Gay Rights under Jimmy Carter: The Revolution that Dared Not Speak Its Name

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Examining a significant and largely unexplored aspect of Jimmy Carters presidency (1977-1981), Harris Dousemetzis radically revises the current understanding of this critical period in American political history. By using a wealth of previously unpublished archival material, along with personal interviews with 43 prominent gay rights activists of the time and 12 senior Carter White House aides, this book documents what actually happened during Carters presidency regarding the development and recognition of gay rights and the efforts of the evangelical right to prevent social reform. Investigating the full range of government actions taken and policies implemented, Carters personal commitment and support for the movement, as well as the role of activists in bringing about change, this is a significant and original contribution to knowledge about Carters presidency, the gay rights movement, and American political development. Dousemetzis situates Carters presidency in its rightful place, as a crucial stage in one of the most dynamic areas of change in recent American politics and political culture.

Reviews

This ground-breaking account adds immeasurably to our understanding of how and why gay rights became a subject of public policy. It will surprise even experts who thought they knew everything about the Carter Presidency and/or about gay history in the 1970s. * Susan Hartmann, Ohio State University, USA *

Author Bio

Harris Dousemetzis is a tutor at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, UK. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he is the author of The Man who Killed Apartheid: The Life of Dimitri Tsafendas (2018) and provided the Report to the Minister of Justice, Advocate Tshililo Michael Masutha, in the Matter of Dr. Hendrik Verwoerds Assassination.