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Thinking Allowed: Work identity on the railway; how to be gay

05/12/2012

Work identity on the railway; how to be gay

BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, Work identity on the railway; how to be gay

Laurie Taylor on a new book exploring gay male identity. Also, work identity in crisis.

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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