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"Shameless: The Making of Black Gay Identities in LA"
Shameless is an in-depth exploration of the ways that young Black gay men in Los Angeles come together to learn how to navigate racial and sexual stigma in everyday interactions. Based on 4 years of intensive ethnographic fieldwork resulting in observations with over 200 young men in a Los Angeles community health organization, in-depth interviews with self-identified Black queer men, observations with gay kinship families, and media content analysis, Terrell J. A. Winder paints a full picture of the socialization and stigma negotiations of young Black gay men. He explains how traditional strategies like passing and covering can become untenable and ineffective for young Black gay men dealing with multiple stigmas simultaneously, who are looking to experience their identities with a sense of pride, rather than as a source of shame.
More information on Dr. Winder's book can be found here NYU Press | Google Books.
Terrell J. A. Winder is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializing in the study of race, gender, sexuality, and identity formation. He is the author of Shameless: The Making of Black Gay Identities in LA (New York University Press 2026). His scholarship sits at the intersection of Black studies, queer studies, and urban sociology, with a particular emphasis on how marginalized communities navigate systems of stigma and inequality.