Description:
Throughout history, lesbian and gay movements in the USA have endured searing conflicts over whether to embrace assimilationist or liberationist strategies. This book explores this dilemma, describing the sources of these conflicts, to what extent the conflicts have been resolved, and how they might be resolved in future.
Review Quotes: Praise for the prior edition:
"A lively and provocative book! Rimmerman has done an excellent job in demonstrating the limits of both assimilation and liberation as strategies pursued by the GLBTQ movements. The heart of this book is a richly textured analysis of these core strategies as deployed around the most explosive public policy debates of the last 30 years--AIDS, Gays in the Military and Same Sex Marriage. The Lesbian and Gay Movements is a book that is interesting and valuable to several fields--American politics, public policy, law and society, new social movements, gender studies, and gay and lesbian history."
--Gary Lehring, Smith College
"How did private decisions on sexuality become such a controversial political issue in American politics? Craig Rimmerman's book provides a concise introduction to the development of the gay rights movement and to the related issues of HIV/AIDS policy, gays serving in the military, and same-sex marriage. Avoiding a simplification of these issues as part of a 'culture war, ' Rimmerman provides an explanation that includes the historical development of the issues, a recap of the varying political positions, and an analysis of the political and legal processes that led to today's policies."
--Barbara Norrander, University of Arizona