Gay Men and Feminist Women in the Fight for Equality: "What Did You Do During the Second Wave, Daddy?"

This book explores the complex relationships between feminist women and gay men over the past 50 years, examining their alliances, obstacles, and intellectual contributions. It challenges received views of their political collaboration and offers new insights into the past and present of US womens and LGBTQ movements.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 05 November 2020
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the question: What role did gay men play in women's liberation, and vice versa? Conventional wisdom has offered a range of conflicting narratives, suggesting that gay men were misogynistic opponents of feminism, feminist women were homophobic or androphobic, feminist women and gay men only collaborated during the 1960s-1970s liberation moment, and lesbians rushed in to work with gay men during the AIDS crisis. However, the stories of these two groups are far more complex and nuanced than these simplistic narratives suggest.

In popular thinking and historical practice, feminist women and gay men have had dynamic relations, encompassing commonalities, opposition, and intellectual contributions. Written by a feminist-identified gay man, this book delves into the examination of these two groups' alliances and obstacles over the past 50 years, as well as their communication with, between, and about each other. It seeks to answer the question: What have been the received views on how these groups have or have not worked together politically? What historical evidence supports, contradicts, or complicates these views?

New findings in this book shed light on the past and present of US women's and LGBTQ movements, as well as broader relations between social movements in general. With a special focus on neglected areas of research, such as the US South, it also argues for how these social movements shaped ideas about what it means to be gay and/or feminist. This book is suitable for use in whole or excerpt in classes in LGBTQ studies, women's studies, feminist theory, social movements, American studies, and US history.

In conclusion, this book offers a groundbreaking exploration of the complex and multifaceted relationship between feminist women and gay men in the pursuit of women's liberation. It challenges simplistic narratives and provides a more nuanced understanding of these two groups' historical and contemporary interactions. By examining the alliances, obstacles, and communications between feminist women and gay men, this book contributes to our understanding of social movements, gender equality, and the ongoing struggle for social justice.

Weight: 336g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781433162817
Edition number: New ed