Over the last twenty-five years, a dramatic transformation in the American public's view of homosexuality has occurred, symbolized best by the movement of same-sex marriage from the position of a fringe few to the pinnacle of morality and a cornerstone of establishment thought. From Tolerance to Equality explores how this seismic shift of social perspective occurred and why it was led by the country's educational and business elite. Rejecting claims of a commitment to toleration or a heightened capacity for moral sympathy, author Darel E. Paul argues that American elites use opinion on homosexuality as a mark of social distinction and thus as a tool for accumulating cultural authority and political power. Paul traces this process through its cultural pathways as first professionals and, later, corporate managers took up the cause. He marshals original data analysis and chapters on social class and the family, the ideology of diversity, and the waning status of religious belief and authority to explore the factors behind the cultural changes he charts. Paul demonstrates the high stakes for same-sex marriage's mostly secular proponents and mostly religious opponents--and explains how so many came to fight so vigorously on an issue that directly affects so few. In the end, From Tolerance to Equality is far more than an explanation of gay equality and same-sex marriage. It is a road map to the emerging American political and cultural landscape.

Froma Glee ato gay marriage, from lesbian senators to out gay Marines, we have undoubtedly experienced a seismic shift in attitudes about gays in American politics and culture. Our reigning national story is that a new era of rainbow acceptance is at hand. But dig a bit deeper, and this seemingly brave new gay world is disappointing. For all of the undeniable changes, the plea for tolerance has sabotaged the full integration of gays into American life. Same-sex marriage is unrecognized and unpopular in the vast majority of states, hate crimes proliferate, and even in the much vaunted gay friendly world of Hollywood and celebrity culture, precious few stars are openly gay. Ina The Tolerance Trap, Suzanna Walters takes on received wisdom about gay identities and gay rights, arguing that we are not almost there, but on the contrary have settled for a watered-down goal of tolerance and acceptance rather than a robust claim to full civil rights. After all, wea tolerate aunpleasant realities: medicine with strong side effects, a long commute, an annoying relative. Drawing on a vast array of sources and sharing her own personal journey, Walters shows how the low bar of tolerance demeans rather than ennobles both gays and straights alike. Her fascinating examination covers the gains in political inclusion and the persistence of anti-gay laws, the easy-out sexual freedom of queer youth and the suicides and murders of those in decidedly intolerant environments. She challenges both born that way storylines that root civil rights in biology, and god made me that way arguments that similarly situate sexuality as innate and impervious to decisions we make to shape it. A sharp and provocative cultural critique, this book deftly argues that a too-soon declaration of victory short-circuits full equality and deprives us all of the transformative possibilities of full integration.Tolerance is not the end goal, but a dead end. Ina The Tolerance Trap, Walters presents a complicated snapshot of a world-shifting moment in American historyOCoone that is both a wake-up call and a call to arms for anyone seeking true equality."

The author of Queer in America offers “brilliant advice” for safeguarding the future of gay rights (The Advocate). Marriage equality is the law of the land. Closet doors have burst open in business, entertainment, and even major league sports. But as Michelangelo Signorile argues in his most provocative book yet, the excitement of such breathless change makes this moment more dangerous than ever. Signorile marshals stinging evidence that an age-old hatred, homophobia, is still a basic fact of American life. He exposes the bigotry of the brewing religious conservative backlash against LGBT rights and challenges the complacency and hypocrisy of supposed allies in Washington, the media, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood. Just as racism did not disappear with the end of Jim Crow laws or the election of Barack Obama, discrimination and hostility toward gay Americans hasn’t vanished simply by virtue of a Supreme Court decision. Not just a wake-up call, It’s Not Over is also a battle plan for the fights to come in the march toward equality. Signorile tells the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans who have refused to be merely tolerated and are demanding full acceptance. He documents signs of hope in schools and communities finding new ways to combat ignorance, bullying, and fear. Urgent and empowering, It’s Not Over is a necessary book from “one of America’s most incisive critics and influential activists in the movement for gay equality” (The Intercept).

Inspired by Voltaire’s advice that a text needs to be concise to have real influence, this anthology contains fiery extracts by forty eighteenth-century authors, from the most famous philosophers of the age to those whose brilliant writings are less well-known. These passages are immensely diverse in style and topic, but all have in common a passionate commitment to equality, freedom, and tolerance. Each text resonates powerfully with the issues our world faces today. Tolerance was first published by the Société française d’étude du dix-huitième siècle (the French Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo assassinations in January 2015 as an act of solidarity and as a response to the surge of interest in Enlightenment values. With the support of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, it has now been translated by over 100 students and tutors of French at Oxford University.

A veteran activist tackles urgent questions about where the gay movement should go and what the movement wants with a unique combination of visionary politics and hard-earned pragmatism. "A valuable, encyclopedic compendium of the gay movement’s modern history and challenges." —San Francisco Chronicle Since the decade to lift the ban on gays in the military, the emergence of gay conservatives, and the onslaught of antigay initiatives across America, the gay and lesbian community has been asking itself tough questions. In Virtual Equality, Urvashi Vaid offers wise answers.

SCOTT HAMPTON, PSY.D., who earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, has been working in the violence prevention field for the past 20 years. During that time, he has worked with almost 4000 cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and hate crimes. Currently, he is the Executive Director of Ending the Violence, a New Hampshire-based organization that provides educational classes to perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence. He is also the founder of the Consexuality Project, a sexual violence prevention initiative. "Tolerance, are you kidding? It's an insult! It's how white people feel better about themselves while continuing to hate Blacks." Study participant "Of course tolerance is awful. I'm just afraid that that is the best we can hope for." Holocaust survivor Tolerant oppression: Why promoting tolerance undermines our quest for equality and what we should do instead" addresses the problem with current campaigns to promote tolerance (taught in thousands of U.S. schools every year) as a way of fighting hatred. Those campaigns, though well intended, suffer from the same problem as the "separate-but-equal" doctrine of the 20th century - they reinforce, rather than challenge inequality and oppression with their condescending attitude. The book proposes that we abandon tolerance for less problematic concepts such as acceptance, respect, understanding and the appreciation of diversity. Only then can we approach equality and the peaceful co-existence we all need to survive and thrive. The book presents its case through logical analysis, research data, quotations from civic and religious leaders as well as from members of oppressed groups, and through the use of entertaining metaphors, stories and exercises. How can moving past tolerance help us deal with the following concerns? Abortion Managing grief Child abuse Prostitution and human trafficking Disabilities Religious oppression Divorce Sexism, racism and homophobia Domestic violence and sexual assault Suicide Drug addiction Terrorism and war Hatred, prejudice and discrimination Violence in sports and the media Interpersonal conflict FIND THE ANSWERS INSIDE."

A call to action for anyone interested in supporting gay rights in America presents essays on how to make activism a part of everyday life, fighting discrimination in families, communities, and the workplace.