Synopses & Reviews
Creating Change tells the story behind some of the most bitterly contested and controversial public events and public policy battles in the past generation and possibly in American history. In the thirty years since the Stonewall Inn riots marked the beginning of the modern gay and lesbian movement, there has been a dramatic change in the texture of gay and lesbian life and in its relationship to American society. Despite an apparently deepening conservative hold upon national and state politics, this shift has been as extensive - over a comparable period of time - as that witnessed in race and gender relations.
Creating Change traces the work and gauges the impact of the gay and lesbian movement since Stonewall. It explores a critically significant, though often ignored, area in which change has occurred - the world of public policy making, especially at the level of the federal government - and scrutinizes the who, how, why, and what of it. A work of scholarship and a work of passion, it recounts how a specific constituency - gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans - were able to make tremendous progress despite seemingly insurmountable barriers. Creating Change is the story of the way in which the American political and cultural landscape became what it is today and how social change is brought about.
Review
"This collection of essays chronicles the history, successes, and failures of the gay agenda, from the passionate immediacy of public protest marches to the plodding maneuverings of political and public policy initiatives . . . [The book] successfully illustrates the incremental nature of change inherent in our political system, especially when viewed against the swifter social acceptance within mainstream media culture."—
Library Journal"Vaid, D'Emilio, and Turner know their material well . . . This collection of twenty-three articulate, scholarly essays [is] both necessary and commendable . . . Ideal for anyone interested in the contemporary political scene as well as gay politics."—Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
A history of the major battles and policy initiatives that have helped form the modern gay and lesbian movement
Creating Change tells the story behind some of the most bitterly contested and controversial public events and public policy battles in the past generation and possibly in American history. The book traces the work and gauges the impact of the gay and lesbian movement since the Stonewall Inn riots. An illustration of the way in which the American political and cultural landscape became what it is today, these essays explore how social change is brought about.
Synopsis
The two dozen essays assembled in
Creating Change examine some of the most bitterly contested and controversial public events and public policy battles in American history. These writings, each by a leading activist or scholar, recount how a specific constituency—gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, and their allies—achieved tremendous progress despite seemingly insurmountable barriers. With each of the chapters written by an activist or scholar integral to the specific area of discussion, this is a work of scholarship and a work of passion about the way the American political and cultural landscape became what it is today. It is the story of how social change is made.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [487]-520).
About the Author
John D'Emilio is a Guggenheim fellow, professor of history at the University of North Carolina, and author of numerous books including the classic
Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities.
William B. Turner is a visiting assistant professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University.
Urvashi Vaid is the Director of the Policy Institute (and former Executive Director) of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She is the author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation.
Table of Contents
I. VIEWS OF THE TOP
1. Mirror Images: Lesbian/Gay Civil Rights in the Carter and Reagan Administrations—William B. Turner
2. Beating Around Bush: Gay Rights and America's 41st President—Joe Rollins
3. A "Friend" in the White House? Reflections on the Clinton Presidency—Craig A. Rimmerman
4. From Bowers v. Hardwick to Romer v. Evans: Lesbian and Gay Rights in the U.S. Supreme Court—Arthur S. Leonard
II. ACCESSING INSTITUTIONS
5. From Agitator to Insider: Fighting for Inclusion in the Democratic Party—Jean O'Leary
6. Caught Between Worlds: Gay Republicans Step Out, and into the Political Fray—Richard Tafel
7. A Wheel Within a Wheel: Sexual Orientation and the Federal Workforce—Leonard P. Hirsch
III. GAY AGENDAS
8. The Federal Gay Rights Bill: From Bella to ENDA—Chai R. Feldblum
9. Government v. Gays: Two Sad Stories with Two Happy Endings, Civil Service Employment and Security Clearances—Franklin E. Kameny
10. American Immigration Law: A Case Study in the Effective Use of the Political Process—Barney Frank
11. Getting It Straight: A Review of the "Gays in the Military" Debate—Tim McFeeley
12. Bridging Race, Class, and Sexuality for School Reform—N'Tanya Lee, Don Murphy, Lisa North, and Juliet Ucelli
13. The Emergence of a Gay and Lesbian Antiviolence Movement—David M. Wertheimer
IV. FAMILY VALUES
14. Couples: Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership—David L. Chambers
15. Raising Children: Lesbian and Gay Parents Face the Public and the Courts—Nancy D. Polikoff
16. Family Values: From the White House Conference on Families to the Family Protection Act—Thomas J. Burrows
V. THE POLITICS OF HEALTH
17. Advocating for Lesbian Health in the Clinton Years—Marj Plumb
18. Contested Membership: Black Gay Identities and the Politics of AIDS—Cathy J. Cohen
19. The Ryan White CARE Act: An Impressive, Dubious Accomplishment—John-Manuel Andriote
VI. BUILDING MOVEMENT
20. Lesbians Travel the Roads of Feminism Globally—Charlotte Bunch and Claudia Hinojosa
21. Three Marches, Many Lessons—Nadine Smith
22. Facing Discrimination, Organizing for Freedom: The Transgender Community—Phyllis Randolph Frye, Esq.
23. Organizational Tales: Interpreting the NGLTF Story—John D'Emilio
Notes
Notes on Contributors