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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.

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28 minutes

Tim Strangleman

Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent

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Paper:

March 14, 2012, doi: 10.1177/0038038511422585

Sociology June 2012 vol. 46 no. 3 411-425

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Work Identity at the End of the Line? Privatisation and Culture Change in the UK Rail Industry

Publisher: 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

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How to be Gay

Publisher: Harvard University Press

ISBN-10: 0674066790

ISBN-13: 978-0674066793

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Owen Jones

Writer,columnist

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Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class

Publisher: Verso; 1 edition

ISBN-10: 184467696X

ISBN-13: 978-1844676965

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Published in Attitude

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Published in The Independent

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Broadcasts

  • Wed 5 Dec 2012 16:00
  • Mon 10 Dec 2012 00:15

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