Has the Gay Movement Failed?

A provocative report on the progress of LGBTQ rights.The driving force behind Duberman's (The Rest of It: Cocaine, Hustlers, Depression, and Then Some, 1976-1988, 2018, etc.) astute, briskly written analysis is his "limited satisfaction with what most gay people are hailing as the speediest success story in all of our country's long history of social protest." After rereading the 1972 anthology Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation, Duberman became inspired to argue against the current complacency of the culture which he believes has been resting on the successes of marriage liberties and limited civil rights. He highlights the type of activism represented by broadly radical coalitions like the Gay Liberation Front, created after the 1969 Stonewall riots, and contrasts it with the narrowed focus of the current resistance. The author's broad historical knowledge shows in his discussions of the movement's ties to the Black Panthers and the Latino community as well as his profile of influential trans activist Sylvia Rivera. Duberman's focus veers outward to illuminate the strengths and successes of the gay marriage agenda but also notes how it feels misguided in areas of class status and socio-economic advantage. The author uses experiences from his own "accomplished life" history as intimate examples while echoing the arguments of activist and journalist Michelangelo Signorile. However, the middle section of the book, which debates the origins of homosexuality, is awkwardly placed within the context of his primary discussion. With a mix of seasoned insight and palpable frustration, Duberman pleads his case for unity and togetherness within the LGBTQ community and across other societal and cultural groups, which must join forces for the common goal of equality and tolerance. The author's exhilarating conclusion demonstrates a distinctive scholarship of gay liberation history and his familiarity with the "shriveled posture of the movement in its present guise." Duberman challenges gay readers and their allies to become active within a complex caucus he feels has become unfocused and misled.A relevant, fiery, and dizzying treatise certain to provoke debate and discussion.

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Starred review from June 1, 2018
Distinguished historian Duberman begins his deconstruction of the contemporary gay movement with a nod to its beginnings in the early 1970s and the radical Gay Liberation Front (GLF), which bravely battled the forces of oppression. With that byway of de facto context, he fast-forwards 40 years to the present and offers cogent examinations of the movements for gay marriage and the right to serve openly in the armed forces. He is dismayed, however, by the mainstream's focus on these issues to the exclusion of larger matters of social justice and socioeconomic considerations, pointing out the fact?surprising to many?that the majority of LGBTQ people are working-class. He then takes a deep dive into the continuing controversy over the causes of homosexuality?nature or nurture??before returning to a further examination of mainstream LGBTQ organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and their attention to insular issues. In addition to addressing marriage and the military, advocacy groups, Duberman argues, are now devoting their attention almost exclusively to forms of discrimination, which are important, yes, but he believes too narrow in focus. Though not always sanguine, he finds hope in the proliferation of small radical groups that evoke the tradition of the GLF and the imperative possibilities of collaboration with other civil- and social-rights organizations of the Left. Always lucid and insightful, this is a major work that enriches LGBTQ literature and belongs in every library.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 1, 2018

The question in the title is rhetorical, and the answer according to historian Duberman (emeritus, Herbert Lehman Coll.; The Rest of It) is yes, had the movement held to its origins. The author begins with a history of the movement in the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance, which had their beginnings in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots. The main point of returning to these pioneering groups is to show how inclusive the movement was in intention if not in reality. Their concern was to bring about a social system that would be fairer across the various parameters of not only sexuality but also economics and other forms of social justice. Duberman laments how later LGBTQ-supporting organizations have lost sight of these greater goals, noting, too, how they have largely ignored the working class. Along the way, he discusses other issues such as the biological origins of sexual orientation while always keeping his focus on the political ramifications. The volume ends with a plea for a more inclusive movement while still being aware of the obstacles. VERDICT Readers concerned with contemporary social issues will devour this call to action. Highly recommended.--David Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia

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