Work identity on the railway; how to be gay
Laurie Taylor explores a new book that charts and celebrates gay male identity and culture. Also, a crisis of work identity amongst railway workers.
How to be Gay - Laurie Taylor talks to David Halperin, the US Professor of History and Theory of Sexuality, whose controversial new book explores the way in which a gay male sensibility subverts mainstream culture, from Grand Opera to Broadway Musicals. Whilst some gay men repudiate what they perceive as a narrow and stereotypical version of their sexual identity; Halperin argues that a love of kitsch, camp and melodrama is, in fact, linked to a uniquely gay culture: Furthermore, its genius lies in some of its most despised features, namely its snobbery, caricatures of women and adoration of glamour. They're joined by the writer and cultural critic, Owen Jones. Also, Tim Strangleman discusses his study into work identity and 'loss': how older railway workers have reacted to change in their industry.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Last on
Tim Strangleman
Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent
Ìý
Ìý
Find out more about
Ìý
Ìý
Paper:
March 14, 2012, doi: 10.1177/0038038511422585
Sociology June 2012 vol. 46 no. 3 411-425
Ìý
Ìý
Work Identity at the End of the Line? Privatisation and Culture Change in the UK Rail IndustryPublisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN-10: 1403939802
ISBN-13: 978-1403939807
David Halperin
W. H. Auden Distinguished University Professor of the History and Theory of Sexuality at the University of Michigan
Ìý
Ìý
Find out more about Ìý
Ìý
Ìý
How to be Gay
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN-10: 0674066790
ISBN-13: 978-0674066793
Ìý
Owen Jones
Writer,columnist
Ìý
Ìý
Find out more about Ìý
Ìý
Ìý
Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class
Publisher: Verso; 1 edition
ISBN-10: 184467696X
ISBN-13: 978-1844676965
Ìý
Ìý
Published in Attitude
Ìý
Ìý
Published in The Independent
Ìý
Ìý
Broadcasts
- Wed 5 Dec 2012 16:0091Èȱ¬ Radio 4
- Mon 10 Dec 2012 00:1591Èȱ¬ Radio 4
Explore further with The Open University
91Èȱ¬ Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with The Open University
Download this programme
Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.
Podcast
-
Thinking Allowed
New research on how society works