By analyzing the relationship between lesbian and gay movements and the state, this ground-breaking book addresses two interconnected issues: to what extent is the lesbian and gay movement influenced by the state and, to a lesser extent, whether the lesbian and gay movement has somehow influenced the state, for instance by altering forms of sexual regulation. Given the diversity in national trajectories, this book covers fifteen countries. This enables the volume to shed light on different kinds of relationships between these groups and the state, as well as on the way they have evolved in recent decades. The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the State: Comparative Insights into a Transformed Relationship fills an important gap in the literature on lesbian and gay activism. However, this book also provides important and innovative insights into broader issues in international political science, public policy and comparative politics, as well as issues in social movement studies. These include the role of the state in constructing citizen identities, the heteronormative way in which many traditional citizen entitlements and benefits were constructed, state - civil society relations, judicial activism, the impact of federalism, and the increasing globalization of sexual identities.

By analyzing the relationship between lesbian and gay movements and the state, this ground-breaking book addresses two interconnected issues: to what extent is the lesbian and gay movement influenced by the state and, to a lesser extent, whether the lesbian and gay movement has somehow influenced the state, for instance by altering forms of sexual regulation. Given the diversity in national trajectories, this book covers fifteen countries. This enables the volume to shed light on different kinds of relationships between these groups and the state, as well as on the way they have evolved in recent decades. The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the State: Comparative Insights into a Transformed Relationship fills an important gap in the literature on lesbian and gay activism. However, this book also provides important and innovative insights into broader issues in international political science, public policy and comparative politics, as well as issues in social movement studies. These include the role of the state in constructing citizen identities, the heteronormative way in which many traditional citizen entitlements and benefits were constructed, state - civil society relations, judicial activism, the impact of federalism, and the increasing globalization of sexual identities.

By analyzing the relationship between lesbian and gay movements and the state, this ground-breaking book addresses two interconnected issues: to what extent is the lesbian and gay movement influenced by the state and, to a lesser extent, whether the lesbian and gay movement has somehow influenced the state, for instance by altering forms of sexual regulation. Given the diversity in national trajectories, this book covers fifteen countries. This enables the volume to shed light on different kinds of relationships between these groups and the state, as well as on the way they have evolved in recent decades. The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the State: Comparative Insights into a Transformed Relationship fills an important gap in the literature on lesbian and gay activism. However, this book also provides important and innovative insights into broader issues in international political science, public policy and comparative politics, as well as issues in social movement studies. These include the role of the state in constructing citizen identities, the heteronormative way in which many traditional citizen entitlements and benefits were constructed, state - civil society relations, judicial activism, the impact of federalism, and the increasing globalization of sexual identities.

Now in its second edition, Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement provides an accessible overview of an important and transformational struggle for social change, highlighting key individuals and events, influential groups and organizations, major successes and failures, and the movement’s lasting effects and unfinished work. Focusing on four decades of social, cultural, and political change in the second half of the twentieth century, Marc Stein examines the changing agendas, beliefs, strategies, and vocabularies of a movement that encompassed diverse actions, campaigns, ideologies, and organizations. From the homophile activism of the 1950s and 1960s through the rise of gay liberation and lesbian feminism in the 1970s to the multicultural and AIDS activist movements of the 1980s, this book provides a strong foundation for understanding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer politics today. This new edition reflects the substantial changes in the field since the book’s original publication eleven years ago. Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement will be valued by everyone interested in LGBTQ struggles, the politics of movement activism, and the history of social justice in the United States.

Rich accounts of gay and lesbian groups on five continents.

Throughout their relatively short history, lesbian and gay movements in the United States have endured searing conflicts over whether to embrace assimilationist or liberationist strategies. The Lesbian and Gay Movements explores this dilemma in both contemporary and historical contexts, describing the sources of these conflicts, to what extent the conflicts have been resolved, and how they might be resolved in future. Rimmerman also tackles the challenging issue of what constitutes movement 'effectiveness' and how 'effective' the assimilationist and liberationist strategies have been in three contentious policy arenas: the military ban, same-sex marriage, and AIDS. Considerable attention is devoted to how policy elites (presidents, federal and state legislatures, courts) have responded to the movements' grievances. Since the publication of the first edition in 2007, there have been enormous changes in the landscape of lesbian and gay movements and rights. The thoroughly revised second edition includes updated discussion of LGBT movements' undertakings in, as well the Obama administration's response to, AIDS/HIV policy, the fight to legalize same-sex marriage and overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, and the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.

"This collection of essays seeks to explore the impact that gay rights politics and activism have had on the wider American political landscape since the rights revolutions of the 1960s"--