Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Feminism & Feminist Theory    7. Feminists    8. Incest victims    9. Political    10. Political activists    11. Specific Groups - Lesbians    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography: general    15. Social Science / Gender Studies    16. USA   

Editorial Review

In the sixties, David Mixner became an activist in the civil rights and anti-war movements, then emerged in the seventies as an influential Washington insider. Unknown to his comrades, he was also a closet homosexual, so scared of exposure he let hardly anyone know his secret. With good reason: when he came out in 1977 he lost a lot of his political clout. Undeterred he marched on a new crusade--gay liberation. He returned to national prominence as a political activist when he led a hugely successful drive in the gay community to elect his long-time friend Bill Clinton. That relationship, which has been bittersweet through Clinton's presidency, is one of the fascinating sidelights in this memoir of a radical life. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Fascinating
In this day of the modern Gay Rights Movement, no biography captures the true story of someone moderately simple, becoming the voice of a fantastic mission with true, heartfelt passion for the equality of gays and lesbians.Full of pathos, life lessons, screw-ups, ironies and inspiration that truly reflects the dichotomy of living as an evolving gay man during the sexual revolution, Reagan-Era AIDS, and the Clinton Era of Inclusion against the backdrop of a hidden sex life.I was glad to know this story!

I really enjoyed and would reccomend this book
I must say, this was one of the best books I've read in a while. It was just fascinating. It starts out describing David's childhood, goes onto his time in college, his antiwar activism, his many struggles with his homosexuality, finally with his coming out and becoming a gay activist, and then to his time spent working on the Clinton campaign all the way up to Clinton's innaguration. It's a very readable book, it draws you in from the first few pages and really keeps you wanting to know what will happen next in David's very exciting activist life. Another thing that kept me reading was I was dying to find out when he would finally come out. It is easy to relate to David's pain and I was inspired to see what he did with that pain and to read about the many remarkable things he has done with this life. I finished this book in a little over a week and wished there was more. I loved learning more about the political and activist worlds while at the same time learning about him. If you have any interest in politics, activism, AIDS, or gay and lesbian issues, or just like a good memoir, read this book. You'll like it :)

good book kinda of long
it was a good book for the most part but it kinda of ran on and on i still have a copy of it around some where ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Gay activists    5. Gay rights    6. Mixner, David B    7. Political    8. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    9. Political Science    10. Presidents    11. Sociology - General    12. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    13. Staff    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (1)

Award winning book
Winner of the RESILIENT RESISTANCE:THE MYERS OUTSTANDING AWARDS 2003!Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay activists    4. Homosexuality and education    5. Interviews    6. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Sex discrimination in educatio    9. Sex discrimination in education    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Education / General    13. Gay & Lesbian studies    14. Sociolinguistics    15. Teaching of a specific subject    16. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (1)

A Truly Revolutionary Book
Not since the early 1980s has there been a book that literally takes one's breath away. Prof. Alexander's new volume is profoundly spiritual at the same time it's grounded in a unique materialist feminism. Its signifiance also lies in the book's manifestations of a real hope. Being alive and politically conscious in the first decade of the 21st century is to be easily seduced by despair, it is also to be absolutely at odds with terrible, counter revolutionary, antifeminist cultures. Not for Alexander glib, soggy liberalism but a spirit that is courageous and awe-inspiring. In the book's third section, Alexander writes of 'returning' to the magnificent anthology, 'This Bridge Called My Back' and, following this essay, the book's most thrilling chapter, in which the writer conjures a new life force, one thoroughly rooted in both spiritual and secular lifeworlds. As if this adjectival 'heap' of praise were not enough, Alexander's book render obsolete the common periodization of feminisms by 'wave'. It would not be innacurate to say that 'Pedagogies of Crossing' is a epistemic rupture, demanding its readers to again grapple with feminist legacies from an entirely new standpoint. If you've not heard Prof. Alexander speak, I suggest you do so as soon as possible. The impact of her spoken word 'appearances' powerful. Her lectures constitute an epistemological rupture, filling one with true hope. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cross-cultural studies    2. Equality    3. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    4. Feminism    5. Gay Studies    6. Social Science    7. Social justice    8. Sociology    9. Women's Studies - General    10. ACTIVISM    11. Ethnography    12. Gay & Lesbian Studies/Queer Th    13. Gay & Lesbian studies    14. Gender Studies/Feminist Theory    15. USA    16. Women's studies   

