Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s [Hardcover]

Christopher Bull (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 1996

In Perfect Enemies, Chris Bull and John Gallagher trace the origins and growth of both groups from the seminal year 1969, when the Stonewall Riots ushered in the modern gay rights movement and when Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell embarked on direct political action to bring strict biblical interpretation to bear on public policy. The skillful grassroots organizational efforts of both movements, based on a mutual demonization of each side by the other, resulted in growing political clout that developed under the radar of mainsteam political commentators--and exploded upon the scene in a series of bitter and, to most Americans, bewildering political conflicts.

Bull and Gallagher offer the first comprehensive account of the rhetoric and strategies--often remarkably alike--of both sides, and of how the mutual passion of these perfect enemies is influencing electoral politics from the state houses to the White House.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Journalists Chris Bull and John Gallagher argue in their new book, Perfect Enemies, that the national social politics of the 1990s are being increasingly defined by the conflict between the conservative religious right and the gay rights movement. This challenging thesis examines in meticulous detail the legal battles the Christian Coalition has waged against gay rights laws across the country. The authors' analysis of the gays-in-the-military fight is on target as they dissect the mistakes made by both gay leadership and the Federal government. Endlessly provocative and highly charged, Bull and Gallagher convincingly hammer home their point that the fight about gay rights effects everyone, not just the gay community.

From Publishers Weekly

The religious right and the gay movement, this book contends, have a lot in common. Both are outsiders, considered fringe groups by the general population, and each brought the other to national attention in the political arena in the 1990s. Jerry Falwell is quoted as saying, "If homosexuals didn't exist, we'd have to invent them." Attacks on gays more than anything else, gay journalists Bull and Gallagher contend, have catapulted the religious right to the prominence it has enjoyed for much of this decade. A well-researched case for this is meticulously presented, but in arguing it, Bull and Gallagher have managed to write merely another gay attack on Christian conservatism?a commonplace centrist condemnation of evangelism. The book does succeed, however, in giving a well-documented and contextualized account of the skirmishes between the religious right and gay rights, and for this alone, it is valuable. But in being aimed primarily at the gay market, this fails to be the breakthrough book it could have been.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (August 6, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517701987
• ISBN-13: 978-0517701980
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,638,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Look At The Gay and Evangelical Movements, July 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s (Hardcover)

A good book that does its best to be objective when dealing with an issue that is most decidedly subjective. The book is a careful examination of the political situations surrounding the gay and evangelical communities and their similarities and differences. The authors don't hold back from pointing out the missteps and faults of both movements, and ends with a plea for less fiery rhetoric and a call for civil discussion and compromise. A must read for anyone on either side of this debate

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting case studies...not a contradiction in terms!, May 14, 2003

By 

Robin Orlowski "political activist" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s (Hardcover)

Irrespective of the reader's own personal politics, the highly charged political nature of GLBT rights means finding 'balanced' academic works is incredibly difficult. Most titles either soley focus on the glbt OR far right without attempting some sort of journalistic mediary between the two.

As a diehard liberal, my politics personally go with the former group, but my need for balance in classroom assigments (which included a mock curricula)left me in a quandry. How would I teach about a social group I inately despised (the religious right) while giving my potential students the required information they would need to discern a broader picture?

Looking through the right's own books seemed boring and actual field interviews also seemed dangerous because of the unknown communication problems I was potentially setting myself up for in the arrangement (people spamming me with information after the fact, attempting to change my own politics and/or harrassing me).

Thus, I was personally relieved to make Mr. Bull's concise book an addition to my library. The 1990's were both a time of great political gains and setbacks for the GLBT community, and understanding past policy battles in Oregon and Colorado (among other profiles) helps today's activists prepare counter-response to simmilar campaigns in their own muncipaties.

Also helpful is the book's immediate practicality to intended communities. Even if I can decipher advanced queer political theory with my previously aquired political training, such barriers could inadvertently reduce the numbers of movement allies when the need is most critical. Bull's plainspeak language is intentionally utilized to neither speak over or down to his readers, they instantly know they CAN be part of the solution to every identified policy problem.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Both Sides, Present, April 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Perfect Enemies (Hardcover)

A well-written book examining the controversial gay movement and subsequent religious right movement in the 90s. The authors write in an anthropological style, representing both sides without displaying their personal disposition. This style of writing is very helpful when trying to establish a position on this controversial issue, or when examining the stance opposing your own position. For a novice in the issue of the religious right versus the gay movement this would be a wonderful starting point. A reader that has an established position on the issue, they may like a more pro-stance work.