joy Ladin, writer Leah Lax, nurse Tamar Prager, and the pseudonymous Ex-Yeshiva Girl.

Keep Your Wives Away from Them official website: http://www.keepyourwivesawayfromthem.com/

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce

2010-05-01T00:30:00-05:00

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Written by Kathryn Joyce

Trade Paperback, 272 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Christian Life - Women's Issues; Religion - Fundamentalism; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $20.00 | 978-0-8070-1073-0 (0-8070-1073-1)

Kathryn Joyce's fascinating introduction to the world of the patriarchy movement and Quiverfull families examines the twenty-first-century women and men who proclaim self-sacrifice and submission as model virtues of womanhood—and as modes of warfare on behalf of Christ. Here, women live within stringently enforced doctrines of wifely submission and male headship, and live by the Quiverfull philosophy of letting God give them as many children as possible so as to win the religion and culture wars through demographic means.

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak Sahm

2009-08-01T00:30:00-05:00

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak Sahm

Hardcover, 272 pages | Beacon Press | Social Science - Jewish Studies; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; History - Jewish | $28.95 | 978-0-8070-7742-9 (0-8070-7742-9)

For Orthodox Jews, immersion in a ritual bath—the mikveh—is the cornerstone of family life and is central to Jewish women’s practice of their faith. Yet women from across the Jewish spectrum frequent the mikveh, often for surprising personal reasons. Roused by her own immersion experience, for years Varda Polak-Sahm, a secular Jew, patiently observed and interviewed women at the mikveh, gaining unprecedented access to this hidden world. The House of Secrets offers a richly nuanced, uncensored look at an experience that is for some holy and for others coercive, ultimately illuminating the remarkable power of ritual immersion.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak Sahm

2009-08-01T00:30:00-05:00

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak Sahm

eBook | Beacon Press | Social Science - Jewish Studies; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies; History - Jewish | $26.95 | 978-0-8070-7743-6 (0-8070-7743-7)

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce

2009-03-01T00:30:00-05:00

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Written by Kathryn Joyce

Hardcover, 272 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Christian Life - Women's Issues; Religion - Fundamentalism; Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies | $25.95 | 978-0-8070-1070-9 (0-8070-1070-7)

Random House New Releases - Religion - Sexuality & Gender Studies

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love itWritten by Tanya Erzen

Just As I Am by Robert Williams

Just As I Am A Practical Guide to Being Out, Proud, and ChristianWritten by Robert Williams

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American ChristianityWritten by Amy Frykholm

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love itWritten by Tanya Erzen

Fanpire by Tanya Erzen

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love itWritten by Tanya Erzen

When God Was A Woman by Merlin Stone

When God Was A Woman Written by Merlin Stone

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for EqualityWritten by Jay Michaelson

Dreaming the Dark by Starhawk

Dreaming the Dark Written by Starhawk

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American ChristianityWritten by Amy Frykholm

See Me Naked by Amy Frykholm

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American ChristianityWritten by Amy Frykholm

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for EqualityWritten by Jay Michaelson

God vs. Gay? by Jay Michaelson

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for EqualityWritten by Jay Michaelson

Out of a Far Country by Kay Warren

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan Foreword by Kay Warren

Out of a Far Country by Kay Warren

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan Foreword by Kay Warren

Balancing on the Mechitza by Noach Dzmura

Balancing on the Mechitza Transgender in Jewish CommunityEdited by Noach Dzmura

Keep Your Wives Away from Them by Miryam Kabakov

Keep Your Wives Away from Them Orthodox Women, Unorthodox DesiresEdited by Miryam Kabakov

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy MovementWritten by Kathryn Joyce

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak Sahm

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the MikvehWritten by Varda Polak Sahm

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak Sahm

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the MikvehWritten by Varda Polak Sahm

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy MovementWritten by Kathryn Joyce

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

Just As I Am A Practical Guide to Being Out, Proud, and Christian
Written by Robert Williams

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

Fanpire The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
Written by Tanya Erzen

When God Was A Woman
Written by Merlin Stone

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

Dreaming the Dark
Written by Starhawk

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

See Me Naked Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity
Written by Amy Frykholm

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality
Written by Jay Michaelson

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.
Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan
Foreword by Kay Warren

Out of a Far Country A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.
Written by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan
Foreword by Kay Warren

Balancing on the Mechitza Transgender in Jewish Community
Edited by Noach Dzmura

Keep Your Wives Away from Them Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires
Edited by Miryam Kabakov

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Written by Kathryn Joyce

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak Sahm

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak Sahm

Quiverfull Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Written by Kathryn Joyce