Editorial Review

Without the third season of MTV's Read more

Reviews (35)

A truly touching portrait...
Judd Winick's "Pedro and Me" does what the most highly regarded graphic novels do-it captures a particular moment in time and depicts the human condition like the best in literature and film do, much like art spiegelman's acclaimed "Maus," another highly regarded story told in sequential art.
a great book!
I barely remembered the show real world when pedro was on.I happened to find this book in a library when I was waiting for the bus.I read this book in one sitting.It is a beautiful story about Pedro.It also tells a lot about the real world experience.I do think that this book should be read by all teenage students for the way it was written.It is written in a cartoon style..........anyone could read it, it really has a lot of information about aids prevention with out getting all preachy. When I finished reading this book , I felt emotionally drained.I really wish I could have met Pedro.
Wonderfully haunting..
I have never seen 'The Real World', nor had I heard of Pedro. I merely picked this book up on a whim, and discovered an amazing tale of friendship, both beautifully drawn and exceptionally realised. Brief, but hard to forget.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1972-    2. AIDS (Disease)    3. AIDS activists    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography And Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Cartoons and comics    10. Comic books, strips, etc    11. Diseases - AIDS & HIV    12. Fine Arts    13. Graphic Novels - General    14. Health    15. Humor    16. Patients    17. Personal Memoirs    18. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    19. United States    20. Winick, Judd    21. Zamora, Pedro    22. Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. California    3. Gay Studies    4. Gay liberation movement    5. Gays    6. History    7. Identity    8. Political activity    9. San Francisco    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Sociology - General    13. Gay & Lesbian studies    14. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Reviews (23)

Claptrap, to be polite. Lies and bigotry, to be truthful.
I have a gay brother and sister, and they are exactly the same people now they were as small children -- except they've grown up to become a doctor and a respected business executive, each still with a partner they met over 30 years ago.
Don't be misled by the negative reviews
Contrary to the rhetoric of some of the reviewers -- especially those giving the book one star and accusing the author of perpetuating lies -- this book is well-argued, clearly-written, and carefully-documented. I would urge everyone interested in this important subject to read this book with an open mind, rather than prejudging either its contents or the motivation of the author. Of special interest is the section drawing attention to the often deleterious effects of same-sex unions on the children raised in those homes, as expressed by those very children. Even proponents of same-sex unions should investigate the accuracy and commonality of those claims. And the quotes from African American leaders who are offended by the equation of gay rights with the civil rights movement should not be ignored.
PROTECTING.......
Dear God when will people like this learn the difference between democracy and religious intolerence of "the other".Marriage has never and will never be under attack as the blatantly propagandistic tome claims.All the so-called facts have been so twisted by his Hijacked form of Christianity cum journalism that only a moron would believe it and herald it as a champion of democracy. Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. History & Theory - General    3. Homosexuality    4. Marriage    5. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Same-sex marriage    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Sociology - Marriage & Family    11. United States    12. Gay & Lesbian studies    13. Gay studies (Gay men)    14. Marriage, family & other relationships    15. Political Science / General   

Editorial Review

When Patsy Clarke and Eloise Vaughn brought together a group of North Carolina women mourning their sons' deaths of AIDS, they little realized that they would become political activists, and would found an organization to oppose the 1996 reelection of Jesse Helms to congress. Angry talk started to flow, someone wrote a check, and Clarke ran to get a clean pickle jar from the kitchen for donations: "We didn't really know what we were doing. We were just driven by primal emotions." Although Mothers Against Jesse in Congress failed to convince Jesse Helms to tone down his anti-gay rhetoric or alter his stance on funding for AIDS research, Patsy and Eloise did get to present their case to the 1996 Democratic convention, appear in Read more

Reviews (8)

A touching story that will move you to tears.. repeatedly
I first picked up this book at my university's library as a source for an essay, and I never realized how deeply the story of Patsy Clarke and Eloise Vaughn would affect me so deeply. Their story is so moving and personal, almost every chapter made me get out the box of tissues. I've read many books, and none of them have left me with the urge to seek out the authors and give them a tearful hug and a from-the-heart thank you. This book has broken that trend.

