Eric Rofes
Encyclopedia
Eric Rofes was a gay
activist
, feminist
, educator, and author who wrote or edited 12 books.
and he graduated from Harvard University
. He received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1995 and a doctorate in social and cultural studies in 1998.
He was appointed to the White House Conference on the Family in 1980.
He became director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
in the 1980s.
In 1989 Rofes became executive director of the Shanti Project
, a nonprofit AIDS service organization in San Francisco. He resigned in 1993, following an audit that questioned how the group had spent federal funds.
In 1998, while doing his PhD at UC Berkeley, Rofes wrote Dry Bones Breathe: Gay Men Creating Post-AIDS Identities and Cultures, in which he argued that the AIDS crisis had passed and gay men needed to free themselves from the sense of emergency and victimhood. A review in The Nation
described Dry Bones Breathe as "perhaps the most important book about gay male culture and community of the past decade." However, the book has also been castigated for only limning the experiences of 'middle-class, urban, white, gay men' instead of being more societally inclusive.
Rofes was a professor of Education at Humboldt State University
in Arcata, California
, and served on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
and White Crane Institute
.
Rofes was in Provincetown, Massachusetts
, working on his 13th book when he died of a heart attack
. Humboldt State has established the Eric Rofes Center as a new program in his honor to continue his work in gay activism.
One of the last projects Rofes worked on was the creation, with Chris Bartlett
, of a series of "Gay Men's Health Leadership Academies" to combat what he saw as a "pathology-focused understanding of gay men" in safe-sex education. These workshops have continued as a continuation of his legacy.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, educator, and author who wrote or edited 12 books.
Life and works
Rofes grew up in Commack, New YorkCommack, New York
Commack is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York, United States on Long Island...
and he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1995 and a doctorate in social and cultural studies in 1998.
He was appointed to the White House Conference on the Family in 1980.
He became director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center provides a broad array of services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Its clinic and on-site pharmacy offers free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical care and HIV/STD testing and prevention, although there are no direct...
in the 1980s.
In 1989 Rofes became executive director of the Shanti Project
Shanti Project
The Shanti Project is a non-profit human services agency based in San Francisco and founded in 1974 by Dr. Charles Garfield in Berkeley, CA. Its goals are to provide peer support and guidance to people affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses...
, a nonprofit AIDS service organization in San Francisco. He resigned in 1993, following an audit that questioned how the group had spent federal funds.
In 1998, while doing his PhD at UC Berkeley, Rofes wrote Dry Bones Breathe: Gay Men Creating Post-AIDS Identities and Cultures, in which he argued that the AIDS crisis had passed and gay men needed to free themselves from the sense of emergency and victimhood. A review in The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
described Dry Bones Breathe as "perhaps the most important book about gay male culture and community of the past decade." However, the book has also been castigated for only limning the experiences of 'middle-class, urban, white, gay men' instead of being more societally inclusive.
Rofes was a professor of Education at Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
in Arcata, California
Arcata, California
-Demographics:-2010 Census data:The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcata had a population of 17,231. The population density was 1,567.4 people per square mile...
, and served on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...
and White Crane Institute
White Crane Institute
White Crane Institute is a United States non-profit organization headquartered in New York State.White Crane Institute is an educational non-profit dedicated to publishing the Gay wisdom and culture quarterly magazine White Crane .The institute has published classics in modern gay literature...
.
Rofes was in Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, working on his 13th book when he died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Humboldt State has established the Eric Rofes Center as a new program in his honor to continue his work in gay activism.
One of the last projects Rofes worked on was the creation, with Chris Bartlett
Chris Bartlett (activist)
Chris Bartlett is a gay activist, feminist, educator, and researcher who lives in Philadelphia, PA, and is the Executive Director of The William Way Community Center.-Life and works:...
, of a series of "Gay Men's Health Leadership Academies" to combat what he saw as a "pathology-focused understanding of gay men" in safe-sex education. These workshops have continued as a continuation of his legacy.
Works by Eric Rofes
- 'The Kids' Book of Divorce (1983)
- "I Thought People Like That Killed Themselves" Lesbians, Gay Men and Suicide (1983)
- The Kids' Book About Parents (1983)
- The Kids' Book About Death and Dying (1997)
- Socrates, Plato, & Guys Like Me (1985)
- Gay Life (1986)
- Living with AIDS on Long Island (1989)
- Reviving the Tribe (1996)
- Opposite Sex (1998)
- Dry Bones Breathe: Gay Men Creating Post-AIDS Identities and Cultures (1998)
- Youth and Sexualities (2004)
- The Emancipatory Promise of Charter Schools (2004)
- A Radical Rethinking of Sexuality & Schooling (2005)
- Thriving (with an introduction by Chris Bartlett & Tony Valenzuela) (Posthumous) (PDF of Thriving)