2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Although the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City symbolically mark the start of the gay rights movement, individuals came together long before the modern era to express their same-sex romantic and sexual attraction toward one another, and in a myriad of ways. Some reflected on their desires in quiet solitude, while others endured verbal, physical, and legal harassment for publicly expressing homosexual interest through words or actions. Long Before Stonewall seeks to uncover the many iterations of same-sex desire in colonial America and the early Republic, as well as to expand the scope of how we define and recognize homosocial behavior. Thomas A. Foster has assembled a pathbreaking, interdisciplinary collection of original and classic essays that explore topics ranging from homoerotic imagery of black men to prison reform to the development of sexual orientations. This collection spans a regional and temporal breadth that stretches from the colonial Southwest to Quaker communities in New England. It also includes a challenge to commonly accepted understandings of the Native American berdache. Throughout, connections of race, class, status, and gender are emphasized, exposing the deep foundations on which modern sexual political movements and identities are built.

Publisher description

Explore the early history of the gay rights movement! In the words of editor Vern L. Bullough: “Although there was no single leader in the gay and lesbian community who achieved the fame and reputation of Martin Luther King, there were a large number of activists who put their careers and reputations on the line. It was a motley crew of radicals and reformers, drawn together by the cause in spite of personality and philosophical differences. Their stories are told in the following pages.” Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context illuminates the lives of the courageous individuals involved in the early struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights in the United States. Authored by those who knew them (often activists themselves), the concise biographies in this volume examine the lives of pre-1969 barrier breakers like Harry Hay, Henry Gerber, Alfred Kinsey, Del Martin, Phyllis Lyon, Jim Kepner, Jack Nichols, Christine Jorgensen, Jose Sarria, Barbara Grier, Frank Kameny, and 40 more. To anyone with an interest in the history of the gay/lesbian rights movements in the United States, these names will be familiar, but did you know that in addition to their groundbreaking activism: Prescott Townsend was a Boston Brahman Dorr Legg was a Log Cabin Republican Harry Hay was at one time a member of the Communist party Jim Kepner was a boy preacher Troy Perry was removed from the ministry of his church for homosexuality--and then founded the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church Reed Erickson--a transsexual millionaire who gave millions to the cause--kept a pet leopard called Henry Barbara Gittings set up a kissing booth at the American Library Association convention and urged attendees to kiss a gay or lesbian! Before Stonewall is a perfect ancillary text for any gay/lesbian studies course, but more to the point, no one interested in these heroic figures and the movements they ignited should be without this book, which received an honorable mention in the 2004 Stonewall Book Awards.

Contemporary American colleges are increasingly queer places, where significant steps toward inclusion of BGLT students have been made. Tracing the journey of BGLT students' emergence, which parallels the modern gay rights movement in America, this monograph provides an overview of data and theory derived from studying BGLT students and student movements in higher education. Offering context for the ways that previously marginalized students in higher education survive and thrive, this issue: Tells the story of their growing visibility on campus Summarizes collective knowledge to date about BGLT identity development Takes stock of transgender students' distinctive position and experiences in higher education Assesses the role of the BGLT campus resource center in supporting students and advancing equity. This issue develops a picture of the ways that BGLT community activism informs scholarship (and vice versa). In the telling of the movement's stories, these lessons suggest a practice of collaborative transformation for advancing the future of BGLT equality in higher education. This is Volume 37 Issue 4 of the Jossey-Bass publication ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education problem, based on thorough research and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

How did gender figure in the routes and spaces of the early modern world, both real and imagined, from the inner spaces of the body to the furthest reaches of the globe? Essays in this volume address this question from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, with topics key to the ‘spatial turn’, such as borders and their permeability, actual and metaphorical spatial crossings, travel and displacement, and the built environment.

An anthology of short fiction featuring the finalist selections from the 2015 Saints + Sinners Literary Festival.