Love Conquers All
Patsy Clark and Eloise Vaughn would probably be the first persons to say that they are not professional writers; yet theirs is a story that touches our hearts. After the deaths of both their sons from AIDS, they took on Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina in an effort to upseat him. We all know they did not succeed in their efforts; nevertheless, they are winners of the highest sort. Althought the two women had led very different lives-- one was a Democrat, the other a Republican, they found they had much in common. In the words of Patsy Clark after these women's first meeting: "Both of our sons were named Mark--and that seemed huge to us. . . Both of us had led very mainstream, privileged lives. . . Each of us were widowed before our sons died, so each of us had to deal with that trauma alone. Neither of us had known that our sons were gay. . ." Another thing that they had in common was unconditional love for their sons and a consuming belief that no one, including the mighty Helms, would treat their sons as second class citizens because they were gay. Misplaced Energy?
Although one's heart breaks for the grief these two mothers have had to endure, it seemed to me that their vision had become somewhat clouded, and their energies cry out to be used in more producive ways. By all accounts, federal spending on AIDS is far above the levels spent on several other diseases which kill many more people, and which....in the case of cancer....the causes are not even very well-known. Surely, it is only humane to assist in the care and research of these other diseases in a more equal parity to HIV/AIDS. Even Sen. Helms was misrepresented, since Mrs. Clark claims he actually said "AIDS sufferes deserve what they get"...and that is a lie. He never said such a thing...nor has anyone else who objects to the over-funding of AIDS efforts vs the funding of other diseases. He merely pointed out that what causes a person to become infected with HIV/AIDS is very well-known...exactly as we know why smokers get lung and throat cancer. So...while these two grieving mothers (and their sons who suffered) engender much-deserved sympathy, one can only wish their considerable energy could be focused more on prevention efforts, and less on sill more increased...and unfair...federal funding. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Case studies    4. General    5. Homophobia    6. Motherhood    7. Parents of AIDS patients    8. Parents of gays    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Practical Politics    11. Social Policy    12. United States    13. Clarke, Patsy    14. Helms, Jesse    15. Political activity    16. Vaughn, Eloise    17. Views on AIDS (Disease)    18. Views on gay men   

Reviews (1)

Teachers College Record Online Review
This book, based on the author's doctoral research, is an attempt to present a discussion of political possibilities for creating safe spaces and equal treatment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed, and queer/questioning students - GLBTIQ to use the author's accurate but unwieldy acronym. This book functions on several levels. First of all, as the title describes, it is an experiential and practical guide to the problematic and politicized situation when educators attempt to create schools not only free of anti-gay violence, but schools where GLBTIQ students are valued equally with heterosexual students. To do this, the book centers on a case study of a school system called the High Plains School District and its struggle to formally add gay and lesbian students to the district's non-discrimination policy. Based on this case study, the book also offers strategies for educators and local communities to learn how to become active and network for more protection for GLBTIQ students. The book also functions as a primer for related theories, terms, court decisions, and the general background of inclusion in schools.Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Educational Policy & Reform    4. Gays    5. Homosexuality and education    6. Identity    7. Social aspects    8. Students & Student Life    9. Education / Educational Reform    10. Educational administration    11. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects   

Editorial Review

At long last, an essay on the politics and poetics of queer disability. Eli Clare, a poet with cerebral palsy, movingly describes her attempt to climb Mount Adams--not, she points out, as a "supercrip," like the boy without hands who bats .486 on his Little League team, but just as an impaired person who loves to hike: a story about ableism rather than disability. Avoiding easy answers and journalistic sunshine, she recounts the story of the fight for disabled access, touching on the history of the freak show. She tracks the origins of her own tenacity and self-knowledge to her rural Oregon upbringing and the conflicting personality of her father--who sexually abused her, but also taught her how to frame a house, how to use a chainsaw. "I think of the words Read more

Reviews (7)

This subject is very important but
I did not like her style or her story. It came off like she was upset that her gayness and CP were keeping her from having a purely white, rural life. Also, if you have read in depth about Disability Culture and the freak show, this is just a restating of a lot of excellent articles on the subject.

