Still Straight

Tony Silva is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. His areas of expertise include inequality, gender, sexuality, rural sociology, and qualitative and quantitative methods.

In Silva's extensive interviews with adult men living in conservative, rural communities, we observe the messy paradox of their lives as they attempt to reconcile their same-sex behavior with a straight identity. You will be amazed by their justifications. -- Ritch C. Savin-Williams, author of Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity among Men Tony Silva's revealing study of men who have sex with men (MSM) in rural America shows us how white racial identity statuses, heterosexual identity claims, and geography intersect in the secretive practices of men who seek out same-sex sexual encounters in America. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with a hard to study population, Silva argues that MSM and claim to be straight are a patterned phenomenon in a post-closeted American culture. Filled with important insights about sexual identity, race, and rural America, Still Straight is an important addition to the fields of masculinities and queer studies. -- James Joseph Dean, co-editor of Routledge International Handbook of Heterosexualities Studies Could it be that straightness is more than a sexual orientation? Through illuminating interviews with straight identified men who have sex with other men, Silva's answer is a resounding yes. This groundbreaking research documents ways that we might understand sexual identity as deeply tied to culture, place and age. A must read for scholars of sexuality. -- C.J. Pascoe, co-author of Exploring Masculinities: Identity, Inequality, Continuity and Change