At this point in history, despite having more equal rights and media representation than ever before, the gay community is suffering a mental health epidemic. 49% of gay men have suffered from domestic abuse, while 26% have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. Those statistics would be substantially higher if gay men had been aware that they had been subjected to abuse, and if society had not denied them a right to a voice. It is not a secret that men are far less likely to discuss their emotional inner-lives than women, but the repercussions of this reluctance are deadly for male homosexuals. In this shockingly raw, but beautifully written book, Michael Handrick embarks on a course of research to trace the root causes of the abuse, trauma and mental health crises faced by gay men, and the silence that surrounds them. He roots his exploration in his own journey from a working-class boy growing up on a council estate to coming to exploring how his sense of self played out in his own relationships. In doing so, he shines a light on the societal conditioning that has led, for some, to a toxic culture of abuse and shame. It provides a clear cross-examination of how society has conditioned our conversation around homosexuality and the negative impact it has on the wellbeing and safety of gay men. Difference is Born on the Lips is a call to come together and create a new conversation. AUTHOR: Michael Handricks’ work has been shortlisted for Penguin Random House’s Write Now 2020 and Kit de Waal’s anthology, Common People, and longlisted for the London Writers Awards, 2019. In 2013, aged 23, he was invited to present his academic thesis on gender and sexuality at an international literary conference at Magdalen College, Oxford. He has had features and articles on culture, mental health, gender and sexuality published by magazines such as Attitude and PYLOT, and his fiction pieces have been published in anthologies such as Litro, and shortlisted and longlisted for various competitions including the Creative Future Literary Awards (2018, 2020).