Robert Fennell has taken a euphemistic look at the Great Canadian Game - namely hockey. The story takes place in Saskatchewan where two fictitious teams, the Frontier Aces and the Moose Lake Thunderclouds, battle it out for the symbol of Northern League supremacy, the Manly Cup. With the 'cup' as their objective, the two teams struggle through an arduous seven-game playoff series, filled with tricks, schemes, brawls, and other forms of nonsensical mayhem. Central to the story in the Frontier Aces' goaltender, Stonewall Cody. He is one of the sneakiest, most conniving players ever to strap on a set of pads. His lust for victory is accompanied by a colorful array of characters, both human and animal. Stonewall's attempts to manipulate each game in his team's favor often lead to hilarious results. Never has a rivalry between two teams in any sport been so entertaining and side-splittingly funny.

This book offers a range of interdisciplinary evaluations of the history of same-sex relationships in the Church as they have been understood in different periods and contexts. The relationships between diverse forms of religious and sexual identities have been widely contested in the media since the rise of the lesbian and gay liberation movement in the 1970s. One of the key images that often appears in public debate is that of ‘lesbians and gays in the Church’ as a significant ‘problem’. Research over the past forty years or so into queer theology and the history of same-sex desire has shown that such issues have played an important role in the story of Christianity over many centuries. The contributors to this volume have all been inspired by the challenges of such revisionist study to explore religion and same-sex desire as a field of opportunity for investigation and debate. They uncover some of the hidden histories of the Church and its theologies: they tell sometimes unexpected stories, many of which invite serious further study. It is quite clear through history that some in the churches have been at the vanguard of legislative and social change. Similarly, some churches have offered safe queer spaces. Overall, these essays offer new interpretations and original research into the history of sexuality that helps inform the contemporary debate in the churches as well as in the academy.

All was silent for several moments. Hank glanced up and saw that all the others were now gathered close by in excited fright, holding candles or standing in their encircling light. He took a deep breath and found that the smoke was already vanishing upon the chill air, making it clean and moist to breathe once again. The grass beneath him was wet and clammy, and he felt it seeping into the knees of his blue jeans as he knelt upon it. He glanced down and saw Mick lying flat on his back, gazing up into the dark sky with eyes that saw nothing but the memory of a blinding flash. Angus was beside him, resting a moment on hands and knees, to catch his trembling breath. "Well, that was something," muttered Hank softly. The story of the Stonewalls continues. Stonewall One's three cousins from Wisconsin are now to move in with the Brennans: CaseyJane, Angus, and Rusty Finn. It seems the glory of Stonewall life will only increase. Yet trouble already looms upon the horizon. The land of Isle Bri has not forgotten the Stonewalls, and they are not slow to begin a new attack. Angus, the middle of the three cousins, harbors a secret which none can explain. Rumor has it that Prince Liveyreveno has been discovered alive. Stonewall One shall find herself entering the mighty fortress of Sliaolc for the first time, in an attempt to rescue the youngest of her cousins from the scheming lieutenant Flint. Prince Liveyreveno's third officer, the sharpshooting Darowolf is soon to make his first acquaintance with the Stonewalls. But worse than even the outside troubles, there is a growing tension rearing its head among the Stonewall ranks, and none save a valiant few desire to have anything to do with the adventurous title of Stonewall, no matter where they are taken or sent. And upon the doorstep, they have found a mysterious note from an old friend.

Rethinking Rufus is the first book-length study of sexual violence against enslaved men. Scholars have extensively documented the widespread sexual exploitation and abuse suffered by enslaved women, with comparatively little attention paid to the stories of men. However, a careful reading of extant sources reveals that sexual assault of enslaved men also occurred systematically and in a wide variety of forms, including physical assault, sexual coercion, and other intimate violations. To tell the story of men such as Rufus—who was coerced into a sexual union with an enslaved woman, Rose, whose resistance of this union is widely celebrated—historian Thomas A. Foster interrogates a range of sources on slavery: early American newspapers, court records, enslavers’ journals, abolitionist literature, the testimony of formerly enslaved people collected in autobiographies and in interviews, and various forms of artistic representation. Foster’s sustained examination of how black men were sexually violated by both white men and white women makes an important contribution to our understanding of masculinity, sexuality, the lived experience of enslaved men, and the general power dynamics fostered by the institution of slavery. Rethinking Rufus illuminates how the conditions of slavery gave rise to a variety of forms of sexual assault and exploitation that affected all members of the community.