Unlike many social movements, the gay and lesbian struggle for visibility and rights has succeeded in combining a unified group identity with the celebration of individual differences. In "Forging Gay Identities", Elizabeth Armstrong explores how this happened, developing a new approach that draws on both social movement and organizational theory. She traces the evolution of gay life, gay organizations and gay identity in San Francisco from the 1950s to the mid-1990s, identifying two events as pivotal in their evolution. First, in 1969 the encounter between early homophile organizing and the New Left produced gay liberation and its signature contribution - coming out. Second, the sudden decline of the New Left in the early 1970s reduced the viability of the radical gay-liberation goal of societal transformation and prompted gay activists to redirect their movement to the affirmation of gay identity and the pursuit of gay rights. "Forging Gay Identities" should be valuable for anyone studying social movements, culture, identity politics or ogranizational theory.

About the Author
Elizabeth A. Armstrong is assistant professor of sociology at Indiana University.

Reviews
"This is a well-conceived and provocative new work. Forging Gay Identities should raise the level of sociological sophistication in gay and lesbian studies while interesting students of culture, social movements, and inequality." - Frank Dobbin, Princeton University



Book Information
ISBN 9780226026947
Author Elizabeth A. Armstrong
Format Paperback
Page Count 290
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 15mm * 2mm