Ties That Bind - by Sarah Schulman (Paperback)

About the Book

In this book, the author, a playwright and social critic explores the family, the first place where all people, straight, gay, and bisexual, learn homophobia. For it is within the family that homophobia begins to control people's lives, whether as perpetrators or recipients. Written in the tradition of Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, which reconceptualized rape and transformed it from a private problem into an internationally recognized cultural crisis that is now punishable in the International Criminal Court, this book uncovers the hidden crime of "familial homophobia" and moves it into the open for social and political scrutiny. The author illustrates how societal homophobia is rooted in the family but reaches into all levels of social interaction, including how gay people treat each other. She probes the complex issues involved and prescribes third party interventions on the part of both individuals and institutions of authority so that we can all live a better life together on truly equal terms. This work attempts to change our understanding of homophobia and redefine the political landscape not just for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people but for us all.

Book Synopsis

Hailed as "a cri de coeur woven into a utopian vision" by Susan Brownmiller (author of Against Our Will), Ties That Bind is the highly praised work of prizewinning writer and professor Sarah Schulman on "familial homophobia," a phenomenon that, until now, has not had a name but is nevertheless an integral part of most people's experience. Ties That Bind invites us to understand familial homophobia as a cultural crisis, rather than a personal or an individual problem.

Ambitious, original, and deeply important, Schulman's book draws on her own lived experience, her research, and her engagement with active social change to articulate a practical, attainable vision of transformation that can begin today. This highly acclaimed and groundbreaking exploration is now available in paperback for countless more to experience a fundamental text that alters our understanding of homophobia and adds a critical dimension to the political landscape of all Americans.

Review Quotes

"Ties that Bind should be required reading for every family."
--Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal

"Daring, radical, and compelling."
--Rigoberto Gonzales, National Book Critics Circle

"Visionary, deeply humane."
--Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

"[Schulman] starkly lays out the fundamental immorality of such shunning behavior and its destructive consequences for everyone involved. This is an important and original book."
--Martin Duberman, award-winning historian and gay rights activist


"Ties that Bind should be required reading for every family."
-Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal

"Daring, radical, and compelling."
-Rigoberto Gonzales, National Book Critics Circle

"Visionary, deeply humane."
-Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

"[Schulman] starkly lays out the fundamental immorality of such shunning behavior and its destructive consequences for everyone involved. This is an important and original book."
-Martin Duberman, award-winning historian and gay rights activist

About the Author

Sarah Schulman is the author of seventeen books and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright award. She is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the City University of New York, College of Staten Island, and a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University. She lives in New York City.