This book changed my life
This is an excellent book for disabled queers like myself, and the author, Eli Clare.The book is easily read--Clare uses language that is not pretentious, but establishes a voice that is eloquently compelling."Exile" masquerades as autobiographical but contains a powerful critique of the social constructions of class, disability, sexuality, race, gender, the environment and just about everything else you could imagine (I know this might seem impossible--but Clare accomplishes it in this wonderful book).I highly recommend this book.

Invitation into Experience
Clare writes her autobiography in word paintings. Clare explores the multiple differences of disability, queerness, transgenderism, abuse, socioeconomic class, and gender with reflection that empowers rather than victimizes or blames. While considering how the history around her has shaped the world and affected who she is, she considers how she has shaped the world. Clare refuses to collapse the intricate complexities of life into something more managable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Cerebral palsied    3. Clare, Eli    4. Essays    5. General    6. Literary Collections    7. Literature: Classics    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Women political activists    12. Lesbian studies    13. Social Science / Lesbian Studies   

Editorial Review

There can be few American stories more inspiring than that of the tremendous 43,000-panel AIDS quilt, a national memorial as powerfully symbolic as the Vietnam War Memorial--but made from a material as fragile and ephemeral as human life. The quilt is predicated on a simple concept: putting names to those who have died of AIDS humanizes the statistics and forces those who visit the quilt to look beyond the stigmatized categories of gayness and contagious disease that cling to the popular image of AIDS. Cleve Jones stitched the first panel in his backyard in February 1987 as a memorial to his best friend, Marvin. He has been speaking in public about the quilt for many years now, and his narrative in Read more

Reviews (6)

An Emotional, Moving Memoir
For those of us who were fortunate enough to be in Washington on that cold morning in October, 1987 and see the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt unfurled for the first time, we should thank Cleve Jones for both his idea of the quilt as a memorial to those who died of AIDS and this wonderful book he has written. The quilt has almost become a cliche for some of us now-- we have seen it so many times in so many different variations and sizes-- that I did not believe I could be so moved and relive that intensely emotional and poignant day in October. I was wrong. I was taken by Mr. Jones' sincerity and utter lack of egotism. He is remarkably candid about his own life as he takes the reader through his own experiences as a young gay activist in San Francisco, his role in the history of the quilt and his own diagnosis with HIV. A great history lesson
Cleve Jones has done many wonderful things for the gay community.Now he adds this wonderful, heartfelt memior.This volume is more than "just" a memoir, it's a rich and rewarding history lesson, an eye witness account.Throught the past twenty-five years Jones has been a witness to murder, a victim of hate crimes, an activist for gay rights, a rioter, a mourner, a survivor and a an ambassador of hope and good will.This is the story of the AIDS Quilt, from its beginnings to its eventual recognition as an international symbol of peace, reconciliation and unity.Cleve Jones takes a refreshingly candid, warts-and-all approach to telling his story.He depicts himself as an ordianry man responding to extraordinary circumstances in the only way he knew how.Past imperfect, but always willing to do whatever was necessary to bring his message to the people, Cleve helped to put a human face on AIDS.

You Can Make A Difference - Read Cleve Jones' Odyssey
The AIDS Memorial Quilt has been the most humanizing, uplifting and unifying symbol of the battle against the AIDS virus.As an activist, viewer of the Quilt, and twice a volunteer, I read Mr. Jones book greedily. People need to know what he has to say.People need to know the impacttheir actions can have on world perceptions; that they can make adifference.People need to knowthe history of the epidemic - reflectedin the experiences of a person immersed in the culture impacted first: howthe gay community, so brutally attacked, fought back and set up theprotocols now being used by all sectors of society all over theworld.Read more

Subjects:  1. AIDS (Disease)    2. AIDS activists    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. California    8. Diseases - AIDS & HIV    9. Jones, Cleve    10. NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt    11. Patients    12. Political    13. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    14. Biography & Autobiography / Political    15. Biography: political    16. Political leaders & leadership   

Reviews (3)

A seminal work
The title Fear of a Queer Planet is a play on the famous essay on race, Fear of a Black Planet;only readers deaf to history would fail to make the connection. This is a pioneering book, with essays by Eve Sedgewick, HenryL. Gates, and Michael Warner, among others, the first to push gay identitypolitics beyond its limitations within "gay and lesbian studies"and into social, economic, and transcultural theory. It is indeed"planetary" in its attempt to take gay and lesbian theory pastthe blindness of American identity niche-marketing and and fashion magazine triumphalism.

