21st Century Gay [Hardcover]

John Malone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2000

This book looks back on sexuality in history not to merely summarize events but to analyze the influences they have had in shaping the gay movement that exists today and how that movement will be defined in the future.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John Malone's excellent state-of-the-union address on the status of gay rights--such as domestic partners benefits, civil unions, and gays in the military--is a readable and well-researched addition to gay studies and a fine primer on social change. While neither unreasonably pessimist nor giddily congratulatory, Malone describes the strides made in gay civil rights in the past 40 years and predicts which issues are more likely to go forward--the acceptance of same-sex adoption, say--and which, like gay marriage or military service, will remain sticky in the opening decades of the new century. He is alert to the differences between local, state, and federal policymaking, and sensitive to how slowly the "basic world view" of Americans can change, even when laws or company policies have been updated. With attention to the diverse approaches of gay and lesbian activists (provocateurs like Larry Kramer versus cautious incrementalists like Barney Frank), Malone describes the tensions within the gay community, as well as the continuing battles it faces from the religious right and the Republican mainstream. 21st Century Gay is vital reading for anyone weary of the closet or the margins. --Regina Marler

From Library Journal

In this simplistic overview, Malone (Straight Women/Gay Men) examines recent events in the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights but offers little new information or interpretation. Introducing a specious middle-of-the-road construct ("These 'third-way' members of the gay community can often sympathize with the arguments and aims of both separatists and mainstreamers to some degree, but also tend to see the problems inherent in the positions on either side"), he investigates the impact of various issues on lesbians and gay men in America: AIDS, coming out, marriage, adoption, religion, violence, and politics. Oversimplification, gross generalizations, sloppy writing, and unarticulated assumptions (e.g., "The gay community is unquestionably more diverse than the general public, yet even some gay leaders do not always seem to fully recognize how multifaceted it is") render this book, based on interviews, New York Times articles, and other written sources, unsuitable for any but the most comprehensive collections.AJames E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: M.Evans & Company (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087131911X
• ISBN-13: 978-0871319111
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,320,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Valuable Primer On The State Of Gay Rights Today, February 18, 2001

By 

Chad Biederman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 21st Century Gay (Hardcover)

Those who order this book may be surprised at its relatively small size (the book is actually 198 pages long, instead of the 320 cited above). "21st Century Gay" manages to walk straight down the middle of the gulf between gay seperatists and gay mainstreamers by pointing out how both sides in the end truly need each other (even though they often find themselves thwarting each other). Pivotal events, such as the Shepard tragedy and Rock Hudson's AIDS revelation, are described in overtly practical terms that lends insight into the social climate that made these episodes turning points in gay america--in ways I never fully considered.

If you're looking for a book that endorses either mainstream or seperatist approaches in the continuing struggle for gay rights, you won't find it here. However, I believe the uncommonly balanced coverage in "21st Century Gay" makes it one of the most valuable primers of gay rights issues you'll ever find.