Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement

Book excerpt: Focusing on four decades of social, cultural, and political change in the second half of the twentieth century, 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, he provides a strong foundation for understanding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer politics today. --From publisher description.