A seminal work
The title Fear of a Queer Planet is a play on the famous essay on race, Fear of a Black Planet; only readers deaf to history would fail to make the connection. This is a pioneering book, with essays by Eve Sedgewick, HenryL. Gates, and Michael Warner, among others, the first to push gay identitypolitics beyond its limitations within "gay and lesbian studies"and into social, economic, and transcultural theory. It is indeed"planetary" in its attempt to take gay and lesbian theory pastthe blindness of American identity niche-marketing and and fashion magazinetriumphalism.

Does the book tell us why and how the fear is planatary?
Queer as used in this title means sexual conduct that deviates from established norms.It is not gender limited.The question then is who is afraid and how does that fear involve the planet?Those who fear, evidently, are those burdened with imposing the norms.The first essay in this anthology tells the story of Balboa's encounter with Panamanian "sodomy."The burden in that case fell upon political and religious figures.The next-to-last essay tells how the defeat of Quebec's bid for sovereignity was blamed on its tolerance of homosexuality, thus situating the burden in the domain of the general culture.The last essay recounts the "outing" in the US pop media of a female entertainer with attendant public anxieties, thus situating the locus in the general culture.But how does that make the fear planetary?The introduction, best read as a postscript,attempts to connect the theme with the planetthrough the device of Pioneer 10's spacecr! aft design.But the connection is superficia,l and the reader is left to find it in the issues raised by postmodernism, which heavily undergirds much of the volume's ponderosity.Eleven of its 15 contributors are teachers of English, with a lit-crit approach heavily freighted with fashionable structuralism-desctructuralism jargon; but the diligent reader can find a rich cornocupia for reflection here and food for thought;but he/she must look for the planatary connection (and it does exist, we have no doubt) in the areas of ontology and epistomology that postmodernism leaves us floundering in. Howard of Athens ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gays    3. Gender Studies    4. History & Theory - General    5. Homosexuality    6. Lesbian Studies    7. Philosophy    8. Political activity    9. Political aspects    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Gay & Lesbian studies    13. Political science & theory   

Reviews (2)

A diverse and illuminating collection of voices
"Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists," edited by Kevin K. Kumashiro, is an anthology with a very tight focus (as indicated by the title).The bulk of the book consists of 17 autobiographical pieces written by different activists.In addition, the book contains a foreword, a preface, an afterword, an index, and capsule biographies of the contributors. BLTG Asian-Am Activists Speak OUT (pun intended)
While reading this anthology, I kept being reminded of Cheryl Dunye's film "Watermelon Woman."At the end, she proclaims, "I am a black lesbian filmmaker."I can understand struggling to make peace with one's racial and sexual identities.But is identifying as a filmmaker an equally difficult struggle!?Well, in this book, non-straight Asian-Americans do not just speak about themselves, but they purposely dissect their political activism.In this book, activism is given as much weight as race or sexual orientation.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Ethnic Studies - Asian American Studies    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Specific Groups - Lesbians    7. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    8. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (2)

A must-read for any gay thinker
Larry Kramer is so central to the formation of contemporary gay activism in the United States (and in particular the response to the first years of the AIDS crisis) that this book is absolutely indispensable to anyone who cares about gay politics and gay identity. His commitment to activism is unquestionable, and his ability to become furious (on the political level) with any kind of quietism or acquiescence should be inspiring to every gay man who has been affected by homophobia or the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The portrait of the private Kramer that emerges from this book in such great detail (there is no distinction between private and public for Kramer in this collection) is often a hard one to take: uncompromising and demanding in private life as he is in public life, he comes across as berserkly egocentric and impossible (you keep feeling sorry for his poor relatives who have to deal regularly with his explosive furies and tantrums). And his unwillingness to be reasonable often causes him to overstate his cases (his regular practive of comparing the AIDS crisis to the Nazi Holocaust--and to the Koch and Adminstrations and the NYTimes as the moral equivalent of the Nazis--has been repeatedly and justly criticized). Still, for all of that you're glad you've read him, and you're glad that someone like him has been around to lead the gay response to the AIDS crisis.

