Beyond Coming Out: Experiences of Positive Gay Identity

Ian C. Nelson is librarian emeritus and former Assistant Director of
Libraries (Collection Management & Budget) University of Saskatchewan
Library and Dramaturge for the Festival de la Dramaturgie des Prairies.

Dr. Kevin Alderson is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education
at the University of Calgary and head of the Counselling Centre at Mount
Royal College. In 1993, after having married and fathered two children
and established his own psychological counseling service, he experienced
a turbulent (and traumatic) coming-out experience, which he describes in
introducing his book. Beyond Coming Out is a compilation of 16 life
stories of other gay men interviewed during a three-year research
project for a dissertation. Alderson divides the verbatim transcripts
that make up the major part of the book into three stages of
functioning: before coming out, coming out, and beyond coming out.
Interspersed with these are short chapters that summarize the themes
(derived from coding the interviews) and experiences of the gay men and
provide an analytical discussion of the latter.

The object is to identify commonalities in coping with external and
internal homophobia along with strategies for achieving a positive gay
identity. Because of the standard presentation in each section, it is
possible to follow the complete story of each of the interviewees (or
“co-researchers,” as Alderson prefers to call them). Alderson also
adds a brief, sometimes touching, follow-up note as well. The analytical
chapters put together would make an excellent pamphlet for discussion or
consciousness-raising groups. The case studies are individually
interesting but a little unrelenting presented in these staged
groupings. Taken all together, they have the virtue of providing a
record of coming-of-age and coming-out experiences from various walks of
life in a Canadian context. Beyond Coming Out is suitable for general
public library collections and drop-in gay reading rooms.