Benderson (Pretending to Say No) is described in the foreword by the publisher of a literary magazine as the epitome of "cool, dangerous gayhood." "Sex and Isolation" is one of the not-for-the- prissy essays in this collection being published for the first time in the US in translation from the French (1999). In treating AIDS; discrimination; Manual Puig (Kiss of the Spider Woman); and the once vibrant Times Square in "Toward the New Degeneracy" (published in book form in 1997), he calls for tolerance and human over Internet encounters. Annotation 2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
