Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

There is a new voters' bloc in America: lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals. This guide provides a systematic empirical survey of the phenomemon, explains its origins and growth and puts it in context. Concurrent with the civil rights and women's rights movement of the 1960s, the homosexual rights movement has emerged as one of the most important, yet misunderstood social developments in American history. This volume traces its progress from the political closet to the pre-1950s era, through the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and the dark days of the AIDS epidemic, to the present day level of tolerance.

Reviews

"This work, ambitious in scope, fulfills the promise of its title ... Extensive references for each chapter, an annotated bibliography, a dictionary of key people, laws, and terms, a resource directory, and a chronology make the book suitable for undergraduate libraries with strong LGBT or political science collections. It fits either circulating or reference collections of medium-sized or large academic libraries and is appropriate for large public libraries with LGBT communities." - Choice "The book is well written and provides a great deal of useful information for those interested in the political aspects of gaining rights for LGBT individuals and groups. It is recommended for high school, college, and public libraries." - American Reference Books Annual

Author Bio

Raymond A. Smith is adjunct assistant professor at Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY. Donald P. Haider-Markel is assistant professor of political science and director of the Survey Research Center of the Policy Reserarch Institute at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.