Excellent !
Although his message may seem harsh, when someone has watched an entire population dwindle, when your best friends and lovers are dead, intensity becomes a way of life, this book contains a passionate and clear voice ofsomeone struggling against a society and culture that wants the messagetempered so as not to offend, I say offend away, get their attention.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. AIDS (Disease)    2. AIDS activists    3. Anthropology - Cultural    4. Diseases - General    5. Health Care Delivery    6. Homosexuality, Male    7. Medical / Nursing    8. Social Science    9. Social aspects    10. Sociology    11. United States   

Reviews (1)

An eclectic, serious coffee-table volume
A mix of politics and history, this volume comprises four essays, along with 15 shorter, first-person pieces by activists who recall key moments of the struggle for gay and lesbian rights and visibility.Published as companion piece to a documentary on the lesbian and gay movement since 1969, the book is more informal, more eclectic, and better illustrated than an academic study, but more serious and substantial than the usual coffee-table volume. The voices it highlights tend to be those associated with "gay liberation" and big-city street activism, but the richness and authenticity of those voices make this book a valuable chronicle. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay liberation movement    3. Gay men    4. Gay rights    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. Homosexuality    9. Political activity    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. U.S. - Political And Civil Rights    13. United States    14. Gay & Lesbian studies    15. Political structure & processes    16. Social Science / Gay Studies    17. USA   

Reviews (1)

Gays and the New World Order, Dispatches from the Front(s):
Some say that we who live in the United States are much too self-absorbed and pay little attention to people and events outside our boarders.After reading "The Global Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Politics,"edited by Barry D. Adam, Jan Willem Duyvendak, and Andr� Krouwel, I believethat such criticism may well be warranted.For both serious and arm-chairstudents of politics, ethics, culture, anthropology, religion, sociology,or modern history (as well as for garden variety social activists,particularly of pink & lavender stripes), this book is an excellentintroduction to the worldwide gay and lesbian equal rights movement.Thesethree editors (themselves writing from both Canada and Holland) havefashioned for us a very informative book from thirteen internationalcontributors.This work seeks to not only give us historical background onnational gay movements in selected countries, but also, in very scholarlyfashion, applies current social theory to these various movements hopingto: (1) see if any generalizations can be made about how gay movements canor cannot develop in a given place, and (2) appraise the accuracy of thetheories themselves (i.e. do these academic theories accurately reflectpolitical, "real-world" reality).Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay men    3. Gay rights    4. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    5. Gender Studies    6. History    7. Homosexuality    8. Lesbian Studies    9. Lesbians    10. Political And Civil Rights    11. Political Process - General    12. Political activity    13. Social Science    14. Gay & Lesbian studies    15. Political science & theory   

Subjects:  1. Identity    2. Israel    3. Jewish lesbians    4. Lesbian Studies    5. Political activity    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Women's Studies - General   

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay activists    4. Gay rights    5. Indonesia    6. Political Science    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Public Policy - Social Policy    9. Singapore    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. Human rights   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (4)

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a book that had to be written. It is intellectually first-rate, courageous and powerful.I applaud the author's gutsy and flawless analysis of the "sex as abuse as subversion as fun" farce that is now, sadly, the norm in so much lesbian and gay writing.By saying what has to be said, Jeffreys gives all those silenced by the ignorance of those who "have fun" at the expense of others a voice with which to say no.A must read for anyone who cares about justice and equality.

unfortunately...
Jeffreys' polemical approach eclipses some of her more valid points about the failings of queer politics. True, queer politics and theory have often been dominated by white male perspectives. True, lesbian specificity ought to be a consideration in gender and sexuality studies.
A shrewdly written and well-presented viewpoint
Unpacking Queer Politics by Sheila Jeffreys (Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne) is a deftly persuasive and informationally charged study of gay and lesbian politics from the 1970's down to the present day. Postulating that the lesbian feminist movement of the 1970's was unfortunately incorporated and overwhelmed by the gay male agenda of "queer politics", Unpacking Queer Politics denounces the "queer politics" tenets of sadomasochism, cutting and piercing, and female-to-male transsexual surgery as forms of self-harm. Author Sheila Jeffreys then centers upon the importance of committing oneself to equality in all relationships regardless of sex; as well as heralds lesbian feminist ideals as necessary for social change for the better. A shrewdly written and well-presented viewpoint, Unpacking Queer Politics is highly recommended reading