“The Homo Handbook: Getting in Touch with Your Inner Homo: A Survival Guide for Lesbians and Gay Men”– everything you need to know (almost)

Carter, Judy. “The Homo Handbook: Getting in Touch with Your Inner Homo”, Simon and Shuster, 1996,

Everything You Need to Know (Almost)

Amos Lassen

“The Homo Handbook” is a survival guide for lesbians and gay men and as the cover says “don’t be gay without it”. Even though Judy Carter has written it tongue-in-cheek, there is a wealth of information here that is fun to read. It is a practical guide to coming out for everyone, no matter where you are in the process—even if you are totally out.

Divided into ten steps that are a map for being a successful queer and abundantly illustrated with drawings and cartoons, the book takes you through the entire coming-out process from buying this book to knowing yourself to finding others and getting laid, intimacy, telling your straight friends and family as well as how to deal with work, becoming a bigot basher and ultimately becoming an activist. Could we possibly ask for any more? Carter also gives us an appendix of organizations and web resources. In other words, this is a cookbook and we only have to add the meat.

Even though the book is 11 years old, it is still a valuable resource. Judy Carter, an out lesbian, writes in a way which is very relevant to gay men (and women) and it is obvious that she did a great deal of research. Including exercises and advice, it gave me a feeling of support. Carter lets her “inner camp” shine through her writing as she leads us to our inner homos. “The Homo Handbook” entertains as it informs and we can laugh at ourselves as we read,

I love this book and I was so glad to be able to find it again. As a survival guide, it is possible to survive without it but it won’t be as much fun.