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towards activism was in part the
result of changes associated with
modernization.
Readers hoping for an explicit
statement of the connection between
capitalist development and the rise
of a gay and lesbian movement will
have to look elsewhere. The
increasing importance of an all-
powerful state is also slighted in
Adam's discussion. Adam does
allude, however, to another impor
tant change: the professionaliza
tion of medicine and the success of
this profession in getting the
state to support its findings. The
rise of the medical model of deca
dence linking crime, prostitution,
insanity, and homosexuality with
declining national vitality (i.e.
lower birth rates) sent the govern
ments of France, Germany, and
Britain in search of explanations
and cures. The inchoate medical
"profession," influential because
of its scientific pretensions,
responded all too eagerly to this
charge. Not until recently did this
model lose much of its authority.
Following discussions on the
1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the most
interesting part of Adam's book are
the chapters on the 1970s and
1980s. Adam agrees with most scho
lars that the Stonewell Rebellion
of June 1969 was the watershed
event in modern gay history. Not
only was it the most visible effort
by gays and lesbians to resist
police harassment but it also
proved to have inestimable symbolic
power. After Stonewall gays and
lesbians banded together by the
thousands in new or preexisting
organizations and proclaimed the
start of a gay liberation movement.
Between 1969 and 1972 this movement
experienced its euphoric heyday
when the goal of remaking the
extant social world appeared
realistic to many. Lesbians and gay
men reached out to form coalitions
with other groups struggling for
civil rights and social change. As
a result, the 1970s witnessed the
release of an enormous amount of
energy as homosexuals broke the
social/cultural molds of the past
and were in turn empowered by the
pursuit of sexual freedom.
Concentrating on the American
case, Adam bemoans the fact that
achievements of the 1970s fell far
short of articulated goals as gays
and lesbians were partially
assimilated by greater society.
Conformism reared its ubiquitous
head and resulted in the defeat of
many of the most radical challenges
the gay liberation movement posed.
Worse yet, affirmation of the gay
lifestyle resulted in a cooptation
by the economic system. This course
of events landed many lesbians and
gays in a larger and more comfort
able "commercial ghetto." Adam sees
in much of the activity of the late
1970s a slippage back into tradi
tional gender roles. His analysis
leads him to conclude that the
movement's loss of focus and the
commercialization of its spirit
left it vulnerable to attack by the
emerging New Right. Adam is accur
ate in asserting the importance of
the rightist reaction to gay
liberation as a significant caesura
in the history of the gay and
lesbian movement. His discussion
of the coalition of forces compris
ing the new right is illuminating.
In the last chapter, Adam discusses
the progress of gay and lesbian
civil rights in the 1980s as well
as the problems associated with the
AIDS crisis.
Much of Adam's pessimism seems
exaggerated and he ignores many of
the real achievements of the 1970s.
The era saw annual marches in the
nation's metropolises, establish
ment of a myriad of gay/lesbian
organizations, the first openly
homosexual elected officials,
defeat of antigay referendums, and
the removal of the stigma of homo
sexuality as a mental disorder. Yet
it is by no means certain that the
ideals of the 1969-72 generation
have completely faded. In addition,
Adam often generalizes from the
American gay male experience,
obscuring lesbian/lesbian-feminist
activisim.
In sum, Adam's survey is a
welcome addition to the growing
body of historical/sociological
literature on the origins of organ
ized homosexuality. His conclusions
--that the vitality of the movement
has been sapped by conformism and
the urge to appear respectable--are
worth considering. Adam lays out a
bold and broad agenda for the gay
and lesbian movement, believing
that further assimilation into the
majority culture—with its atten
dant atomization--will not solve
the problems of lesbians and gay
men. What is needed instead is the
"fundamental restructuring" of some
of society's basic structures as
well as the fostering of linkages
with the universal struggle for
human rights.
- DANIEL MATTERN
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