0
    • Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image Look inside
    Listen to a clip from the audiobook
    audio play button
    0:00
    0:00

    On Being Different

    What It Means to Be a Homosexual

    Author Merle Miller
    Foreword by Dan Savage
    Afterword by Charles Kaiser
    Look inside
    Listen to a clip from the audiobook
    audio play button
    0:00
    0:00
    Paperback
    $15.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    On sale Sep 25, 2012 | 96 Pages | 9780143106968
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    See Additional Formats
    The groundbreaking work on being homosexual in America—available again only from Penguin Classics and with a new foreword by Dan Savage

    Originally published in 1971, Merle Miller’s On Being Different is a pioneering and thought-provoking book about being homosexual in the United States. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote a poignant essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled “What It Means To Be a Homosexual” in response to a homophobic article published in Harper’s Magazine. Described as “the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade,” it carried the seed that would blossom into On Being Different—one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out.

    For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
    Merle Miller (1919–1986) was an editor at Harper’s Magazine, Time, and the Nation, and was the bestselling author of several books, including the novel A Gay and Melancholy Sound and Plain Speaking, a biography of President Harry Truman.

     

    Dan Savage is the internationally syndicated columnist of “Savage Love” and the author of several books. With his husband Terry Miller, he cofounded the It Gets Better project and edited the It Gets Better collection.

    Charles Kaiser is an author, journalist, and blogger. His books include 1968 in America and The Gay Metropolis, which was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. He lives in New York City.

    Merle Miller View titles by Merle Miller
    “Forty years after Miller’s article and book his eloquent voice is still poignant, still relevant to the ongoing struggle, our struggle for dignity and equal rights.” — Jonathan Ned Katz, Founder, Co-Director, OutHistory.org

    “Forty years later, the story Miller tells remains important and necessary to read, not only for both gay and straight readers to understand ‘the way it used to be,’ but because the issues Miller raised are still being discussed and argued about.” — Nancy Pearl

    “Merle Miller’s On Being Different is a searing indictment of social hypocrisy, written with a quite but burning passion… This book is not only a valuable historical document about the gay civil rights movement, but it is an American classic because of the beauty it achieves through its unflinchingly honest portrayal of the raw pain of rejection.” — David Carter, author Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution

    “Without indulging in sensationalism or special pleading but making it clear that he was writing directly from his own experience, [Miller] bridged the gap between the ‘straights’ and the ‘gays’ in a way that few recent writers on the subject have done. He also put himself on the line as a well-known writer, who was not afraid to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.” — Publishers Weekly

    “Brilliant, moving, and one is obliged to add, courageous narrative of personal homosexuality.” — James A. Wechsler, columnist

    About

    The groundbreaking work on being homosexual in America—available again only from Penguin Classics and with a new foreword by Dan Savage

    Originally published in 1971, Merle Miller’s On Being Different is a pioneering and thought-provoking book about being homosexual in the United States. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote a poignant essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled “What It Means To Be a Homosexual” in response to a homophobic article published in Harper’s Magazine. Described as “the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade,” it carried the seed that would blossom into On Being Different—one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out.

    For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Author

    Merle Miller (1919–1986) was an editor at Harper’s Magazine, Time, and the Nation, and was the bestselling author of several books, including the novel A Gay and Melancholy Sound and Plain Speaking, a biography of President Harry Truman.

     

    Dan Savage is the internationally syndicated columnist of “Savage Love” and the author of several books. With his husband Terry Miller, he cofounded the It Gets Better project and edited the It Gets Better collection.

    Charles Kaiser is an author, journalist, and blogger. His books include 1968 in America and The Gay Metropolis, which was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. He lives in New York City.

    Merle Miller View titles by Merle Miller

    Praise

    “Forty years after Miller’s article and book his eloquent voice is still poignant, still relevant to the ongoing struggle, our struggle for dignity and equal rights.” — Jonathan Ned Katz, Founder, Co-Director, OutHistory.org

    “Forty years later, the story Miller tells remains important and necessary to read, not only for both gay and straight readers to understand ‘the way it used to be,’ but because the issues Miller raised are still being discussed and argued about.” — Nancy Pearl

    “Merle Miller’s On Being Different is a searing indictment of social hypocrisy, written with a quite but burning passion… This book is not only a valuable historical document about the gay civil rights movement, but it is an American classic because of the beauty it achieves through its unflinchingly honest portrayal of the raw pain of rejection.” — David Carter, author Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution

    “Without indulging in sensationalism or special pleading but making it clear that he was writing directly from his own experience, [Miller] bridged the gap between the ‘straights’ and the ‘gays’ in a way that few recent writers on the subject have done. He also put himself on the line as a well-known writer, who was not afraid to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.” — Publishers Weekly

    “Brilliant, moving, and one is obliged to add, courageous narrative of personal homosexuality.” — James A. Wechsler, columnist

    Additional formats

    Related Articles

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Book Covers: Cowboys and East Indians 9798217006892 Advocate 9781984862495 THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS 9780593831878 IT RHYMES WITH TAKEI 9781603095747
    General

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

    Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

    Read more

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

    General
    History Gender and Sexuality Studies

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

    Read more

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    History Gender and Sexuality Studies
    Book covers: The Stonewall Reader, Queer (In)Justice, Tomorrow Will Be Different, The Engagement
    History Gender and Sexuality Studies

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    For LGBTQIA+ History Month we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those celebrating their

    Read more

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    History Gender and Sexuality Studies
    History Gender and Sexuality Studies

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    October is LGBTQIA+ History Month, dedicated to celebrating the diversity and history of the community. We are celebrating with books that shed light on the history of the community, with stories from inspiring individuals to the struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights to significant events that influenced LGBTQIA+ culture going forward. Delve into our list of recommended

    Read more

    Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

    History Gender and Sexuality Studies
    Humanities & Social Sciences

    Books for Lesbian Visibility Day

    We are Celebrating Lesbian Visibility Day by sharing books that delve into lesbian and LGBTQ+ experiences, including fiction, biography, and history.   Cantoras  Winner of the Stonewall Book Award, Cantoras is a revolutionary novel about five wildly different women who, in the midst of the Uruguayan dictatorship, find one another as lovers, friends, and ultimately,

    Read more

    Books for Lesbian Visibility Day

    Humanities & Social Sciences
    Subscribe

    Penguin Random House Higher Education

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)